Mike McGregor, Wikimedia
One Laptop Per Child
The “One Laptop Per Child” scheme — which appears to have stalled lately — was based on the idea that providing children in poor countries with cheap ($100) computers would improve their educational prospects.
It was about bridging the digital divide.
But here’s an interesting, if a bit longish, article that contends the real problem for child education in poor communities is not lack of access to technology.
The author, Philanthropy Action editor Timothy Ogden, cites a host of studies showing that health improvements such as ridding children of debilitating, parasitic worms or programs that simply provide more teachers are much more likely to produce scholastic achievement than giving kids laptops.
