About the Case Study

OLE Nepal has implemented a One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) pilot project during the lacademic year 2009-10. The project was implemented in 26 schools in six districts spread across various geographic and socio-ethnic communities in partnership with central and local government agencies. Nearly 2000 students from grades 2, 3 and 6 in the program schools received laptops that contained curriculum based interactive learning software while 125 teachers received ten days of training on how to integrate technology in daily teaching learning process. Each of the schools were equipped with a school server containing a digital library that, along with access points, formed a school network. Few of the schools also had Internet connection. Together with a smaller test project in two schools during the previous year (2008-09), OLE Nepal has more than two years of hands-on knowledge about the challenges of introducing technology in rural schools employing the one-to-one model. While this model has a lot of merits, there are many enabling conditions that are required to truly realize the full potential of a large investment such as the OLPC project.

The case presentation will include a review of the methods used to evaluate the cost effectiveness of the project and the preliminary findings of the project outcomes.  The case presentation will also review the project’s experiences in teacher preparation and participation, maintenance and support needs, community involvement, and the technical and bureaucratic difficulties faced in developing the local and central capacity to undertake technology-integrated programs in a larger scale.

About the Presenter

Rabi Karmacharya 

Rabi Karmacharya is a social entrepreneur who helped launch OLE Nepal with the vision of transforming Nepal's public education by integrating technology in the classroom and giving children the tools and platform necessary to learn and excel. Born and brought up in Kathmandu, Rabi is committed to help build Nepal's economic foundation by improving education quality and access while reducing disparity in the education system. He has extensive experience in technological innovation and management, and a conviction that young educated Nepalis have a critical role to play in nation-building. Rabi holds B.Sc. and M.Eng. in Electrical Engineering from MIT. He worked at 3Com Corporation in Santa Clara, California for three years as a design engineer prior to his return to Nepal, where he co-founded HimalayanTechies, one of the first successful software outsourcing companies in Nepal.