The Portuguese government today began an ambitious plan to distribute half a million super-cheap “Magellan” laptops to school children at a subsidized price of 50 euros –about $68 U.S — in a bid to boost the computer literacy of Portugal’s elementary age school children.
Portugal has some of the lowest school achievement levels in western Europe and Prime Minister Jose Socrates has made boosting education a key priority. The project’s goal is two create a two-student-per-laptop ration in the country’s schools by 2010.
The computers cost just under $400 without the government subsidy.
Problem solved.
Ha! There’s a wonderful old Tom Lehrer song (Google him, children) about Wernher von Braun (him too, while you’re at it.) that has the following line:
“Once the rockets are up, who cares where they come down
That’s not my department,” says Wernher von Braun.
Problem solved indeed!
And while everyone is looking up, enter the technology peddlers.
Dan, what’s the problem you refer to, and how is it solved?
I’ve read some of your writing and agree with much of what you say, but I don’t quite get your point here.
I have a problem that could use a solution. I didn’t really describe it as a problem, but it certainly needs a solution. However I doubt that laptops, cheap or otherwise, will be part of that solution. Here’s a link. http://www.brianrude.com/fractionsquiz2/htm
Brian
I succumbed to an urge to be sarcastic.
In the US there are lots of examples of districts buying kids laptops. Data indicating that it gives kids any sort of boost are really few and far between. If you believe the data from international comparison tests like PISA, things are not going well in Portugal–they are near the bottom in math, science, and reading. Buying a bunch of laptops would be pretty low on my list of things to try.
Dan