The sods must be crazy: OLPC to drop tablets from helicopters to isolated villages

The One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) project has devised a bizarre plan for deploying its new XO-3 tablet. The organization plans to drop the touchscreen computers from helicopters near remote villages in developing countries. The devices will then be abandoned and left for the villagers to find, distribute, support, and use on their own. OLPC founder Nicholas Negroponte is optimistic that the portable devices -- which will be stocked with electronic books -- will empower children to learn to read without any external support or instruction. The strange scheme reflects the OLPC project’s roots in constructivist education theory, which emphasizes self-directed learning.