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In nine months, a group of children left alone with a computer - in any language - would reach the same standard as an office secretary in the West.
Sugata Mitra
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Interpretation

What this quote means

Children can achieve significant skills in technology independently within a short time frame.

This quote by Sugata Mitra highlights the incredible potential of self-directed learning, particularly in the context of digital literacy. It suggests that when given access to a computer and the freedom to explore, children can autonomously acquire skills comparable to those of trained professionals, demonstrating the power of technology to democratize education and learning opportunities across different cultures and backgrounds.

Themes

EducationLearningTechnologySelf-DirectedChildrenSkill Development

In practice

Example use cases

In a discussion about modern education methods at a conference.

More from Sugata Mitra

We need a pedagogy free from fear and focused on the magic of children's innate quest for information and understanding.
Sugata MitraRead
It's quite fashionable to say that the educational system is broken. It's not broken. It's wonderfully constructed. It's just that we don't need it anymore.
Sugata MitraRead
The Indian education system, like the Indian bureaucratic system, is Victorian and still in the 19th century. Our schools are still designed to produce clerks for an empire that does not exist anymore.
Sugata MitraRead
If children have interest, then Education happens
Sugata MitraRead
I was inspired by the Hole in the Wall project, where a computer with an internet connection was put in a Delhi slum. When the slum was revisited after a month, the children of that slum had learned how to use the worldwide web.
Sugata MitraRead
Students are rewarded for memorization, not imagination or resourcefulness.
Sugata MitraRead

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