Hole in the wall

I recently read Dr. Sugata Mitra’s experiment of “Hole in the wall” and how kids living in the slum of India learned basic computer skills on their own. An interesting experiment suggesting how kids in young age are motivated to self learning and picks up the needed computer skills on their own — while adults require hand holding to accomplish the same skills. I am sure this is a generalization — but where does this fire in the belly to learn and be self-motivated goes away as kids become adults?

Anyway, this effort has great potential to help poor kids who otherwise would not have access to computers. Based on the success of Dr. Mitra’s earlier experiment, “Hole in the wall” is expanding its effort. They are making computers available more broadly across poor neighborhoods now spanning in India and Cambodia.

Here is an old interview of Dr. Mitra about his experiment.