Learning Through Trial and Error

The $100 Laptop has been unveiled in Tunisa, going into production next quarter.  I blogged about the need and means to connect these nodes earlier this week.  But there is a revolutionary aspect of the project that is barely recognized.  David Kirkpatrick:

Negroponte's team is seeking not only a technological breakthrough but also a teaching breakthrough. They believe that illiterate kids can, with a little instruction, learn to use computers on their own and then use the laptops to teach themselves to read. After that comes math, history—you name it. Alan Kay, a Xerox Parc veteran, is working with MIT mathematician and educational theorist Seymour Papert to build software that "watches" each student and makes suggestions. Papert's "constructionist learning" approach encourages children to reach conclusions through trial and error.

This breaks known conventions for education and technology, which could have a far greater impact than the commoditization at play.