What One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) promised but never delivered (namely, a laptop for under $100), it appears that David Braben and his Raspberry Pi Foundation is going to accomplish with a USB stick. It’s a computer you can fit in your pocket, and that costs around $25.
The implications for education in Brazil come to mind immediately. The government there already favors free, open source software. There’s a “free software portal” sponsored by the federal government and a remix of Kubuntu has been created for schools, dubbed “Linux Educacional.” One of my brothers-in-law is a high school chemistry teacher in Brazil and told me that there have been courses in using Linux made available for teachers. Since this USB-based computer apparently will ship with Ubuntu and likely run with many different GNU/Linux distros, I can see great possibilities here.
This isn’t to say that OLPC is a bad idea or that this device will fully replace that solution. Although the USB-stick will reportely cost about $25, that doesn’t include peripherals like a monitor, keyboard and mouse. This can be a good option for schools to save some money, though, and put the USB-sticks in the hands of students, leaving the other equipment in the classroom. Perhaps OLPC can focus on grade-school students, while the Raspberry Pi finds its way to high schoolers.
I especially appreciate Braden’s point about current school programs focusing more on how to run software rather than on true computer science. It’s my hope that a central aspect of any youth-focused community development work I do in Brazil will be programming/web development education. Brazil’s emerging grid can benefit greatly from talented, creative young people solving problems and creating great tech solutions, but they need the opportunity to really learn.
See Also:
Game developer David Braben creates a USB stick PC for $25 (Geek.com)
A 15 pound computer to inspire young programmers (BBC)
Tech Mission to Brazil’s Emerging Grid (IgneousQuill.org)
Project Cauã (IgneousQuill.org)

















