The Wikipedia article I have chosen is titled “One Laptop per Child”, found at URL : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_Laptop_per_Child. This article expands on the mission of the One Laptop per Child project and OLCP device, along with detailing the project/device’s history and common criticisms. This article first published on Wikipedia in July of 2005, is comprised of over forty eight references. The One Laptop per Child project is an interesting concept with a very empowering mission, yet has been questioned and criticized since its creation. I chose the OLPC as my topic because I thought it would be interesting to see whether Wikipedia would be informative, yet remain neutral and address this topic in an “encyclopedic” manner.

              This article stems from many different references, mainly drawing upon news articles, press releases, and product descriptions from credible news organizations and companies from around the world. The overall presentation of the article is done in a very informative and factual manner, which chronicles the project very well overtime. It is thorough on the projects roots and purpose, including its many developers and participants over the projects history. This article gave me an in depth understanding of the OLPC without necessarily causing me to react or take a stance on the mission or device. After understanding the mission and history of the device, I found the most important part of this article was the description of the common criticisms surrounding the project and device itself. There has been a large amount of debate over the device, mission, and implementation of the OLPC, which makes informing readers of this a must. Without presenting these common criticisms in the article I believe it would be a biased article. Omitting this important analysis would only allow readers to see the pros of the project and not the cons. In some of the criticisms the article even went to the extent of giving quotes from the opposing side which allowed both sides a fair chance at defending their stance. Overall, I found Wikipedia to be an informative reference for the controversial OLPC which was factual, yet balanced, even when critiquing the project/device.

             The second article on the OLPC which I found via ProQuest’s online database is titled “Laptop Computers for Third World Students”. This article was written by Alan Pierce for the Education Digest in February of 2008. This article, similar to the one found on Wikipedia, gives background history of the project and information describing the device itself, but does so in a much less in depth report. Although this article remains informative throughout, it frames the device in a very innovative and optimistic manner. Nowhere in this article does the author even attempt to include any drawbacks or critiques of the OLPC device or the projects overall mission. The author writes a credible article by using factual information and statistics, as well as direct quotes from intellectual sources, but presents all pros and no cons.

              In the end, I found Wikipedia to give a much more in depth and impartial understanding of the device and common commentary surrounding the OLPC. Given the controversial nature of this topic, I was surprised as to how neutral the Wikipedia article remained throughout. This not only gave me more faith in Wikipedia as an informative resource, but also showed me how collaboration from both sides of an issue can create neutrality.

 

Citations

One Laptop per Child. (2008, February 15). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 21:18, February 15, 2008, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=One_Laptop_per_Child&oldid=191578310

Pierce, Alan. (2008, February). Laptop Computers for Third World Students. The Education Digest, 73(6), 58-59.  Retrieved February 13, 2008, from ProQuest Online database. (Document ID: 1417848361).