I was interested in the concept of technology and education, and I found this wonderful experiment by Sugata Mitra. He put computers, connected to high-speed internet, tucked about three feet off of the ground in walls of slums in India, South Africa, and Italy. Then he left them there, and with hidden cameras, recorded what children did with these computers. All the children figured out how to use the internet, as well as improved their English, recorded songs, and recreated pictures. These results occurred when the children were left to learn on their own, without adults present or mandated lessons, and these results indicate a new era in education.
Also indicative of changes in the way we view teaching and education, schools in South Korea are considering rolling out a new, robotic English teacher.
While children report liking the robot teacher, what struck me was that the face on the robot is White, while the robot functions via teleconference with a teacher in the Philippines, who is not the woman pictured. Apparently, not everything in education is changing.
The experiment by Mitra is so exciting! Also - it makes me think about myself and my own lack of technological skill.
ReplyDeleteWhen I saw the photo of the robot teacher, I too noticed that the teacher was white before I noticed your comment about it. I wonder what the creator's response is as to why he/she chose that particular face?