Online visionary visits school pupils

Award winning professor to work with Manx children

The winner of a prestigious TED (Technology, Entertainment & Design) Award paid a visit to the Island this week.

Professor Sugata Mitra is known for developing SOLE - or Self-Organised Learning Environment - a system where pupils, supported by teachers, use the internet to help them gain knowledge and solve problems. 

The academic pioneered this technique in the 1990s, proving in the process that children with access to the web can learn almost anything by themselves, with teachers acting as facilitators.

Part of Professor Mitra's trip last week included a visit to Willaston School, Douglas.

Plans are underway to develop a partnership with the establishment.

Helen Moyer, a senior school leader, says working with the professor was 'an amazing opportunity'.