As the world becomes increasingly technologically dependent, the use of computers in classrooms has become more beneficial. One university in Massachusetts is developing a durable $100 laptop computer that may be mass produced for thousands of children around the world.
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology recently updated the development of a self-reliant and durable laptop for children. The computer’s A-C adapter would double as the carrying strap and a hand crank could be used power the machine if no electricity were available. Every minute of winding would power the machine for 10 minutes.
The laptop is encased in rubber to resist damage from spillage or simply dropping the computer. Felix Browne, a spokesman for Gov. Mitt Romney, said mobility and durability were the most essential aspects of the machine.
“Nicholas Negroponte, who is the co-founder of the MIT Media Lab, indicated that the construction of the laptops would be significantly reinforced because the expectation with this program is to have these students take these computers wherever they go,” he said. “Whether they’re in class, or whether it’s after class: in a study hall, in the library doing work, bringing them home or if they’re doing work on the school bus.”
The MIT Media Lab, founded in 1985, has always been developing ways to educate children and using technology as a tool for learning, Kahn said. She added that researchers have been working on the laptop project for several years.
“Technology is now possible to produce this laptop and our ability to produce new technology as well has made this $100 laptop possible,” she said.
The developing laptop may be carried like slim lunchbox and can be folded into various positions. The screen may be able to switch from full color to glare-resistant black and white for reading outside. In the future, researchers hope to develop a display made from Electronic Ink, a type of display low in cost and requiring little power.
The laptops would be able to connect to Wi-Fi wireless networks and be part of a mesh-like relay system in which each laptop would relay data to and from other devices, eliminating high expenses required to build base stations.
Despite the updated plans involving the development of new technologies, Kahn admitted that nothing was set in stone.
“Some technology is more effective in terms of energy so we had to develop our own to serve our purposes,” Kahn said. “But everything is likely to change as we get closer to the final prototype and finalize the display of the screen.”
To further reduce the cost of the laptop, MIT researchers may use the freely available Linux operating system as opposed to Microsoft Windows, Kahn said.
“The laptop is aimed to serve a dual mode,” Kahn said. “It can be used as an e-book to download and read text, which is very low power and to use graphics, images and software. We anticipate both uses to be effective.”
The announcement coincides with Romney’s local education reform plan to provide laptops to students in the Commonwealth, but the project is global, and is targeted at developing countries under Negroponte’s One Laptop per Child initiative.
The idea for the $100 laptop began when Negroponte saw the benefits of providing children in Cambodia with notebook computers they could take home, which were donated by his nonprofit initiative.
Alexandra Kahn, spokeswoman for MIT’s Media Lab, said the project was not intended for schools in the United States, but rather for developing countries where children do not have as many opportunities to get high-tech educational equipment.
Brazil, Thailand and China have shown the most interest in the laptop and Kahn said she hoped this product would open up a world of opportunity to these children.
The laptops are not and will not be available for purchase by individuals. According to Kahn, the laptops will be marketed directly to ministries of education in million-computer-shipments so they can be distributed like textbooks.
In order to undermine the potential for the laptops being sold on the black market, Negroponte suggested in a recent Associated Press article that the machines would be so pervasive in schools and made with a such a distinctive style that it would be a known exclusive item for students and teachers. He compared it to stealing a mail truck. Browne said Romney’s initiative grew from the development of the laptops.
“The inspiration for the governor, including this laptop initiative in his education reform legislation, came from the MIT media lab’s One Laptop per Child initiative,” he said. “He proposed in the legislation to furnish every middle and high school student with a laptop that they could certainly use during their education. At the conclusion of their secondary education, they could keep the laptops.”
Once the development of the laptop is completed, the governor’s education reform plan would be closer to realization, but Browne said that does not mean the machines will come from the same manufacturer that producer the MIT laptop.
“Within the state, there are state bidding laws, and there would have to be an open bidding process,” he said. “Any number of suppliers could potentially bid on this contract. It could be a Dell or it could be an IBM or it could be a different manufacturer. They’re not necessarily the same manufacturer as MIT is dealing with.”
Nicholas Negroponte is expected to show the working prototype at the World Summit on the Information Society workshop on November 17 and said he hopes to have 15 million computers in production within a year.
Kahn said the unveiling of the design last week “made [the laptop] real for people.”
“This will be an important milestone in the production and there will be more development to come,” she said. “By the end of 2006, MIT hopes to be done with the design and anticipate distribution shortly after.”
The $100 laptop MIT is developing is not the only damage resistant portable computer in the works.
The “Toughbook,” produced by Panasonic, offers a practically indestructible laptop casing that’s also water resistant. Advancements in computer technology and hardware are gradually strengthening laptops, making them more resistant to normal real-life damage.
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