The 20th annual Symposium will be held on Thursday, April 23, 2009.

Educational Laptop Deployment into Developing Markets: Are They Ready For It?
Norris 104, 3:30 PM

Joshua  Rontal,   '09 74
   Major: Political Science
   Hometown: Ann Arbor, MI

Sponsor(s): Alfred Pheley
Support:  

Abstract: 
On November 16, 2005, Nicholas Negroponte debuted his “$100 laptop” to the world. The laptop was designed by the non-profit One Laptop Per Child group (OLPC) with the intention of distribution to children in developing nations around the world. While injecting technology into developing markets has the potential to address many problems that arise from the severe poverty and lack of infrastructure often found in those areas, it also raises an array of concerns. By skipping the decades of development and corollary societal change found in countries that developed the technology, developing countries may face problems similar to those felt by countries subject to externally-instigated industrialization and democratization, including backlash and possible radicalization.

One of the OLPC’s features, its ability to create ad-hoc wireless networks enabling users to connect to one another and the Internet where available, across long distances, holds both great promise and danger. While it offers the possibility of unfettered communication and collaboration, it could also be subverted to spread misinformation, unify and expand radical groups, and dangerously destabilize nations. Moreover, many of these potential problems are universal to the concept of high-technology, networked, teaching applications in developing areas. Technology, like industrial and governmental development, is best applied from within. Perverting that natural progression can lead to catastrophic ends.

 74