Sixth International School On Mind, Brain And Education
2011 August 3-7
Education in the
Digital Era
Directors: Antonio M. Battro and Kurt W. Fischer
Program officer: María Lourdes Majdalani
Paraguay Educa, Paraguay
One to one computing: reducing the knowledge gap in Paraguay
Paraguay is facing a historic moment given its “demographic bonus”. The demographic bonus refers to the productiveness of a country and its growth in proportion to the working force population. I will propose that Paraguay can take advantage of its current demographic bonus by investing in the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) initiative. In 2009-2010, the Inter-American Development Bank financed an external evaluation of the OLPC Project in the city of Caacupé. The report concluded stating that the initial results had the potential of transforming the education system in Paraguay if the project were taken to a nation-wide scale. My presentation will address the bottom up strategies used for the deployment of the project and the impacts achieved in its three dimensions: education, technology and community development.