This is in response to your general challenge (in the ETD debate)  regarding  evidence of  "how technology has significantly had a positive effect on student ability in the developed nations, aside from technoliteracy." - which I confess I misread as developing and not developed nations

And this response is not precisely about positive effect on 'student ability' either - but rather about positive effect on 'learning'.

I do believe ICT is providing wonderful new opportunities for learning - but not always in the ways that people expect.  So I share a true story of how ICT was used for practical learning which helped when cholera threatened. http://learnbydoinguk.blogspot.com/2009/01/tom-ricardo-and-life-saving-learning.html

I hope it's not too far off topic but I find your ideas and challenges interesting, and regarding OLPC and most other "elearning" debates I am keen to widen the thinking beyond formal education systems to include non-formal learning. I think the cholera story is relevant to OLPC because OLPC is based on the idea of enabling people to find things out for themselves.

Pamela