OLPC arrives in remote Australian schools

Stephen Withers
Wednesday, 27 May 2009 09:53

Your IT - Home IT

The Northern Territory has seen the formal launch of One Laptop Per Child deployments in Australia.

OLPC XO systems have been deployed at Shepherdson College and Newcastle Waters School in the Northern Territory, and at Rawa Communty School in Western Australia.

"As a remote, Indigenous primary school, we face many unique challenges from getting the kids to even come to school," said Bryan Hughes, principal of Shepherdson College.

"OLPC's program has lifted attendance and added a valuable teaching tool. It is making life easier for the teachers, and more enjoyable for the students," he added.

One Laptop Per Child Australia (OLPCA) has - with the assistance of the Commonwealth Bank - been training teachers and installing servers since March so that schools can make the best use of the XOs.

The bank is also funding an Australian Council for Educational Research study of the initial deployments that will help guide rollouts in other locations.

"We are committed to ensuring the sustainability of this initiative and to having a long-term impact on the education opportunities of these children," said Michael Harte, CBA's CIO and group executive for enterprise services.

And there are more XO deployments to come, so please read on.