Learn to Play and Play to Learn: Evaluation of the One Laptop per Child Program in Costa Rica

Abstract

The One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) initiative is one of the worldˈs most popular interventions aiming to reduce the Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) digital divide. Costa Rica introduced its first OLPC program in February 2012. In collaboration with the Quirós Tanzi Foundation (Foundation), implementing the program, baseline and post-intervention information was collected from a set of 15 primary schools that were selected to be treated, and from 19 primary schools that served as a comparison group. Using a difference in difference design, this paper estimates the short-term effects of the program on various outcomes of interest, namely: studentsˈ computer usage, time allocation and test scores. The results indicate that the program led to an increase in treated studentsˈ computer use outside of school of about 5 hours per week. Moreover, the research provides evidence that the treated students used the computer specifically to browse the internet, do homework, read and play. The research also demonstrates that the program led to a decline in the time that treated students spent on homework and outdoor activities. The research does not provide evidence to suggest that the program had an effect on participating studentsˈ school performance.

The effect of internet services on child education outcomes: evidence frompoa! Internetin Kenya

“…This requires regulation by internet providers in addition to supervision by guardians or adults. The results are consistent with previous studies (Malamud et al 2019;Cristia, Czerwonko, and Garofalo 2010;Malamud and Pop-Eleches 2011;Meza-Cordero 2017;Bet, Cristia, and Ibarrarán 2014) showing that increase in access to ICT increases digital skills.…”

“…In Table 3, Panel B, Columns 2 and 3, the study finds no gendered treatment effect on school attendance. On the broader study on ICT and education outcomes, the findings on school attendance are contrary to those of Banerjee et al (2007) and Kho, Lakdawala, and Nakasone (2018) who found that investment in ICT infrastructure increases education outcomes; but are in line with previous studies (Angrist and Lavy 2002;Malamud et al 2019;Cristia, Czerwonko, and Garofalo 2010;Malamud and Pop-Eleches 2011;Meza-Cordero 2017;Bet, Cristia, and Ibarrarán 2014) that found that investment in ICT infrastructure has limited impacts on education outcomes.…”

Re‐evaluating the behavioral change from conditional cash transfers: Evidence from the Avancemos National Program in Costa Rica

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Digital Literacy and Long-Term Labor Outcomes

“…The author argues that the lack of complementary infrastructure, teacher support, and maintenance hinders the effectiveness of the program and is cause of OLPC failure. For the case of the OLPC intervention in Costa Rica, Meza-Cordero (2017) showed that after one year of laptop provision and adequate support structure, students increased their computer usage both in school and at home, allocated less time to homework and outdoor activities, and did not increase their school performance.…”