the remark about python is also quite striking: slow scripting language? Mmm, i thought it was the hippest thing since sliced bread.
Also in Uganda it seems to be a very rare skill (and thus expensive) to find. Still, its a pretty sad story altogether. -- rgds, Reinier Battenberg Director Mountbatten Ltd. +256 758 801 749 www.mountbatten.net On Monday 24 May 2010 22:11:39 Simon Vass wrote: > Thia indeed has been the critism of olpc lack of support. sounds like they > might also be having a reliability problem. as for content lets see if the > famed html5 can maybe put a dent in it. > > > Simon Vass > Technical Manager > E-Tech Uganda Ltd > http://www.etech.ug > Tel: +256 (0) 312260620 or (0) 312260621 > Email: [email protected] > ----- Original Message ----- > From: Mugarura Cavin <[email protected]> > To: lug <[email protected]> > Sent: Mon, 24 May 2010 19:16:12 +0300 (EAT) > Subject: [LUG] OLPC > Lug, > i came across this post online, and since the EAC (East Africa Community) > is planning to embark on a massive OLPC project, > i thought might be useful > The Full posts and related threads are available on edutechdebate.org > *May 24, 2010 08:59 am | Alejandro Lavarello* > Hi Mark. I live in Uruguay, the emblematic country for the OLPC project. My > daughter Emilia go to public school and has one XO. I have used the XO, and > I am a regular Linux and Windows user. I agree with your article. When XO > began to deteriorate, the daddys began to "repair" with scotch tape. The > keyboard replacement costs here about U$S10 , and the screen replacement > about U$S20. Many can afford this costs; but the poor children not. Result: > in months, poor childrens do not use more their XO. Here we have the "plan > Ceibal". This plan, as stated by government agency LATU, is about giving > conectivity and XO to all school childrens. This is NOT an educational > plan. Silently, the XO is forgeted in school classes, and teachers return > to traditional teaching. The childrens use their XO for playing music and > platform games, like "SuperVampireNinjaZero". Educational games are slow > and Flash-based, and hated by childrens. Software developers do not like > to program in Python; they have background in Java, Flash, C, and not feel > the necesity of learn a new slow interpreted language. Java is slow and > consumes much of the XO "disk" space. Result: only a few government > agencies or 2 o 3 great enterprises have developed bored and slow software > for XO. Childrens that have a PC in his homes do not like to use theirs > XO. Sugar is another problem. Nobody likes it. Is a pain trying to save > all Journal entries using Journal. File handling is a torture. And > volunteers always end erasing the entire children's Journal without backup > because the XO rapidly ceases to work when Journal is full. They > indirectly teach that children's files are without value. I think that my > country have spend too much money in OLPC. I think that regular informatic > rooms with a dedicated professor will be a better choice. OLPC "plan" is > not part of the scholar curricula. Nobody evaluates if each children have > learned abour informatics. Can send me your opinion at: > alejandro.lavarello (at) gmail (dot) com . Sorry by my poor English. > Cavin _______________________________________________ LUG mailing list [email protected] http://kym.net/mailman/listinfo/lug LUG is generously hosted by INFOCOM http://www.infocom.co.ug/ All Archives can be found at http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ The above comments and data are owned by whoever posted them (including attachments if any). The List's Host is not responsible for them in any way. ---------------------------------------
