Hole-in-the-Wall Computer Kiosk Project - India

In an effort to initiate a 'minimally-invasive education' programme, 42 computers have been established in 13 kiosks in schoolyards throughout India (31 in Delhi, 10 in coastal Maharashtra, and 1 in Uttar Pradesh).

After computer teachers provide a basic one-hour introduction to basic concepts like CPU (central processing unit), keyboard, and mouse, children are encouraged to teach themselves how to use computers. Within a few hours, younger children, for instance, figure out how to play computer games like 'Escaping Monkey'.

Technology, Children.

Maharashtra's Sindhudurg district is a rain-swept, underpopulated green setting just north of Goa. Hole-in-the-Wall has so far faced challenges in building kiosks here, including power outages and dead phone lines; battery back-up has been helpful in ameliorating such problems.

Observation of the use of the kiosks through video cameras installed on trees nearby found that children, despite having a very limited understanding of English, learned basic operations of the PC for browsing and drawing within a few days. Children formed impromptu classes to teach one another, inventing their own vocabulary to define terms on the computer. Within a month of interaction, children were able to discover and use features such as new folder creation, cutting and pasting, shortcuts, moving/resising windows, and using MS Word to create short messages without a keyboard.

66 more computers are planned in 22 more locations by the end of 2003.

A video has been produced detailing this project. Click here to view a description of the video or to purchase the video.