While this is more a sociological issue than a technological one, it’s still interesting. Pilot programs in Ethiopia with the OLPC XO laptop have hit a major roadblock: teachers resent the device and consider it a toy. The reasons for this are complicated, but in essence it’s the nature of the educational system there. Imagine a school here in the US where the kids are learning design, coding, and a bunch of other interesting stuff but fare poorly on the SATs. It’s a lot like that, except more so; the Ethiopian schools are very much about memorization and basic scholastic functions, while the OLPC is all about exploration and individual learning.
It’s not like the whole project has been scrapped, far from it, it just exposes the trouble of introducing something as radical as the XO laptop into a school system that isn’t prepared to handle it. Until the teachers consider exploratory learning as legitimate and are equipped to take advantage of the device, the project is doomed to failure. It’s the classic horse/water problem. So the new strategy simply has to include those considerations and work harder on the top-down learning model they have there — something proposed a long time ago but not really implemented. Here’s a talk discussing this and other things in more detail.
I wonder what the risk is of someone considering the XO-2 a toy. They’d probably be hard-pressed to categorize at all.
Update: Commenter Edward notes that this problem is not new, and that it has in fact been encountered and surmounted before. Glad to hear it.
It is obvious that the teachers themselves are not up to use the computers, beside the fact that teachers and students know hardly any English.
The teacher should be trained first before they can teach anything to the students.
It is well known that the level of ecucation standard is very low, specially in government schools. It is foolish to introduce such advanced technology without prior preparation.
Tell me what I don’t know. I found it hard to study in Australia in the first years because of the mode of studying and learning i am used to in Ethiopia.
Ethiopian teachers look at textbooks as the Bible and students are encouraged to memorize stuff instead of doing projects. The oft-given reason is ‘resource limitation’. Creativity is doing something interesting with the resource you have even when it is little.
I heard that the plasma screen introduced in the schools for visual education have had the fate, because the courses were in English that neither students or teachers understood.
The regime was proud in announcing the statistical increase of students, which had nothing to do with giving them some regular education curriculum.
you stupid. so how u dare to write in english? u can protest the stupid people in power. but not strong enough to undermine teachers and their students.
in which schools exactly were they banned? and what are your sources?
Don’t take me wrong but I see this OLPC is just waste of time. Because kids in Africa needs chair, table, paper, pensile and pen not laptop. I grow up in Ethiopian without touching any computer. I touched my first computer when I was a second year college student. Now I am a software engineer. But what I learn in Ethiopian class room when I was elementary is still fresh in my mind. I was doing trigonometry when I was 4th grade, I know my multiplication and division when I was 3rd grade. I have kids in US school system. They go online spend hrs on computer at home and at school but not sure if the knowledge they are acquiring from computer will stay for life. Believe me computer is good but also bad, the knowledge you are gaining from a computer is like a computer memory it stay as long as the computer if on. When the computer if off every things is gone. I see Ethiopian kids who grow up in Ethiopian joins the US school system. They will have hard time for one year because of their language problem but once they catch up with their English skill they excel. If you want just check your local universities and colleges. You will see lots of Ethiopian engineers and doctors. So what Ethiopian students needs is books not laptop. It is a crap where there is electricity only for 10 hrs. I used to remember every single subject just like in flash, now I cannot do a single multiplication without the help of calculator. So laptop and calculators are memory killers. Also I used to do my own toy from mud, wire, and other materials, I call it creativity not the laptop shows only animation which a kid can not do anything about it.
Sell your laptop somewhere and give them books and pencil that is help
Kidus Markos. Ishare your comment!
Oh, I see the picture and they are not Ethiopian kids. I know Ethiopian when I see them. Please use the exact picture I think this article is full of crap
They’re Nigerian, as noted in the article.
There is a better method of educating kids and make them creative. Ancient Greeks, or scientists in the late middle ages had invented many devices because they used their thinking capacity. Since computers are the result of human imagination, to believe that one could make children creative by supplying them with Laptops, is to put things on their heads. As Kidus said computers make children doom, and ultimately reduce their ability even to calculate simple things. The best way of educating children and make them creative is to confront them with practical things. They have to understand why different things differ in their weights or why they have different shapes. They should learn how to sing and play instruments. Musical education at early stages enables children to think deeply and profoundly. It strengthens their personality and makes them more social. Therefore we have to reject the Ferenji experiment on our children.
For a contrary view, see
http://wiki.laptop.org/go/Academic_papers#Ethiopia_Implementation_Report.2C_September_-_December_2007
The report describes the gradual change from a traditional, pure rote education system, where questions by students were taken as insults by teachers, to a discovery system, where teachers voluntarily added question time to their lesson plans.
It was, of course, necessary to support teachers in this transition, and not push them faster than they were ready to go.
Certainly. One can’t expect immediate switchover… but it is important to examine the successes as well as the failures. Thanks for the link, I know we only scratched the surface here.
Africa, Africa,mama Africa. Why?Why? The west wants to experiment its cap on us. If you read history civilization and mankind are originated from Africa. New things are reversed and the west is using Africa a s its lab. They experimented AIDS and millions of African died, when they make medicine they use Africa and a lab monkey. One thing I learn in America is “Nothing is Free”, that means if some one is giving you something expect that person is going to take something away ,may be equal or ten times. I don’t trust all this NGOs. Because most of them they use it for their advantages. I think Ethiopian and other African counties need to watch these Western NGOs very closely. One time one NGO guy was helping us to do some thing. He was nice, he spend about few hurs of his time and later he put that time as years of experience and he got a good job. That means he use us. So OLPC could have some thing behind may be it is creating its brand in African child (millions) and later after they grow up they want to market it because the kids are accustomed to it. So do not trust anyone, especially now most US schools are hanging and a tread seeking every help whey a company gives away free laptop. Why some NGOs goes 100000 miles when there is a need here in US. Why not spend your money over here fight for homeless, drag abuse, teenage pregnancy and hunger. Leave Africa alone. If the west leave alone Africa will be a bread basket but the west is just could not stop. Before it was colonialism, apartide now this so called NGO, some of them are spying. So no need for your laptop get out from Africa. By the way do you know Ethiopians were the first people on this earth. As once said when Ethiopians were building marvelous piece of buildings the west used to live in a cave.
So leave the Ethiopians alone they will figure it out with out your help
Can I just say that as someone who moved to Ethiopia a few years ago, I have encountered extremely educated and bright people, straight from the analog world, who learned while at university to use computers.
I can only agree with the fact that what we need here is books, chairs, tables, chalk for the teachers, pen and pencils for the kids.
I don’t see the benefit of an education based on a computer, and would not recommend it for my own children. I would rather have them learn their maths and use their heads rather than rely on a machine to do it for them. People in their 30’s and above derive from a non-digital education world wide, and I think we were better off, than the new generation who can barely think for itself.
Wrong article with wrong comments
I don’t understand why most of the diaspora living Ethiopians act as if they know every thing and as if they are informed of every thing?
Please come take a look at Ethiopians high schools, Elementary Schools and colleges and Universities you will observe Generation in a change. So please be positive first unless you will observe every negative aspect.
If we do not know English [the Ethiopian teachers and students] come and teach us if we deserve English as a gift from you [the half empty thinkers]
We ok and trust me we will make a generation changed we will make difference.
“The camel is walking ang the dog is barking”
Please do not try to use to create a political advantage. Politics is a science though do not intermix every thing in the Name of ETHIOPIA
We know most of went abroad and betrayed the country while it [Ethiopia] was waiting you after your study.
Only for those fool thinkers!!
I just got back from Ethiopia. People are afraid of technologies. That’s why they leave valuable material to rot. Second year programming students still look at the keyboard while typing. I myself learned programming on my own as a kid. I had my java certificate by age 17 without having had a single teacher. As for books and pens I’d like to remind that all the information in the world is available on internet. Millions of book are available for free on the net. Buying 1 laptop makes more sense than hundreds of books. This is the best investment this govt could possibly make. This project and opencourseware from MIT can really make a change in Africa if ppl begin to use them. I would add that the teaching system doesn’t promote innovation nor creativity. That’s why every new project in universities always comes from abroad.
I bleive in disovery and student-centered learning if the neccesry material and sefty are available…
Computors or plasma TV could bring temporal change but they are not real nor bring permanent knowledge….students must explore or exiperiment then discuss on what they got….if they need extra information can refer to Computors(internet) or books…I am not against techs but for elementary students I don’t see using it for the whole curriculem..
If the westerns bleive on helping Africa they shouldn’t send computors or toys they could help by sending real materials and instrumnets so that the student can sense it…..
This technologies if applied could fill the whole genration of unreality and uncertainity.
Computer is not generally bad. If somebody was admiring the schooling system of his time, he can not force the same thing in the 21st century. I agree that, Americans do not give anything for free, they will take ten fold. However, one way or the other they are taking what they want from Africa. Even if there is a hidden agenda behind the new educational laptops, still our kids can benefit and when we discover the plot we can kill it on time. If we are not testing it with one on the giant, how can we prove all these conspiracy theories are right. Let us not be stubborn, explore and chose the best. No one can force us to say no!