Lab+Assignment+2

Is one laptop per child a neo colonial trojan horse?

===The term neo-colonial refers to strong and influential countries in the world. Trojan horse refers to the ancient grecian story where trojan soldiers hid in a large horse and presented it to another city and pretended that it was a gift from the gods. Overnight they came out of the horse and took over and destroyed the city. Therefore, using these terms critics are are viewing the ICT4D as a powerful corporation that is disguising itself as something beneficial such as laptops, however underlying this generosity and concern they are pushing and laying the foundation for western values.=== ===In my opinion the 'one laptop per child' program for students in developing countries is not a neo-colonial trojan horse. Even though they are from the US and people can perceive it is as an assimilation project, one must see the importance in exposing children who are not fortunate enough to technology and ways of present day. Exposing them to a brand new world will not only help and update their education, but it can also inspire them and create a network where there is easier access to their ways of life. From providing technology to underprivileged children from developing nations we are directly providing them a new way to access education, knowledge and are closing the digital divide. The digital divide is an important term to consider when factoring in the benefits of providing children with laptops from developing nations. The digital divide is the gap between the people who are knowledgeable with using technology and those who are not. Instead of viewing it from a negative perspective, I believe that people should weigh in the benefits of teaching those who would otherwise not have this opportunity to work with technology. As mentioned before it gives them a wide array of opportunities and will help them in all aspect of their lives.===