Learning in the 21st century

[GratefulCitizen]

An explosion of learning and knowledge is coming.
This will be seen as a threat by many governments.

http://www.technologyreview.com/news...ch-themselves/

From the article:

Earlier this year, OLPC workers dropped off closed boxes containing the tablets, taped shut, with no instruction. “I thought the kids would play with the boxes. Within four minutes, one kid not only opened the box, found the on-off switch … powered it up. Within five days, they were using 47 apps per child, per day. Within two weeks, they were singing ABC songs in the village, and within five months, they had hacked Android,” Negroponte said. “Some idiot in our organization or in the Media Lab had disabled the camera, and they figured out the camera, and had hacked Android.”

Elaborating later on Negroponte’s hacking comment, Ed McNierney, OLPC’s chief technology officer, said that the kids had gotten around OLPC’s effort to freeze desktop settings. “The kids had completely customized the desktop—so every kids’ tablet looked different. We had installed software to prevent them from doing that,” McNierney said. “And the fact they worked around it was clearly the kind of creativity, the kind of inquiry, the kind of discovery that we think is essential to learning.”

Also: http://www.technologyreview.com/view...bout-learning/

[Dozer523]

What amazes me, is that anyone finds this surprising.
Kids, open a box, mess around with what they find, and master it.
Goes to prove (anecdotally) the 'problems of education' are not learning problems.

Actually those who are surprised by this are the problem of education.
But it was a great post, tho.

BRAVO Kids!

[BOfH]

Originally Posted by Dozer523

Actually those who are surprised by this are the problem of education.

Bingo! On the topic, a personal anecdote: My 2yr old son had made note that I keep my personal tablet in my backpack(which I take to work, it is also my last bastion of things that always seem to disappear around the house, like pens - so I take care to keep it and it's contents out of sight). Wanting to watch something, he went into the coat closet, took the tablet from my bag, turned it on, unlocked it, opened the Hulu app and chose the desired kids show. My wife, who was in another room, was concerned because he had been too quiet for too long: she found him sitting on the couch, watching, and quite pleased with himself.

Children can learn almost anything quite well on their own, they just need the interest, tools and occasional challenge. No spoon feeding or indoctrination required.

My .02

[Felix87]

There was another similar article I found while reading about the TED conference. A professor in India set up a desktop in a booth located in a poorer district. Kids slowly flocked to it and began using it. They got online, conversed in chat rooms, etc. I forget the time frame, but not soon after the setup the kids complained they needed a new mouse and a better processor to keep up.

It's amazing to me that they could go from little to no knowledge/experience, to being able to comprehend an upgrade path.

[Felix87]

I realize it's CNN, but the article is sound.

http://www.cnn.com/2013/02/27/opinio...iref=allsearch

[Trapper John]

Originally Posted by Dozer523

Goes to prove (anecdotally) the 'problems of education' are not learning problems.

Actually those who are surprised by this are the problem of education.

BRAVO Kids!

Dozer, I want to add to the anecdotal evidence. Daughter #1 is a teacher in the the Head Start Program. Over half of her class is labeled as having a learning disability or behavioral problems. Rather than stick to the administratively directed program she started engaging the kids in learning programs. She has 4-year old kids understanding the concept of gravity, they can identify the planets in the solar system, they can count, the know the letters of the alphabet, the can write the letters. Her class from last year (the first year that she tried this) placed way ahead of the other kids in their Kindergarten class. What's new is that she challenges the kids to learn, they eat it up, they pay attention, no behavior problems because they are not bored and they are engaged in something that is fun. THEY HAVE LEARNED THAT LEARNING IS FUN!!

The other teachers were very skeptical and said that these kids could never grasp such advanced concepts. Now they are amazed and are wondering how she does it. It's simple, curiosity is innate. Our education system with all its prescriptive, mandated assessments and boilerplate lesson plans simply drives the curiosity out of the majority of kids. Hence they are bored and when they are bored behavior problems emerge. Just another case study in the ills of micromanagement IMO.

Oh, BTW, Daughter #1 is way behind in her assessments and the admins are regularly giving her shit and bad evals for it. I keep telling her continue doing what she is doing - it is working!

[Razor]

Figuring out button combinations on a touch screen is one thing, but concepts of trigonometry, calculus, plantary gravitation, and fluid dynamics aren't topics one generally just "picks up" on one's own. Recall that in an advanced (post-industrial) economy, STEM-type subjects are the basis for continued success.

[Trapper John]

Originally Posted by Razor

Figuring out button combinations on a touch screen is one thing, but concepts of trigonometry, calculus, plantary gravitation, and fluid dynamics aren't topics one generally just "picks up" on one's own. Recall that in an advanced (post-industrial) economy, STEM-type subjects are the basis for continued success.

STEM One of my colleagues is doing fund raising (he's on the BoD) for the Challenger Foundation and they are promoting STEM programs. My issue is that long before STEM is even applicable, we lose a large number of children through poorly designed (over designed IMO) curricula that emphasizes assessment metrics more than actual nurture of the innate curiosity that is there. By the time these kids get to the point that STEM is applicable it's too late. Just my 2-cents worth.

[Richard]

The impact of science and technology on learning (acquiring, retaining, imparting, sharing) and its creation of an "Informational J-Curve" (similar in concept to the global population J-Curve) has been a richly diverse and dynamic on-going topic of discussion amongst scientists, medical professionals, technicians, parents, students, and educators for over several decades now.

And so it goes...

Richard

[Streck-Fu]

Originally Posted by Felix87

I realize it's CNN, but the article is sound.

http://www.cnn.com/2013/02/27/opinio...iref=allsearch

I think the only detractors from that concept is the validation/verification of learning and teaching of advanced concepts...At some point, their learning will plateau.

After a certain point, at least a proctor would be needed.

[Felix87]

I agree, but I don't think the point of the experiment was to completely replace the need for a learning system, rather to show that children of any background/prior knowledge possess the innate desire to learn. Once they begin the path they can be guided and taught the higher disciplines.

[Streck-Fu]

I agree completely and was commenting on any notion that the learning is limitless. I know that didn't claim it to be limitless specifically in the article but they did not define any potential limits.

I also wonder what he meant by this:

Traditional education stresses tests and punishments, two things that Mitra said causes the brain to shut down its rational processes and surrender to fear. Adopting a method closer to that of grandparents, who shower children with admiration, is "the opposite of the parent method," which relies on threats, Mitra said.

Do we really need to shower kids with admiration? It is one thing to encourage and reward success but what punishments and threats is he referring to?

[BOfH]

Originally Posted by Razor

Figuring out button combinations on a touch screen is one thing, but concepts of trigonometry, calculus, plantary gravitation, and fluid dynamics aren't topics one generally just "picks up" on one's own. Recall that in an advanced (post-industrial) economy, STEM-type subjects are the basis for continued success.

QP Razor,
Agreed. IMHO, while the advanced concepts of STEM aren't something one will just pick on their own, the idea is that by playing with/consuming the results of STEM, it will pique their interest to learn the concepts behind them, albeit guided by an educator who can assist when necessary. Like QP TJ pointed out, we are losing them before this point.

My .02

[Sigaba]

Originally Posted by Streck-Fu

I agree completely and was commenting on any notion that the learning is limitless. I know that didn't claim it to be limitless specifically in the article but they did not define any potential limits.

I also wonder what he meant by this:



Do we really need to shower kids with admiration? It is one thing to encourage and reward success but what punishments and threats is he referring to?

Why speculate when one can reach out and ask?

www.ncl.ac.uk/ecls/staff/profile/sugata.mitra

sugata.mitra@ncl.ac.uk

https://twitter.com/sugatamitra

[GratefulCitizen]

Originally Posted by Trapper John

STEM One of my colleagues is doing fund raising (he's on the BoD) for the Challenger Foundation and they are promoting STEM programs. My issue is that long before STEM is even applicable, we lose a large number of children through poorly designed (over designed IMO) curricula that emphasizes assessment metrics more than actual nurture of the innate curiosity that is there. By the time these kids get to the point that STEM is applicable it's too late. Just my 2-cents worth.

What can't be discovered by the individual will be learned through tutoring in the peer networks which are growing exponentially.
Centralized instruction is long since obsolete in this area.

The dirty little secret among many who pursued studies in STEM subjects is that peer tutoring was the rule, not the exception.
Many would consider some of the methods "cheating", but you can't fake this type of knowledge/understanding on tests or on the job.