Sugata Mitra: The child-driven education

Sugata Mitra’s work was brought to my attention by one (or possibly both, I can’t quite remember now) of my supervisors. On the surface, it might not seem so closely related to video games and learning, but there are actually (I think) many interesting ideas and questions contained in Mitra’s work that connect it to the area in which I am interested. Not least, there is strong evidence of self-directed learning here and – perhaps even more significantly – the children involved in the learning are having fun.

Sugata Mitra's Beyond the Hole in the Wall: Discover the Power of Self-Organized Learning

Sugata Mitra's Beyond the Hole in the Wall: Discover the Power of Self-Organized Learning

The video below is short, but I am currently reading have just read Mitra’s TED book, Beyond the Hole in the Wall: Discover the Power of Self-Organized Learning, which also details the author’s efforts to educate children in rural India by simply placing an ATM-like, Internet-connected PC in the middle of the street. Local children – entirely unsupervised – first taught themselves how to use the computer, then began using the web browser to educate themselves about various topics (in English, it should be noted – not their native tongue). Mitra went on to expand on this idea, which the video illustrates.

While the book is also quite brief, it’s a really interesting read. I do wonder about how ‘deep’ some of the learning described by Mitra really is (would these children be able to apply Pythagoras’ theorem outside of the learning environment?*), but the results are impressive and the ‘Granny Cloud’ idea that followed on from the original Hole in the Wall work seems rather inspiredsee the video below, or check out the book, for more.

If I thought anyone was reading this blog, I would ask what others thought of Mitra’s approach. Am I being overly sceptical when I query the ‘deep learning’ on display here?

* I would be unable to apply Pythagoras’ theorem anywhere.