$10 Laptop

I recently read a blog posted by Scott McLeod titled “A $10 laptop?”   Obviously the title caught my eye.  I was thinking… 10 bucks for a laptop?!  There’s got to be a catch!   Apparently India is on a mission to create a $10 laptop that will have 2 GB of RAM, Ethernet, and Wi-Fi.  India’s National Mission on Education through Information and Communication Technology wants to expand digital literacy, create wireless access to rural areas, and provide free or low-cost access to online content.  Wow, they are setting the bar high!  Unfortunately at this time it is not possible for them to design such a computer at such a low cost.  However, the thing that really grabbed my interest and made me reflect was the fact India is making an effort to promote digital literacy to Everyone, .  What a paradigm shift!   Can you imagine someone living in a rural area suddenly having access to such a wealth of information? Of course there are huge logistics to overcome (I read somewhere else that the Wi-Fi maybe provided via busses traveling through certain areas-thus the connections would be intermittent. But the sudden introduction of technology to a group of people reminds me of how some people living in 3rd world and developing countries have gone from never having a phone (landline), to suddenly having and using a mobile phone.  It makes me doubt that there is a hierarchy of tech skills that we need to know in order to use tools of the future.  For example, I never learned how to effectively use MS DOS, but I feel rather proficient with basic word processing skills and tools.  Fortunately the engineers, code writers, etc. are making technology tools more user friendly for the masses (especially Mac in my opinion).  However, it is important to remember that even though a tool can be easy to use, it is far more important on how the tool is being used.  That is the reason why digital literacy skills (i.e. accessing and using information with a critical eyes) are a necessary and crucial step in empowering people with today’s technology.  After all a child can do a lot of damage with a hammer, but a carpenter can create a masterpiece.