Palmera Projects
One Laptop Per Child
Amount Donated: $10,000
Project commencement: November 2010
Partner Organisation: One Laptop Per Child (OLPC)
Description of Project
Today there are over 400,000 children aged 4 to 15 that live in outer-regional, remote communities across Australia. Their isolation means that they have limited access to opportunities many children regularly receive.
To address this issue, OLPC has created a tool that will challenge the way children think and approach problems. A tool unique in its design and operation that will provoke each child to explore new ways to construct solutions to their problems. The tool is called the One Laptop per Child XO laptop, designed specifically for children and the harsh environments they live in. When children have access to this type of tool they become engaged in their own education; they learn, share, create, and collaborate. They become connected to each other, to the world and have access to a brighter future.
The targeted communities are those that have a Socio-Economic Index for Areas scoring greater than 100 points below the national average of 1000. Typically in Australia, the more remote the community, the further below the national average these scores fall.
OLPC does not focus on computer literacy, as that is a by-product of the fluency children will gain through use of the laptop for learning. The XO laptop is best used as an agency for engaging children in constructing knowledge which is based upon their personal interests – empowering them to solve the problems that are relevant to them and their community.
Description of Partner
OLPC was created to provide educational opportunities to children in rural Australia who do not normally have access to a proper education. This education is delivered through a specially created laptop called the XO which has unique design aspects suited for the rural environment, and designed for children to explore and learn on their own. This encourages learning and creativity, something many rural children lack in the education.