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Computers, Children and the Digital Divide

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This is the VOA SpecialEnglish Development Report, from http://voaspecialenglish.com | http://facebook.com/voalearningenglishMarket researchers estimate that more than one billion personal computers are in use worldwide. Availability has improved in developing countries, but still remains limited compared to industrialized nations. Experts continue to debate how best to
close this digital divide.
Nicholas Negroponte established
the One Laptop Per Child project
in two thousand five. He would
like to put a low-cost laptop in
the hands of every child, especially those living in extreme poverty.
His nonprofit organization has shipped its specially designed laptop to developing countries around the world.
He says it is already in the
hands of more than one million children in thirty-one countries
and nineteen languages.
"And one country, Uruguay, has just completed doing every single child in the country," he says.
But the program has critics.
They say trying to supply every child with a laptop, evenat the current price of one hundred sixty dollars, is costly and inefficient.
Stephen Dukker also makes low-cost computers. But his can run programs and applications for several students at once. He says these "virtual desktops" lower costs, reduce energy use and lessen the need for technical support.
His company NComputing says it has set up over forty thousand networks in more than one hundred countries.
Stephen Dukker says all you need to connect to a network is a keyboard and monitor. "You think you've got your own computer all to yourself," he says. Instead, users are sharing the resource and doing it at a much lower cost than having their own PC.
As computers reach more children in developing countries, so too in many cases is the Internet. It can be a great educational tool. But children also need to learn about the possible threats that can be found on social networks and other sites.
Mark Matunga is with Microsoft East Africa in Kenya. He says poverty
may put African children especially at risk. They are being told
"Hey, you know what? I can send
you a few dollars. I can come and visit you. I can buy you a ticket. You come to my country."
His company is working with the Kenyan government and a children's rights group. Mark Matunga says
the coalition is trying to educate the public about how to protect children from online abuse.

And that's the VOA Special
English Development Report, available on Twitter and
Facebook at VOA Learning English.

(Adapted from a radio program broadcast 12Apr2010)
Category
Education
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