“Building a School in the Cloud” Sugatra Mitra

               Schools across the world today are starting to incorporate technology more and more. However, what they are also sticking to the teaching patterns they have been doing for generations. Sitting in rows, teaching reading, writing, cursive, math, and science, at the same time every day. With the sound of a bell, you stop what you’re doing in the class and move on to the next thing whether it’s another subject, lunch, recess, specials, etc. It is the same routine every day and can very repetitive and tedious. As important as it is to implement technology in schools today, it is also very important to update teaching styles to keep the students interested, since they’re world today is completely different than a student’s world 15 years ago.           

Children eager to learn about this computer in the hole in the wall. 

                While watching Sugatra Mitra: Build a School in the Cloud, a ted talk by Dr. Sugatra Mitra, he introduces a new type of teaching. In his speech,he talks about students teaching themselves. His research, known as “A hole in the wall” is where he left a computer in specific areas, first in a very poor community. He told the children nothing of the computer, and it was in English, which the children didn’t know.
 They seemed very curious when he left it there, and were excited to learn about it. When he came back after time he found them browsing, and others claimed it was because a gifted child came and taught them how to do it. Therefore, he continued his research. Dr. Mitra went to a remote location where he left his computer, came back months later and all the kids said to him was that they needed a faster processor and a better mouse! 

               After finding that when children are left to their own devices, they teach themselves whether it's an easy lesson or a difficult lesson. He came up with a vision known as SOLE, Self Organized Learning Environments. This is which a students themselves work together, without sitting in a classroom being lectured to death. I personally like this idea. I feel as though as long as someone monitors them to make sure they stay on task, they could discover things that they wouldn't be able to learn by a lecture. 

               I feel as though SOLE could be the next thing in the world today. However, I don't agree on the teachers role. I think the teachers should be more than just the overseer, they're getting paid to be there and therefore should be more than that. Teachers shouldn't be teaching like they have in the past, they should be teaching for the future. They should incorporate technology more and more and teach students how to thrive in the world today. I think that school systems are slowly coming around to implementing technology, however not quite up to par. 

              The world is changing, therefore education must change. In my research, I found an article titled R.I.P. Lectures, Notes, and Tests. It explains how schools are going to start to change from lectures notes and tests, and move on to technology. This involves teaching through viral videos. This would mean students could equally learn as much online at home as they would in school. Although this could save money in the school budget by cutting down by not having students there as much, it could also be a disadvantage to students. Students need school to socialize, some students even look forward to school to escape from their home life. In conclusion, I believe that school's should be updated to the world today, however I do still think students need to learn some things that have been taught for years.