Dr
Sugata Mitra, a professor of Educational Technology at the School of
Education, Communication and Language Sciences at Newcastle University,
UK has bagged TED’s annual prize of $1 million that gives an exceptional
individual the chance to conceive and launch a high-impact project.
Dr
Mitra is well known for his “hole-in-the-wall” experiment that
pioneered the concept of giving computer education to slum children. Dr
Mitra said that he will use the prize money to launch a global
initiative for self-directed learning toolkit for schools and families.
According to “My wish is to help design the future of learning by supporting children all over the world to tap into their innate sense of wonder and work together. Help me build the School in the Cloud, a learning lab in India, where children can embark on intellectual adventures by engaging and connecting with information and mentoring online,” he said.
Mitra developed the concept of the Cloud from his 1999 “hole in the wall” experiment, in which he carved a hole from his research center into an adjoining Delhi slum.
He placed a freely accessible computer in this hole, and found that groups of street children, with no prior experience or knowledge of English, could teach themselves how to use the computer.
For the next ten years, Mitra expanded on his findings and created a “granny cloud” – online moderators of retired teachers – who could Skype into learning centers and encourage children with questions and assignments.
Mitra also developed the concept of Self Organised Learning Environments which embraces a process where educators ask the kids big questions, leading them on intellectual journeys rather than asking them to just memorize facts.
0 comments:
Post a Comment