Educator Sugata Mitra is featured in a TED Talk, available online, where he talks about the future of learning and the evolution of learning in young children.
Mitra states in the beginning that students 200 years ago had to learn three things: how to read, how to write, and how to do mathematics. Mitra said this universal idea of learning is what helped widespread education across the world.
Mitra also states that schools as we now know them are "obsolete." This is a concept that we constantly find ourselves discussing while in class.
How are students learning in 2013? Are they learning in 2013? Is anyone reading anymore? How can we equip students to be readers in the midst of a technological boom?
Well, Mitra says we don't have to.
Mitra thinks that adaptation is embedded within us and is something that students can do no matter where on Earth they are, and he proves it. He places computers with particular programming in rural villages in India, and studies how the children learn to use the devices. The children do - and they do it all on their own.
These students are using context clues, cause and effect, and problem solving methods to maneuver through these computer programs and learn how to manipulate the systems. Are these children learning? Certainly. Are they becoming skilled in computer systems in a way that could be profitable without having the actual ability to read and comprehend like they would in a classroom? It seems that way.
I don't think that this video is any in way created to undermine the educational system or show the unimportance or textbook learning in any way, if anything I think the idea was to show the capabilities of children without opportunity in third world countries.
It is worth noting that maybe we shouldn't be so afraid of a life where students no longer learn from story books and textbooks. Learning is learning, and knowledge is knowledge. What's important here is that there are people out there obtaining it.
I love TED talks! I am actually watching them on TV right now...anyway, it is true that learning is changing everyday. We are in the information/ technology era, so honestly, kids need to learn how to use all of the available technology. Who cares if they can spit out random facts? Honestly, who remembers the small details from high school?! A quick google search gets the job done. If schools have the resources, they need to use them. I think that kids are more engaged with technology, and that is what matters! Education is not about kids memorizing facts...it is about getting them engaged with the information, provoking them to find out more, and giving them the tools to research on their own. Also, I agree that we should ditch some textbooks. I distinctly some old, useless textbooks in high school. Technology is interactive and updated. Simulation technology can allow students to learn in an entirely different way- no textbook required.
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