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Why am I reminiscing about Alan Kay? When I read Christoph Derndorfer's [http://edutechdebate.org/olpc-in-south-america/olpc-in-peru-one-laptop-per-child-problems/ article], Oscar Becerra's response, and the subsequent follow up discussions spread across several threads on the [http://lists.laptop.org/pipermail/olpc-sur/ Sur list], I was struck by the dichotomy that seems to exist within the community: those who see and voice problems and those who are trying, despite the challenges, to amplify the things that are good. While criticism is a necessary component of any effort to bring about change, it is important to frame the criticism within a context whereby it can be used in service of our collective goal: to raise a generation of critical thinkers and problem-solvers by establishing a culture of independent thinking and learning.

Why am I reminiscing about Alan Kay? When I read Christoph Derndorfer's [http://edutechdebate.org/olpc-in-south-america/olpc-in-peru-one-laptop-per-child-problems/ article], Oscar Becerra's response, and the subsequent follow up discussions spread across several threads on the [http://lists.laptop.org/pipermail/olpc-sur/ Sur list], I was struck by the dichotomy that seems to exist within the community: those who see and voice problems and those who are trying, despite the challenges, to amplify the things that are good. While criticism is a necessary component of any effort to bring about change, it is important to frame the criticism within a context whereby it can be used in service of our collective goal: to raise a generation of critical thinkers and problem-solvers by establishing a culture of independent thinking and learning.

We can and do argue about how to achieve this goal (and some within the community take issue with the goal itself, e.g., our focus should be on helping children do better on their national exams, as if it were a black-and-white choice), but as we argue and criticize, we need to avoid the temptation to sensationalize (e.g., "it will require a significant overhaul of the whole strategy") or draw premature or out of context conclusions (e.g., A [http://www.columbia.edu/%7Ecp2124/papers/computer.pdf 'Romanian study'] oft-cited by Yamandu proves... [1]).

We can and do argue about how to achieve this goal (and some within the community take issue with the goal itself, e.g., our focus should be on helping children do better on their national exams, as if it were a black-and-white choice), but as we argue and criticize, we need to avoid the temptation to sensationalize (e.g., "it will require a significant overhaul of the whole strategy") or draw premature or out of context conclusions (e.g., the [http://www.columbia.edu/%7Ecp2124/papers/computer.pdf 'Romanian study'] often cited by Yamandu proves... [1]).

Christoph made a number of observations on his whirlwind tour of OLPC deployments in South America. While his observations are of anecdotal interest, none of them have any statistical significance and yet he presumes to draw far-reaching conclusions. Even when he relies upon data gathered by others, his conclusions are overstated. For example, he cites from IDB report "that almost 5% of the schools which have already received XOs don’t even have electricity yet." He goes on to assert "that the Ministry of Education’s data on the infrastructure available at schools doesn’t seem to be up to date and accurate enough." I don't know how he can draw that conclusion from the data. (As Oscar points out, the source of the problem was that the solar panels were not available as soon as expected.) Another way of saying the same thing is, "more than 95% of the schools that have already received XOs have electricity." Or he could have used the data as a rallying cry for support for OLPC's efforts to build a more power-efficient, ARM-based machine.

Christoph made a number of observations on his whirlwind tour of OLPC deployments in South America. While his observations are of anecdotal interest, none of them have any statistical significance and yet he presumes to draw far-reaching conclusions. Even when he relies upon data gathered by others, his conclusions are overstated. For example, he cites from an [http://idbdocs.iadb.org/wsdocs/getdocument.aspx?docnum=35370099 IDB report] "that almost 5% of the schools which have already received XOs don’t even have electricity yet." He goes on to assert "that the Ministry of Education’s data on the infrastructure available at schools doesn’t seem to be up to date and accurate enough." I don't know how he can draw that conclusion from the data. (As Oscar points out, the source of the problem was that the solar panels were not available as soon as expected.) Another way of saying the same thing is, "more than 95% of the schools that have already received XOs have electricity." Or he could have used the data as a rallying cry for support for OLPC's efforts to build a more power-efficient, ARM-based machine.

Like Christoph, I too will cherry pick from the IDB report: "it was noted that over 95% of teachers in schools receiving laptops think they help improve education and children's learning and motivate them to go to school. Moreover, between 90 and 94% of teachers indicated that laptops improve the quality of teaching." (From the original Spanish: "se observó que más de 95% de los docentes de escuelas que recibieron los equipos piensa que las computadoras portátiles contribuyen a mejorar la educación y el aprendizaje de los niños y los motivan para ir a la escuela. Por otro lado, entre el 90 y 94% de los docentes indicaron que las computadoras portátiles mejoran la calidad de su enseñanza y la facilitan."

Like Christoph, I too will cherry pick from the IDB report: "it was noted that over 95% of teachers in schools receiving laptops think they help improve education and children's learning and motivate them to go to school. Moreover, between 90 and 94% of teachers indicated that laptops improve the quality of teaching." (From the original Spanish: "se observó que más de 95% de los docentes de escuelas que recibieron los equipos piensa que las computadoras portátiles contribuyen a mejorar la educación y el aprendizaje de los niños y los motivan para ir a la escuela. Por otro lado, entre el 90 y 94% de los docentes indicaron que las computadoras portátiles mejoran la calidad de su enseñanza y la facilitan."