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 THE
IDEA of the “hole in the wall” methodology developed by Dr. Sugata Mitra,
head of the Centre for Cognitive Sciences in India, is really quite simple.
He literally cut a hole in the wall outside his office, and
installed a computer with only the monitor and touch-pad visible to the
person on the other side. Within days children had taught themselves
functional computer skills despite the fact that English was a foreign
language to them.
Dr Mitra’s mildly surprising mistake was to term the
methodology “minimal invasive education” which sounds like George W Bush
newspeak on how best to educate the Iraqis, rather than how to hold onto the
hardware.
However, under a joint initiative of the Council for
Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and South Africa’s Department of
Science and Technology the hole in the wall concept was tested in South
Africa. A “digital doorway kiosk” was installed in November 2002 in Cwili, a
rural township in the Eastern Cape where there was little awareness of
computers.
The evidence on the “hole in the wall” experience and its
relevance to South Africa was presented to the Acacia conference by Matthew
Chetty, Programme Manager for ICOMTEK of the CSIR.
He said daily activity was recorded from as early as 4.15am
to as late as 1.20am. The users included primary school children to middle
aged adults. At a conservative estimate there were 8300 visits over a 3
month period.
One of the first things learned was how to start the music
and control the volume, after much jostling for position and noisy
interaction.
Interviews with the users revealed that they had found it
educational, and a big help in learning about AIDS, searching for jobs and
playing games. The Cwili experience confirmed that the Hole in the Wall
method is relevant in Africa. The CSIR is planning a further 10 digital
doorway research sites, with growing interest and support from the private
sector.
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