MR. LEE DIV. 5

  • LST Teacher Resources
    • Learning Disabilities Overview >
      • Dyslexia
      • Dyscalculia
      • Dysgraphia
      • Auditory processing disorder
      • Language processing disorder
      • Visual perceptual/visual motor deficit
      • Nonverbal learning disabilities.
    • Related disabilities >
      • Executive Functioning
      • ADHD
      • Dyspraxia
    • Universal Design for Learning
  • Subjects
    • English Language Arts
    • Math
    • Science
    • Socials
    • Physical and Health Education
    • Arts Education
    • Applied Design, Skills, and Technology
  • Student Resources
  • Rules and Expectations
  • Blog
  • Portfolio
  • LST Teacher Resources
    • Learning Disabilities Overview >
      • Dyslexia
      • Dyscalculia
      • Dysgraphia
      • Auditory processing disorder
      • Language processing disorder
      • Visual perceptual/visual motor deficit
      • Nonverbal learning disabilities.
    • Related disabilities >
      • Executive Functioning
      • ADHD
      • Dyspraxia
    • Universal Design for Learning
  • Subjects
    • English Language Arts
    • Math
    • Science
    • Socials
    • Physical and Health Education
    • Arts Education
    • Applied Design, Skills, and Technology
  • Student Resources
  • Rules and Expectations
  • Blog
  • Portfolio

Never. Stop. Learning.

A Hole in the Wall: The Secret to Learning?

4/21/2016

0 Comments

 
Picture
Can children learn entirely on their own? That was the question on Sugata Mitra’s mind back on January 29th, 1999, then science director of an educational technology firm in India. The experiment was simply placing a computer on the outside wall of the building where he worked facing one of the poorest slums in New Delhi. This endeavor became known as  the Hole in the Wall. The curious visitors were children who are unschooled and illiterate and most who had never seen a computer before. That computer had a video camera to record what was happening.

What he recorded was quite amazing. Children around the ages of 7 - 13 began to play with this curious device. They moved icons on the screen, used the touch pad, and once they discovered something, that information was passed on to another child. This was all done without any instruction from adults. Dozens of children were using the computer to play music and games, to draw with Microsoft Paint, and use other computer tasks. So was this simply an anomaly, a one-time event? Mitra and his colleagues repeated this experiment in other places in India, rural as well as urban, getting the same results. Often if they could not read, they managed to somehow learn English or Hindi through the computer. Mitra estimates for every computer setup, 300 children became computer literate within 3 months.

Was it a perfect system of learning? Maybe not. Some of the criticisms range from the the lack of evidence of actual improvement in math or other skills in the children; computers themselves falling eventually into disrepair without proper maintenance or management; and more of the children were older boys, so younger girls were often deprived of the experience.
​

Nonetheless, Mitral's experiments illustrate the three core aspects of our human nature: curiosity, playfulness and sociability. Curiosity was the force that pulled the children to the computer and motivated them to explore it. Playfulness motivated them to practice many computer skills, just for fun; while sociability allowed the children to share their knowledge with others, to create a community of shared learners.

(Source: Free to Learn, Peter Gray; Wikipedia, Sugata Mitra)

0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Daniel H. Lee

    This blog will be dedicated to sharing in three areas: happenings in my classroom and school; analysis and distillation of other educators' wealth of knowledge in various texts; insights from other disciplines and areas of expertise that relate and connect with educational practices.

    Archives

    September 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    October 2020
    September 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    February 2019
    January 2019
    November 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    October 2017
    August 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016

    Categories

    All
    21st Century Learning
    3 D Printing
    3-D Printing
    Aboriginal
    ADST
    Assessment
    Behavior
    Books
    Brain
    Business
    Coding
    Constructionism
    Creativity
    Curiosity
    Design
    Differentiated Learning
    Divergent Thinking
    DPA
    Engineering
    Executive Functioning
    FreshGrade
    Gender
    Genius Hour
    Growth Mindset
    Habits
    Inquiry Learning
    Intellectual Disability
    Journals
    Kahoot
    Learning Disabilities
    Maker Movement
    Math
    Memory
    Mindfulness
    Neuroplasticity
    People
    Personalized Learning
    Physical Health Education
    Play
    Plickers
    Professional Development
    Psychology
    Quote
    Reading
    Risk Taking
    Schools
    Science
    Social Emotional Learning
    Sports
    Storytelling
    Student Teacher
    Teaching Practice
    Technology
    Writing

    RSS Feed

I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.
Maya Angelou