An OLPC Workshop in Rural Tanzania: Preliminary Results

Abstract

One-to-one computing is an active and widely researched topic in educational technology. Its benefits include, for instance, easily up datable material base, anywhere-anytime learning, adaptability, and simulated experiments in science. The use of one-to-one computing in a developing country context has recently become an active research topic. However, the materialization of the educational benefits requires proper contextualization regarding the necessary pedagogical, organizational, institutional, and other types of adaptation. This paper presents preliminary results from an action research study in a primary school in rural Tanzania. In that study, the utilization of one-to-one computing in a combination with modern pedagogical approaches to teach ICT and health care topics was studied.