The little African country Rwanda has been displaying an enthusiasm towards adapting a new method of learning. Under the current Kagame administration, the country is now starting to use technology to enhance its overall development especially in terms of education and economic growth.

The country is currently the largest African customer for the OLPC, or the One Laptop Per Child movement. The Rwandan government has purchased a total of 120,000 white and green XO machines for its students. Every week, the New Times newspaper publishes a guide for children who are learning how to use these XOs. The children can also attend several drop-in seminars that are held every morning on Saturdays at a few cafes in the country’s capital, Kigali.

The Rwandan government also aims to increase the rate of computer literacy in the rural areas of the country. This effort made by the Rwandan government was characterized by several NGOs and charities as a big leap for the country towards the 21st century.

According to the OLPC vice president David Cavallo, the whole organization is all about promoting a new way of learning. The laptops, as he says, are only a means to an end. In Rwanda’s case, the government embraces the program in order prepare its entire population for more job opportunities in other countries.

There are quite a number of schools in Rwanda that are adapting to the new revolutionary way of teaching. Keeping in touch with technology in the classrooms encourages student participation or interaction. One of the main goals of the OLPC movement is to encourage children to develop basic skills, or better yet, interests for basic programming languages, as well as for digital journalism.

Although these young Rwandan students are not expected to come up with new computer programs in the near future, the end result or the long term effect of the program is still something for Rwanda to look forward to.