Sunday, 27 April 2014
Thursday, 24 April 2014
The OLPC In Review
I take the time today to return to key interests of mine - technology and education in the developing world. In fact, whilst perhaps I have not mention it here earlier, I was accepted on a PhD programme in the field and due to start at the beginning of this year (having deferred from the year before), but the fees made this non-tenable at the present time and like many things in life, I am thinking about what I do next.
The subject of this posting however centres around whether one ed tech approach - the OLPC - is still relevant today. Interestingly a couple of years ago, the OLPC featured in a thesis I wrote, at a time when there was considerable debate about whether it was idealistic to expect full saturation of laptops (one per child) in the developing world. Additionally, I have blogged about this on several occasions.
One of the blogs - OLPC News - that I have followed on the subject announced its 'closure' last month and today another blog - Educational Technology Debate (also previously mentioned here) - raised the debate about whether, in the face of the rise of mobile devices and tablets, the OLPC project too had also run its course.
Of course the OLPC is rooted in Nicholas Negroponte's endorsement of a Constructivist ideology - the idea that children can create their own knowledge and educational content with the right tools - in this case - a small open source laptop - that has been designed to be a low power robust machine that can creates its own peer network - ideal for communities that do not have reliable power or internet connections.
Is the OLPC still relevant?
Is the OLPC still relevant?
Wayan Vota, writing for the Educational Technology Debate asks the key question, that if we were to replace laptops with today's technologies - mobiles, handhelds and tablets and had full one-to-one saturation (i.e. every child in the developing world had their own device) would this be ideal? Could we instead instead share tools and equipment for the same results? Negroponte would argue that since children have their own pencils, they should have an entitlement to their own laptop.
The crucial question around meeting the need for enabled and adequately-paid educators is one that continues to remain important, especially in large parts of the developing world. Often low teacher and high student ratios place additional stresses on already burden systems. Negroponte aimed to address the gap through the laptop programme (read that to mean that children can 'educate' themselves). The Educational Technology Debate article also asks if this is wise or indeed the moral thing to do.
The crucial question around meeting the need for enabled and adequately-paid educators is one that continues to remain important, especially in large parts of the developing world. Often low teacher and high student ratios place additional stresses on already burden systems. Negroponte aimed to address the gap through the laptop programme (read that to mean that children can 'educate' themselves). The Educational Technology Debate article also asks if this is wise or indeed the moral thing to do.
Sunday, 30 March 2014
د مور دعا
.jpg)
د مور دعا
ماته وغواړه مورجــــانی مغفـــــرت
چې نصیب می ستا دعا شې هم رحمت
ته دعـــــــا د زړه دکــــومی راته وکړه
ستا دعا کې دی د ټول جـــــهان طاقت
اوس زه ستا د دعا ګانو ډیر محـتاج یم
ځکه ستا دپښــــو دلاندی دې جــــنت
ته ځـولۍ د رحـــمتونو راخــوره کــړه
ستا ځولۍ کې دي دنــیا او اخـــــــرت
که هر څو زه ستا نه ځاراوصدقه شم
در به نه کړای شم بدل ستا دزحــمت
زه عادل ستا دعا په طمع ناســـت یم
چې محروم نه شم له دغه لوي نعمت
Original Post: Nasim Shah
چې نصیب می ستا دعا شې هم رحمت
ته دعـــــــا د زړه دکــــومی راته وکړه
ستا دعا کې دی د ټول جـــــهان طاقت
اوس زه ستا د دعا ګانو ډیر محـتاج یم
ځکه ستا دپښــــو دلاندی دې جــــنت
ته ځـولۍ د رحـــمتونو راخــوره کــړه
ستا ځولۍ کې دي دنــیا او اخـــــــرت
که هر څو زه ستا نه ځاراوصدقه شم
در به نه کړای شم بدل ستا دزحــمت
زه عادل ستا دعا په طمع ناســـت یم
چې محروم نه شم له دغه لوي نعمت
Original Post: Nasim Shah
Photograph: Samsung Galaxy S4
Tor_Khan تور خان
Tuesday, 4 March 2014
Grandfathers
Because of the distances presented by my parent's migration to England, I didn't grow up with either of my grandfathers and only saw them during a trip to Pakistan when I was still in first school. I have fading memories of my maternal grandfather, Ghulam Nadir, and some almost equally blurred images of my paternal grandfather, Ali Akbar.
My father's grandfather went by the fine name of Arsalaan and his father was Ras Gul, and so it continues. They are mostly known by their singular names (Khan and Gul as honorific titles) at a time when hard records were not always kept. It's important, however, to have knowledge of your past and this thread is dedicated to that important patrilineal lineage of grandfathers.
My father's grandfather went by the fine name of Arsalaan and his father was Ras Gul, and so it continues. They are mostly known by their singular names (Khan and Gul as honorific titles) at a time when hard records were not always kept. It's important, however, to have knowledge of your past and this thread is dedicated to that important patrilineal lineage of grandfathers.
Tor_Khan تور خان
Friday, 28 February 2014
Toxic People 10: The Non-Believers
Toxic People
10. The Non-Believers
Worse than those who don’t dream are those who dream, but don’t believe that they can turn those dreams into reality. Those who don’t believe in themselves don’t amount to anything in life. They are the losers — those that are always there, but don’t influence the world. They live in a gloomy and depressing world where their lives are out of their hands. They go with the flow and never attempt to achieve any sort of success. Don’t rely on them to support you when you need the support, either. If they don’t believe in themselves, then they sure as hell won’t believe in you.
Worse than those who don’t dream are those who dream, but don’t believe that they can turn those dreams into reality. Those who don’t believe in themselves don’t amount to anything in life. They are the losers — those that are always there, but don’t influence the world. They live in a gloomy and depressing world where their lives are out of their hands. They go with the flow and never attempt to achieve any sort of success. Don’t rely on them to support you when you need the support, either. If they don’t believe in themselves, then they sure as hell won’t believe in you.
Sunday, 23 February 2014
Toxic People 9: The Non-Dreamers
Toxic People
9. The Non-Dreamers
Those who can’t dream don’t live. Life is about believing that things can be better — not just for you, but for everyone. What makes people human is dreaming and hoping that the change to come will be for the better. Those that don’t dream won’t allow you to dream, either, and will do their best to prove to you that your dreams are just that: dreams.
Those who can’t dream don’t live. Life is about believing that things can be better — not just for you, but for everyone. What makes people human is dreaming and hoping that the change to come will be for the better. Those that don’t dream won’t allow you to dream, either, and will do their best to prove to you that your dreams are just that: dreams.
Wednesday, 19 February 2014
Toxic People 8: Those Who Stay Within Their Comfort Zones
Toxic People
8. Those Who Stay Within Their Comfort Zones
If we wish to live a life of adventure, then those who aren’t adventurous need be avoided. All those you meet and come across in your life are partners on your journey, if only for a few seconds. Those we keep around more regularly end up steering our direction more than we realize. If you hope to leave your comfort zone regularly, then don’t hang out with those who aren’t willing to leave theirs. Their chain simply isn’t long enough to go for the ride.
If we wish to live a life of adventure, then those who aren’t adventurous need be avoided. All those you meet and come across in your life are partners on your journey, if only for a few seconds. Those we keep around more regularly end up steering our direction more than we realize. If you hope to leave your comfort zone regularly, then don’t hang out with those who aren’t willing to leave theirs. Their chain simply isn’t long enough to go for the ride.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
