Dennis Pierce reports that attendees at the National Educational Computing Conference 2006 saluted former MIT professor Nicholas Negroponte as a modern-day Sam Adams. Negroponte–founder of the One Laptop Per Child initiative and chief architect of the $100 laptop wants to give kids in developing nations a low-cost computer they can take home with them.
“Kids learn not by being consumers of knowledge, but creators of it,” Negroponte said. And that’s the idea behind giving every child a laptop equipped with the tools to inspire creativity, collaboration, and communication.
He believes that laptops are both a window into the world and a tool with which to think. Laptops promote independent interaction and exploration and with them, children “learn learning.”
Of course, the weakness of any theory exists when it is based on belief. Maybe he believes is an unintended editorial comment.
Kudos to Negroponte. His vision has attracted notable attention among school people and educators. Let’s keep sharing it and working toward the end of learning anywhere anytime about anything by anyone.
Did you notice that his vision does not include every child in the United States?