One Laptop Per Child in The Middle East

• The One Laptop Per Child program began distributing technology to underprivileged children in the Middle East in 2009.

• The laptops are loaded with educational content that teaches both basic educational concepts and the use of technology.

• The original plan for the program was to sell the laptops in bulk to the government. However, this proved difficult and instead were financed through donations.

Results: The lack of technical support and the inability for many of these computers to connect to the internet have restricted the adoption of this program. Other problems encountered involve theft and the use of the laptops for entertainment purposes rather than educational. Inquiries into this have revealed that he biggest obstacle is the absence of technological know how on the part of the local educators. This must be tackled if this program in going to help bridge the digital divide.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/16/opinion/16Antoon.html?_r=0

http://middle-east-online.com/english/?id=14558 http://

www.csmonitor.com/Innovation/Tech/2010/0602/Finding-a-better-way-to-bridge-the-digital-divide

http://www.caslon.com.au/dividesprofile9.htm http://www.arabamerica.com/news.php?id=1596 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8651580.stm http://blogs.worldbank.org/impactevaluations/one

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