TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--GoGoNews (www.gogonews.com), the online news resource for children, today announced that One Laptop Per Child (OLPC), the non-profit organization whose mission is to provide every child in the world access to new channels of learning, sharing and self-expression, will feature GoGoNews in the collection of default applications on new XO computers. School children ages 7-12 from around the globe will have access to the GoGoNews application from their OLPC device, regardless of Internet connectivity, and be empowered with the ability to read filtered headline news, as well as art, cultural and science coverage. Fun and entertaining extracurricular offerings such jokes and puzzles will also be available.
GoGoNews will develop a custom, Linux-based browser specifically for use on OLPC XO devices, which are provided to governments at all levels, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and other private sector organizations and distributed to schools and to students. The application will feature default starter content that can be accessed offline, enabling students to read relevant, informative news clips at any given time. Content, available in both English and Spanish, will automatically be updated from the GoGoNews web site whenever an Internet connection is available. Students can customize the application to receive news and content specific to their interests by completing preset profile fields.
“We are honored and proud to help facilitate the OLPC mission of empowering children through education,” said Golnar Khosrowshahi, founder and editor in chief of GoGoNews. “Together we will equip children with relevant technology and content, regardless of location, to promote learning and understanding, not just of academics, but of people, countries and cultures.”
Launched in 2006, GoGoNews delivers a free weekly e-newsletter and daily updates to www.GoGoNews.com that curate top news stories from around the world and report important historical milestones and scientific developments. The subsequent content is designed to pique the interests of and spur conversation among the thousands of children, parents and teachers that currently subscribe to GoGoNews. Subscribers use the content to not only become informed, but also as a launch pad for discussions, lessons and debates at home, in the classroom and in online forums at www.GoGoNews.com.
“OLPC seeks to integrate the best hardware, content and software for collaborative, joyful, and self-empowered learning,” said Claudia Urea, Director of Learning for One Laptop per Child. “GoGoNews will contribute to this goal by making content available and encouraging children to share their thoughts, feelings and opinions about what is going on around them, whether it is in their immediate community, or on the other side of the globe. These will provide the bases for communication and collaboration among children from different deployments in the world.”
Development of the GoGoNews application for OLPC XO laptops will be completed by February 2011, with implementation expected soon thereafter.
About GoGo News
GoGoNews was started in 2006 by Golnar Khosrowshahi, who had a desire to inform her twin daughters, and all children, of the world around them in an educational and non-threatening way. Since its inception, GoGoNews has provided children with general knowledge as well as a consciousness and awareness of the world, regardless of geography or culture. Khosrowshahi attributes her Iranian-born heritage, United States education with advanced degrees, child-rearing in North America, entrepreneur experience, and international philanthropic efforts to her interest and acceptance of different communities, cultures and customs and aims to encourage young people to share this open mindedness through GoGoNews. GoGoNews provides parents and educators with subject matter to start a conversation with children and a safe means by which to deal with the harsh realities of the world in which we live. Most importantly, GoGoNews is fun!
About One Laptop per Child
One Laptop per Child (OLPC at http://www.laptop.org) is a non-profit organization whose mission is to provide every child in the world access to new channels of learning, sharing and self-expression. In partnership with the public and private sectors and non-governmental organizations and supported by comprehensive implementation and pedagogical services, OLPC seeks to provide each child with a rugged, low-cost, low-power connected laptop that empowers individual learning and growth.