The work of Sugata Mitra
In 1999, Professor Sugata Mitra was leading a team of researchers at the MIIT research facility in New Delhi. His research facility bordered an urban slum.
Sugata and his colleagues were interested in solving how the rural impoverished children of India might access an education. They decided to conduct an experiment using technology, knocked a hole in the wall, installed an internet-connected PC and left it there with a hidden camera filming the area.
At that time their observations were quite surprising. Children began using the computer and appeared to be teaching themselves what to do. That famous experiment quickly became know as the "Hole in the Wall".
The surprising results challenged some key assumptions about formal education.
His creative focus on the possibilities of the internet and computing in providing access to learning and education has inspired many and opened the doors to different thinking and possibilities.
The work continues with educators around the world seeking more relevant methods of engaging their students. We can all learn and transform our own education systems.
Sugata and his colleagues were interested in solving how the rural impoverished children of India might access an education. They decided to conduct an experiment using technology, knocked a hole in the wall, installed an internet-connected PC and left it there with a hidden camera filming the area.
At that time their observations were quite surprising. Children began using the computer and appeared to be teaching themselves what to do. That famous experiment quickly became know as the "Hole in the Wall".
The surprising results challenged some key assumptions about formal education.
His creative focus on the possibilities of the internet and computing in providing access to learning and education has inspired many and opened the doors to different thinking and possibilities.
The work continues with educators around the world seeking more relevant methods of engaging their students. We can all learn and transform our own education systems.
