Four years ago, Nicholas Negroponte introduced the world to the "One Laptop Per Child" idea at WSIS by showing off a "$100 laptop" with UN Secretary General Kofi Annan. The educational and technology fields haven't been the same since.

More than photos of XO + kids - impact

First, by the end of 2009 OLPC should pass a stunning milestone - 1 million XO laptops deployed in over 40 countries around the world, almost all in 1:1 computer to child ratios.

From full saturation in Uruguay and Peru, potentially high saturation in Rwanda, and multiple smaller deployments in almost every developing country, OLPC's one computer per child educational model is having a tremendous impact on educators and students.

Next, the humble XO laptop which was once ridiculed by the titans of technology, spawned the netbook. And the netbook is eating the computer market at a stunning growth rate. From essentially $0 sales in 2nd Quarter 2007 to $3 billion in sales - 20% of the entire portable computer market - in 2nd Quarter of 2009, netbook sales show no signs of slowing.

But OLPC has impact deeper and farther than just XO's passed out or netbooks snapped up. Its changing education, technology, even culture in ways beyond anyone's expectations.

So for the month of December, look for posts about OLPC impact in two forums:

• OLPC News
  We'll have a Guest Posts on OLPC News all month long around OLPC impact.
  Sumbit a Guest Post today!


• Educational Technology Debate
  This month's conversation is focused just on what we've learned from OLPC.
  Join the EduTechDebate now!

Related Links

• What Do We Know About OLPC Pilots Worldwide? - OLPC News
• What have we learned from OLPC pilots to date? - EduTech Blog
• OLPC Academic papers - OLPC Wiki