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the-south-asian.com September 2004 |
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September
2004 Heritage
Salman
Ahmed - yet Indo-Pak TV Culture
Lifestyle
Lehngas - a limited collection Books Between
Heaven and Hell
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'HOLE IN THE WALL' by Avinash Kalla
In an amazing experiment a Delhi-based IT professional has proved that kids can learn computer skills on their own. Over the years the results of Dr. Mitra’s experiments have been so spectacular that the National Geographic Channel has made a film on his unique research.
Though the young man knew little about computers, he curiously went near the monitor and began playing with the touch pad attached to it. He scrolled it down and was surprised to see the images changing rapidly on the screen. The boy thought he was all alone but little did he realize that a bespectacled man was observing him keenly through a zoom lens. After minutes of excited surfing when the boy accidentally clicked the mouse, the man clapped his hands in glee. It was the culmination of an idea that unlettered kids don’t need to be taught. They can learn themselves. "I had presented this idea at a seminar in 1988. This boy proved my conviction right," says Dr. Sugata Mitra, Chief Scientist, at India’s National Institute of Information Technology (NIIT). "If you remember, in 1988 Microsoft had not developed Windows-based computing and people at the seminar didn’t take me seriously. But I was to be proved right," says Dr. Mitra who later installed a high-speed computer in a hole-in-the-wall separating his Delhi office from an adjacent slum. Again, to his surprise he discovered that the slum kids quickly taught themselves how to surf the Internet, read news and download games and music. Dr. Mitra then replicated the experiment in other locations, with the same results---within hours the children would teach themselves how to use the Net. National Geographic Film Over the years the results of Dr. Mitra’s experiments have been so spectacular that the National Geographic Channel has made a film on his unique research.
However, Dr. Mitra did not sit back after completing his project. His next big challenge was to do a comparative study across the country and collect data that would reveal how the programme could be run and monitored successfully. He made a presentation to the World Bank which gave $1.6 million for the $ 3 million project. The remaining amount was contributed by Dr. Mitra’s NIIT and ICICI Bank. And thus was formed the Hole In The Wall Education Limited (HIWEL) "HIWEL has a giant leap forward. We set up monitors in slum locations in different cities across the country and began monitoring them through remote sensing," says Dr. Mitra who has received several awards including the Raizada Award by Computer Society of India in 1999, The Social Innovation Award for 2000 by Institute of Social Invention U.K and the Italian award Together for Peace for 2002 for his remarkable discovery The final findings of the five year project, started in 1999, are going to be concluded in October 2004. But even before that the results are for all to see—the experiment has opened the gateway to millions of kids to the most important resource today—information. Dr. Mitra says the experiment has brought about a change in the mindsets, "Earlier organizations used to say that content should be provided first and access to computers would follow. HIWEL has changed all that and proved that access comes first and content can follow." Under the scheme a total of 88 computers were installed and 200 kids had an access to one computer. The results were amazing, to say the least. Most of the kids learnt all Windows operational functions, such as click, drag, open, close, resize, minimize, menus, navigation and more. They were able to draw and paint on their own, browse and surf the Internet, set up E-mail accounts, chat on the Internet and do simple troubleshooting. They were also able to play games, music videos and run educational programmes. "They have all become somewhat computer-literate without the help of anyone and without even knowing English," says an excited Dr. Mitra and adds, "The biggest doubt in any ones mind is the non familiarity with the language and the experiments reveal that kids not just pick up the language very quickly but also improve upon it." But how could they do it? Dr. Mitra specifies the eight-step process. The first is purely accidental One child explores randomly in the GUI (Graphical User Interface) environment, others watch until an accidental discovery is made. For example, they discovered why a cursor changes to a hand shape at certain places. They also found the way to move from one site to another.
Journey Of Discovery Once the kids start their journey of discovery they get hooked to the computer and keep re-visiting it and learning more and more. It has been observed that they usually create a vocabulary of their own to describe their experiences. "It’s like a very exciting game. That’s why they learn so quickly," says Dr. Mitra. But the best part of the experiment according to the scientist is that once the kids have learnt a few operations they start teaching the same to other kids. And whenever one discovers a new, shorter, procedure they teach the same to other kids. The biggest advantage of the programme is that it is not classroom-driven and even if a child is not going to school he can have access to it. Moreover, things associated with schools are boring for some kids - that’s why they consider this as an adventurous game. This explains the phenomenal success of the project. In fact, apart from India, the project is now being run successfully in Cambodia and South Africa. "The indicative cost for the present design of the kiosks is less than Rs. 2 per child per day. And the number of computers required is determined by the ratio of one computer for every 200 children." There is a dedicated team of 24 researchers who work almost round the clock to collect and interpret the huge database and monitor the kiosks. "All this works out to around Rs. 700 per child every year. Or less than Rs. 60 a month. Can there be cheaper computer education?" asks Dr. Mitra. "Studies reveal positive behavioural changes in children using these computer kiosks. They would certainly grow up to be better human beings," says Dr. Mitra whose amazing experiment is changing the lives of many slum children. *****
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