Giving Kids a Chance to Learn

Is the availability of a computer all that’s needed to improve a child’s education? Apparently so, according to the experience of Newcastle University professor Sugata Mitra, the man behind the Hole in the Wall learning project in India and Africa. The project began with the installation of Internet-connected computers in publicly accessible walls throughout New Delhi slums. Today the project boasts 500 computers in walls across India and Africa (Uganda). The giant screens are located in spaces easily observed by passerby, a visibility that limits the likelihood of children visiting in appropriate sites. And because the screens are so large, the children can work in groups and see easily without loss of concentration.

In Africa and India it became apparent to Professor Mitra that children with little or no access to serious education are able to “work by themselves” and teach themselves English, computing and math. Professor Mitra has now been invited to offer a similar “self-activated” learning experience to children in northeast England.

Similar to the learning that is said to take place in the special Microsoft schools in North America, this special “Hole in the Wall” program strives to “encourage individual learning” and “give children interesting questions to look into independently,” sparking curiosity among the youngsters. The program asks students to work in small groups and find answers to science-related questions such as how animals adapt to their environments, how the human body works, and physics (“Why do we slip on wet surfaces?” for example).

Why is the Hole in the Wall being adapted for use in English schools? Educators answer that the Internet is already easily accessible for most British children, which makes them less motivated when in the traditional classroom where information is not instantly accessible and just as quickly forgotten. The English version of the Hole in the Wall focuses on the use of already available computers in conjunction with carefully planned lessons. “It could be a whole new way of schooling,” said Professor Mitra. “Technology has given children the potential to be far more independent at learning, and we should embrace that,” he added.

Meanwhile, in India the Hole in the Wall project has added a new dimension of learning through the use of Skype to enable teachers in England to instruct children in the subcontinent. Last year Professor Mitra called for volunteers in the United Kingdom to read stories via Skype to children in Hyderabad. Some 200 readers volunteered their services, including a number of retired teachers who “were upset at the thought of having finished their careers” and now “have realized they’re more important than ever.” Professor Mitra hopes to grow this program globally, and is still looking for a future “cloud” of retired teachers who can serve as “Skype grannies” dedicated to teaching English and reading stories to children. Professor Mitra is also expanding his search for experienced math and science teachers to work with students in Hyderabad.

(Read the full article “Slumdog Academic’s ‘Hole in theWall’ Propject Piloted in UK” at the Taipei Times newspaper online.

Learn more about the Project at:

The Hole in the Wall

and

UNESCO