One Laptop per Child (OLPC) was a non-profit initiative that operated from 2005 to 2014 with the goal of transforming education for children around the world by creating and distributing educational devices for the developing world, and by creating software and content for those devices.

When the program launched, the typical retail price for a laptop was considerably in excess of $1,000 (US), so achieving this objective required bringing a low-cost machine to production. This became the OLPC XO Laptop, a low-cost and low-power laptop computer. The housing was styled by Yves Béhar with Continuum, now EPAM Continuum. The project was originally funded by member organizations such as AMD, eBay, Google, Marvell Technology Group, News Corporation, and Nortel. Chi Mei Corporation, Red Hat, and Quanta provided in-kind support. After disappointing sales, the hardware design part of the organization shut down in 2014. The OLPC project is critically reviewed in a 2019 MIT Press book titled The Charisma Machine: The Life, Death, and Legacy of One Laptop per Child.

OLPC, Inc, a descendant of the original organization, continues to operate, but the design and creation of laptops is no longer part of its mission.

History

thumb|upright=1.1|thumbtime=2|A short video covering OLPC's main mission principles

thumb|upright=1.1|Thank You from the Children of OLPC

The OLPC program has its roots in the pedagogy of Seymour Papert, an approach known as constructionism, which espoused providing computers for children at early ages to enable full digital literacy. Papert and Nicholas Negroponte were at the MIT Media Lab from its inception. Papert compared the old practice of putting computers in a computer lab to books chained to the walls in old libraries. Negroponte likened shared computers to shared pencils. However, this pattern seemed to be inevitable, given the then-high prices of computers (over $1,500 apiece for a typical laptop or small desktop by 2004).

In 2005, Negroponte spoke at the World Economic Forum, in Davos. In this talk he urged industry to solve the problem, to enable a $100 laptop, which would enable constructionist learning, would revolutionize education, and would bring the world's knowledge to all children. He brought a mock-up and was described as prowling the halls and corridors of Davos to whip up support. Despite the reported skepticism of Bill Gates and others, Negroponte left Davos with committed interest from AMD, News Corp, and with strong indications of support from many other firms. From the outset, it was clear that Negroponte thought that the key to reducing the cost of the laptop was to reduce the cost of the display. Thus, when, upon return from Davos, he met Mary Lou Jepsen, the display pioneer who was in early 2005 joining the MIT Media Lab faculty, the discussions turned quickly to display innovation to enable a low-cost laptop. Convinced that the project was now possible, Negroponte led the creation of the first corporation for this: the Hundred Dollar Laptop Corp.

At the 2006 Wikimania, Jimmy Wales announced that the One Laptop Per Child Project would be including Wikipedia as the first element in their content repository. Wales explained, "I think it is in my rational self interest to care about what happens to kids in Africa," elaborating in his fundraising appeal:

At the 2006 World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) announced it would back the laptop. UNDP released a statement saying they would work with OLPC to deliver "technology and resources to targeted schools in the least developed countries".

thumb|upright=1.1|OLPC XO-1 original design proposal

Intel was a member of the association for a brief period in 2007. Shortly after OLPC's founder, Nicholas Negroponte, accused Intel of trying to destroy the non-profit, Intel joined the board with a mutual non-disparagement agreement between them and OLPC. Intel resigned its membership on January 3, 2008, citing disagreements with requests from Negroponte for Intel to stop dumping their Classmate PCs.

A 2012 NPR report on OLPC's implementation in Peru found that while the laptops generated enthusiasm and improved digital familiarity among students, academic researchers observed little to no measurable improvement in math or reading scores. The report also highlighted issues with program oversight and limited teacher training in some regions.

Cost

The project originally aimed for a price of 100 US dollars. In May 2006, Negroponte told the Red Hat's annual user summit: "It is a floating price. We are a nonprofit organization. We have a target of $100 by 2008, but probably it will be $135, maybe $140." The latter income segment would have to spend more than a quarter of its annual income to purchase a single laptop, while the global average of Information and communications technology (ICT) spending is 3% of income.

Technology

[[File:Laptop-crank.jpg|thumb|A second generation prototype came with a crank that proved unviable.

An XO-3 concept resembled a tablet computer and was planned to have the inner workings of the XO 1.75.

Regional responses

Uruguay

In October 2007, Uruguay placed an order for 100,000 laptops, making Uruguay the first country to purchase a full order of laptops. The first real, non-pilot deployment of the OLPC technology happened in Uruguay in December 2007. Over the last two years 362,000 pupils and 18,000 teachers have been involved, and has cost the state $260 (£159) per child, including maintenance costs, equipment repairs, training for the teachers and internet connection. Still, more recent studies give an opposite view of the project's results, regarding it a success, like in the case of the 2020 publication by Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development.

Artsakh

On January 26, 2012, prime minister Ara Harutyunyan and entrepreneur Eduardo Eurnekian signed a memorandum of understanding launching an OLPC program in Artsakh. The program is geared towards elementary schools throughout Artsakh. Eurnekian hopes to decrease the gap by giving the war-zoned region an opportunity to engage in a more solid education. The New York-based nonprofit Armenian General Benevolent Union is helping to undertake the responsibility by providing on-the-ground support. The government of Artsakh is enthusiastic and is working with OLPC to bring the program to fruition.

Further reading

  • @ComputerClan YouTube video about OLPC