Please watch this talk here:
http://www.ted.com/talks/sugata_mitra_the_child_driven_education.html
Here are some of my thoughts: first, I found it a bit disturbing. Is he saying that we can effectively eliminate teachers and students will learn on their own? That what seems to be happening in some of the poor slums of New Delhi? That kind of bodes poorly for us as educators!
Or can we look at it another way - given the correct guidance, mixture of direct and discovery instruction and access to technology students (even young ones who don't speak the language!) can learn (and remember) high-level content. But can they learn the other non-cognitive skills that are required for learning - determination, stubbornness, grit - in this environment?
I liked the idea of "the granny cloud" - this brings in community involvement in the learning process, which I think is an important missing component in our educational models. What do you think?
Another response I had was more positive. In some ways I am trying to promote this methodology in our class. Provide tasks, time, community and resources to investigate science content without a lot of direct instruction. This is hard, right? Is it effective? It certainly can be stressful at times.
Like many things - I believe that the true road lies somewhere in the middle. I liked two quotes from the blog by Arthur C. Clarke:
A teacher that can be replaced by a machine – should be.
If children have interest, education happens.
Especially the second one resonates with me - kids want to learn and in some cases teachers need to step out of the way and let it happen.
So, to "score" for this SBG you need to post a thoughtful and detailed blog (2 would be even better). I would like for this to be a conversation rather then a reporting. But certainly do include some details from the video to support your statements. This should be done by October 21st.
Thanks! And Enjoy.
Matt
