What happens when you put two passionate education activists and have them work on something that will revolutionize the learning system? You will see them working wonders.
The Work Wonders project is funded by Microsoft with the intention to support revolutionizing ideas about education. It recently published a video that tells us about a collaboration between Sugata Mitra, the man behind the “Hole In The Wall” project and Adam Braun, the founder of Pencils of Promise. Both of these men are trying to bring forth improvements in the learning industry and both have been successful in their own right. Imagine what would happen if these men of action team up?
Here is the video of what they intend to do.
If you are passionate about the education that the future generations will have, you should have goosebumps all over you after watching that video. What is exciting about their project is not only their intent to improve the system, but their heart to make sure that education becomes available to all.
These two educators, Mitra and Braun, both believe that our current educational system is no longer needed. Not that it is broken, but given the technology and how it changes the corporate world, it is evident that we cannot teach our children in the same way that their parents were taught.
Mitra pointed out something interesting in the video. He said that a toddler, when you let it use a tablet on his own will figure it out. But once you enter the room and they know you are there, they become babies once more.
This simple observation tells us that children do not need to be spoonfed. In fact, technology allows them to learn things on their own. What instructors can do is to provide them with that technology, start the process and then step back as learning happens on its own.
These two men think that change is necessary – but they have different opinions about it. Mitra believes that children can be left alone to teach themselves. Braun on the other hand, still believes in the value of the traditional classroom but he understands that significant changes must be made to help it keep up with the advancements in technology.
The intention of the collaboration is to get Mitra’s technology to the schools that Braun have built through Pencils of Promise. They will meet halfway to bring their dreams of revolutionizing the educational system into a reality. This team up will aim to introduce the Self-Organized Learning Environment (SOLE) tool of Mitra into three Pencils of Promise schools in Ghana. The overall intention is to roll out a SOLE starter kit to the global network of Pencils of Promise.
This is truly an exciting phase in the educational system. We hope that this project will gain momentum so children from all over the world can have a chance at getting quality education.
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