Sugata Mitra- A School in the Cloud

How does this Ted Talk make you think about your role with young people in an online environment?

This was a really interesting Ted Talk.  I have some mixed emotions and reactions to Mitra’s work and his findings.  It certainly is a timely Ted Talk to listen to given our last several months at home.  I keep going back to the idea that young children shouldn’t be sitting in front of a computer for hours at a time.  So much of their learning comes from their peers during play.   I think one of my biggest challenges was trying to figure out how I was going to get my 5 and 6 year old students to learn this list of skills that I needed them to learn. I remember saying to the children and their parents that I wanted them to work on reading,writing and math every day.  I wanted them to worry less about completing each activity I set up for them but rather working on making progress in these 3 areas.  Some families felt better completing the work I pushed out online while others felt more successful taking work off line and showing me their progress in different ways.  This was a learning curve for me for sure.  I had to let go of the power of the teacher.  I had to let go of how I thought they should best spend their time. 

When we entered our time with distance learning it was clear that there was an equity gap.  Not every family had computers or internet access. Our district worked extremely hard to put laptops in the hands of every child and provide hot spots and access to any family in need. But providing the technology was only part of the problem.  Working to engage the students in their own learning became the bigger challenge.  What was their reason for needing to learn?  In listening to Mitra talk about his work in India, a place known for its huge gaps in equity, where slums abut very well off areas of the country, he has proven that not only rich parents give birth to geniuses!  What was interesting about his work was that he didn’t teach the children how to use the hole in the wall computer. He just left if there.  They explored it and figured things out on their own, with their peers.  They were learning how to use a computer, learning a new language, and learning subject matter.  All without a teacher.  How humbling to us as teachers.  Why are we interfering?  How is our interference making things worse? 

Mitra says that teachers need to set the process in motion and then step back.  We can be there to encourage and admire.  He posed questions and when they asked how it was possible, he replied “I haven’t the foggiest idea!”  In Anti-Teaching: Confronting the Crisis of Significance, Wesch said something similar when he said, “I am in the wonderful but awkward position of not knowing exactly what I am doing but blissfully learning along the way. My job becomes less about teaching, and more about encouraging students to join me on the quest.”  This really reminded me of times I’ve felt most successful in the classroom.  After many lessons and explorations with different materials such as wood and fabric we’ve done engineering design challenges such as “How can you create a structure that will get the gingerbread man safely across the river?” I have posed a question and set up pairs or small groups to work together. And then I’ve literally sat back and listened and watched in awe!  The classroom has been electric!  The conversations, negotiations, the trials, failures, and perseverance all while having fun and feeling safe has led to the best moments in our classroom.  These are the moments that the children remember for years and years.  

So now my question is, how can I replicate this when we are alone and separated in our distance learning?  How can I still be the leader who poses questions and gets children to collaborate.  Well, Prof Bogads has managed to do this for us this past week.  We have been alone at home but have formed a community online and have begun collaborating together.  By working in small breakout groups and reading and commenting on each other’s work, we have begun to trust one another and ask each other for help.  We have shared what we know and learned from our peers. I think I may have to explore Breakout Rooms with Kindergartners this year!  Why not?  If they don’t work then I’ll learn something anyway!