The OLPC project in 13 Pacific countries

The OLPC project in 13 Pacific countries

Wellington - Through the program One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) or a laptop for a child, as many as 30 countries in the Pacific islands receive the 1000 laptop. The program is expected to improve the learning activities that teach more effectively in primary schools.

Told by the Secretariat of Pacific Community Programming Coordinator, Ian Thomson, that the OLPC project said this will change the way people teach.

"Most of the time learning how to use this system that is based entirely on the teachers, where teachers and students to provide information only heed and listen," said Thomson, as quoted from Xinhua, Tuesday (16/6/2009).

"By using the laptop, every child will be to think. This will change the system to be learning on students and teachers as pembimbingnya," added Thomson.

During the nine months, the project has distributed laptop and update teaching in primary schools in Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Niue and Nauru.

This year, Thomson plans to add eight more countries to integrate into laptop learning program. Eight countries that OLPC is targeting to become the Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Palau, Tonga, Fiji, Tokelau, Tuvalu and Samoa.

The program is deliberately target only a few schools in the islands so that each student and each teacher received a laptop that can be more controlled.

Each laptop has a price range of USD189. Jinjing this computer run with open source operating system. In including software for games, puzzles, music, multimedia, dictionary and encyclopedia.