__/ [ Stuart Krivis ] on Wednesday 16 August 2006 15:28 \__
> On Wed, 16 Aug 2006 09:22:43 +0100, Roy Schestowitz
> <newsgroups@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>
>>> I don't see why the US$100 laptop shouldn't be used everywhere, rather
>>> than just in the 3rd world. It would surely benefit many schools in
>>> less well off parts of the UK.
>>
>>
>>I once thought about the very same arguments. My sister, who has just
>>turned 10, has this laptop-shaped educational tool. It's embedded and the
>>screen is small, monochrome, and low in resolution. She doesn't seem to
>>have much
>
> Sounds a bit like an Apple Emate I still have somewhere. (It actually
> wasn't a bad idea at the time it was developed.)
No. It's a really cheap plastic chip (an overstatement, of course).
> I do agree that the $100 laptop should be strongly considered for use
> in all classrooms. It would be far better to have 10 $100 laptops than
> 2 $500 ones.
I know a prestigious school where every student is required tao have a
laptop. The school I have in mind is in Puerto Rico. I tried to convince him
(a far relative) to install Ubuntu on his laptop (he was very willing), but
his school strictly requires Windows XP. *sigh*
> If there is an overall cost savings, then the schools should put the
> leftover money into hiring more teachers. :-)
The children can educate themselves more independently, e.g. using Wikipedia.
This also has an effect on book budgets (which in turn could save some
trees). As for the teachers, let them get a more decent wage. They are
underpaid in the UK (also in the US from what I hear) and they work quite
hard.
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