The One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) programme, in partnership with the Ministry
of Education, has opened a week-long documentary camp aimed at teaching children
on holiday, how to use their laptops in making documentaries.
Using OLPC’s XO learning laptops, primary school children are being taught
how to make documentaries from their own perspective, a project dubbed, ‘A day
in the life.’
OLPC is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to help
provide every child in the world with access to modern education and Rwanda is
considered one of the success stories in implementing the programme.
In an exclusive interview, the OLPC Country
Manager, Sam Dusengiyumva, said that the holiday programme, in which 34 children
are participating, is providing tangible practical skills to the children.
“Not only is it providing a fun and interactive environment for the children
during their holidays, it is teaching advanced concepts of tangible skills that
the pupils will remain with long after the camp,” he said.
Dusengiyumva added that his organization is looking forward to extend this
holiday initiative to all the schools that are running the OLPC programme in the
near future.
After the camp, the children’s documentary footage will be
edited to accompany footage made by the OLPC to create a full length documentary
that will be shown at a high profile premiere.
“It will serve as an example of Rwandan culture and the possibilities
inherent in an advanced learning environment where every child owns their own
laptop,” Dusengiyumva said.
The camp, having only run for three days so far, is already bearing creative
fruit, he said.
“Children have made an ocean sized reservoir of promising ideas, from making
animated versions of their morning routine, to capturing the antics of animals,
to even exhibiting the preparation of a fruit salad.”
Dusengiyumva says that it is safe to say that the talent of Rwanda’s
brightest is not just on show but burning with passion.
“Already the children are talking of how they will use the skills they’ve
gained this week to make more advanced film projects, such as action movies and
talk shows,” he said.
According to Blaise Shyaka a primary six pupil, the
camp is an exciting place where he has already learnt a lot of things.
“I am doing a documentary project on how to avoid AIDS by collecting all the
necessary information on the disease so that I can use it to teach my friends
its dangers,” explained Shyaka.
Rwanda which is home to the Global Center for Excellence in Laptops and
Learning, currently has over 40, 000 laptops distributed to primary school
children around the country.
According to Ministry of Education, 65, 000
laptops will have been distributed before end of this year.
The Government of Rwanda has committed to providing all 2.2 million of its
primary school children with laptops by 2012 and to serving as a model for other
countries.
New Times
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