The One Laptop School: Equipping Rural Elementary Schools in South India through Public Private Partnerships

Autor/in	Byker, Erik Jon
Titel	The One Laptop School: Equipping Rural Elementary Schools in South India through Public Private Partnerships
Quelle	In: Global Education Review, 2 (2015) 4, S.126-143 (18 Seiten) PDF als Volltext kostenfreie Datei Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	2325-663X
Schlagwörter	Laptop Computers; Rural Schools; Elementary School Students; Case Studies; Foreign Countries; Information Technology; Partnerships in Education; Ethnography; Reports; Teacher Attendance; Dropouts; Sanitation; Educational Facilities; Energy; Student Attitudes; Transportation; Program Descriptions; English (Second Language); Second Language Learning; Computer Literacy; Poverty; India + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Laptop computer; Laptop; Computer; Digitalrechner; Rural area; Rural areas; School; Schools; Ländlicher Raum; Schule; Schulen; Case study; Fallstudie; Case Study; Ausland; Informationstechnologie; Hochschulpartnerschaft; Ethnografie; Abschlussbericht; Berichten; Drop-out; Drop-outs; Dropout; Early leavers; Schulversagen; Betriebshygiene; Bildungsstätte; Energie; Schülerverhalten; Verkehrswesen; English as second language; English; Second Language; Englisch als Zweitsprache; Zweitsprachenerwerb; Computerkenntnisse; Armut; Indien
Abstract	This article reports on a Public Private Partnership (PPP) program in South India that provided information and communication technology (ICT) to rural elementary schools. The article examined the current status of rural, government-run elementary schools in India by reviewing reports like the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) in India. Challenges like teacher absences, student drop-outs, lack of electricity, lack of separate toilets for genders, and a lack of teaching resources is discussed. To meet these challenges, the article describes the rise in popularity of India's PPPs. Then the article reports on a case study of a PPP, called the SSA Foundation, which implemented a "one laptop per school" program in rural areas in the Indian States of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. Using ethnographic data from field research, the case study includes a description of how the students in a rural Karnataka elementary school use their school's laptop. The school was situated in a small village where most travel was non-motorized. Walking, usually without shoes, was the main form of transportation. A bicycle was considered a luxury. Most villagers worked in the surrounding ragi and millet fields; laboring, often with only simple tool blades. Wood fires were the main source of fuel for cooking. In this village, the school's laptop became a prized possession. The case study offers a "thick description" (Geertz, 1973) of how the village school's students used the laptop for learning basic computing skills and for learning English. (As Provided).
Anmerkungen	Mercy College New York. 555 Broadway, Dobbs Ferry, NY 10522. Tel: 914-674-7350; Fax: 914-674-7351; Web site: http://ger.mercy.edu
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2020/1/01