The One Laptop Per Child Project and the negotiation of technological meaning

Authors

  • Brendan Luyt

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5210/fm.v13i6.2144

Keywords:

One Laptop Per Child, digital divide, development, information technology, Nicholas Negroponte, actor-network theory

Abstract

In this article I use actor–network theory to make sense of some of the characteristics given to the XO by the OLPC Project; namely its immense scale, the involvement of educational bureaucracies (and the contradictions this entails), the role of children and the open source software community. I also identify several social forces that will likely shape the direction this technology takes. The future of the XO is, as a result of these forces, by no means certain. What will help determine the trajectory it takes is how willing the OLPC team is to further negotiate the meaning of this new technology.

Author Biography

Brendan Luyt

Assistant Professor Division of Information Studies Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information Nanyang Technological University

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Published

2008-04-26

How to Cite

Luyt, B. (2008). The One Laptop Per Child Project and the negotiation of technological meaning. First Monday, 13(6). https://doi.org/10.5210/fm.v13i6.2144

Issue

Section

Articles