Will there be a continued focus on flashy but educationally suspect hardware? Could this the year Linux, lead by Ubuntu, breaks out? Can Windows 7 bring back the luster to Microsoft? Or will multi-platform Android make both moot?

Enough about technology – where is the educational breakthroughs? Will Constructionism flourish in 1:1 computer deployments? Can Open Content gain traction in curriculum development? Might teacher training actually get more than lip-service?

Finally, will we really stop wasting children on ICT4E assessments?

For the January Educational Technology Debate, we’ll take a fresh look at the low-cost information and communication technology trends emerging in 2010 and discuss what they mean for educational systems in the developing world.

To capture these trends in a holistic fashion, I’m soliciting commentary from each of you. What do YOU think are the top trends and their impact? Feel free to summit your thoughts and ideas in the comments below.

At the same time, if you find yourself with too much to say in a comment box – Stop! Email it to me instead and I’ll publish it as one of this month’s posts.

Don’t miss a moment of the action!

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First, by the end of 2009 OLPC should pass a stunning milestone – 1 million XO laptops deployed in over 40 countries around the world, almost all in 1:1 computer to child ratios. From full saturation in Uruguay and Peru, potentially high saturation in Rwanda, and multiple smaller deployments in almost every developing country, OLPC’s one computer per child educational model is having a tremendous impact on educators and students.

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Next, the humble XO laptop which was once ridiculed by the titans of technology, spawned the netbook. And the netbook is eating the computer market at a stunning growth rate. From essentially $0 sales in 2nd Quarter 2007 to $3 billion in sales – 20% of the entire portable computer market – in 2nd Quarter of 2009, netbook sales show no signs of slowing.

But OLPC has impact deeper and farther than just XO’s passed out or netbooks snapped up. Its changing education, technology, even culture in ways beyond any one person’s understanding. So this month’s Educational Technology Debate will take a different form than previous conversations.

To capture what we have learned from OLPC in a holistic fashion, I’m soliciting commentary from each of you. What do YOU think we’re learning from Negroponte’s wild idea of Constructionism via XO laptops?

Feel free to summit your thoughts and ideas in the comments below. At the same time, if you find yourself with too much to say in a comment box – stop! Email it to me instead and I’ll publish it as one of this month’s posts.

Related Links

• What Do We Know About OLPC Pilots Worldwide? – OLPC News
• What have we learned from OLPC pilots to date? – EduTech Blog
• OLPC Academic papers – OLPC Wiki

Don’t miss a moment of the action!

Subscribe now and get the latest articles from Educational Technology Debate sent directly to your inbox.