Forget grown-ups: apps can let kids

teach themselves
Taken from: Newscientist Magazine
14 January 2015
https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg22530043-200-forget-grownups-apps-can-let-kids-teach-themselves/

By: Paulina Montoya

Class: ED1106C Section 4

Forget grown-ups: apps can let kids teach themselves

14 January 2015 by Douglas Heaven

The man running the Global Learning X Prize contest explains why it is offering $15 million to develop tablet
software that teaches kids basic literacy.
What is the Global Learning X Prize?
Its a $15 million prize to develop software that takes children from illiteracy to literacy and numeracy in 18
months. In 2016 five finalist teams will each win $1 million and well load their software on to tablet computers,
distribute them to different sites in East Africa and test them out. Its probably going to be in Tanzania, and teams
will develop software in both Swahili and English. Kids have to learn in their native tongue because thats how
you learn how to read. Based on the field tests, in 2019 well announce the winning team, which gets $10 million.
Its probably going to be in Tanzania, and teams will develop software in both Swahili and English.
Sentence Structure: compound sentence
Kids have to learn in their native tongue because thats how you learn how to read.
Sentence Structure: complex sentence
What inspired the competition?
There are around 300 million kids around the world who cant read or write a word after going to school. The
enormity of the problem is such that you cannot possibly build enough schools and train enough teachers to
teach these kids. Software is the future of learning. It can let kids teach themselves without a grown-up in the
equation. The competing teams in this X Prize will need to come up with something thats independent not only
of schools but of adults too.
There are around 300 million kids around the world who cant read or write a word after going to school.
Sentence Structure: complex sentence
Software is the future of learning.
Sentence Structure: simple sentence
Can kids really teach themselves?
Im not a tech utopian, but tablets are so intuitive. When I hand those things to kids, within minutes they turn
them on and begin to manipulate the apps, even if they have never seen anything like it. You can envision the
day when you give this to a kid and thats her mentor as she goes through primary school or doesnt. This is
what she will learn with. There is going to be an AI-based system that anticipates learning curves and
understands what the child doesnt know. And it will allow the child to teach the machine in a way that helps her
learn, because teaching is a great way of learning. Forget grown-ups!

Im not a tech utopian, but tablets are so intuitive.

Sentence Structure: compound sentence
This is what she will learn with.
Sentence Structure: simple sentence

Does the One Laptop per Child project hold any lessons?
We had great successes and great failures. The biggest mistake, I think, was that we never spent any time with
teachers. They were scared and would lock the laptops away. They didnt want the kids to know more than they
did. But where teachers embraced it, the kids took off like rockets. This time well work with the local ministry of
education and hand the tablets out in villages rather than schools. Well also talk to every single parent of every
kid. I think well have 4000 kids in the test group.
We had great successes and great failures.
Sentence Structure: simple sentence
I think well have 4000 kids in the test group.
Sentence Structure: simple sentence

What happens after the competition ends?

I think somebody else will develop a learning ecosystem for all ages up to 11 or 12. Well provide the hardware
and build solar charging stations and all that. The big thing is that in four years the cost of a tablet will be close to
zero.
What difference will it make, ultimately?
If 170 million kids can learn to read, there would be a 15 per cent drop in poverty rates. When girls, especially,
learn to read and write and do basic maths, the economic status of the community is elevated greatly. Basic
literacy helps.
Basic literacy helps.
Sentence Structure: simple sentence

Parts of speech: Summary

Content Words
Nouns
(pink)
laptops
ecosystem

Adjectives
(light blue)
finalist
big

Adverbs
(gray)
Especially
Greatly

Verbs
(green)
develop
think

Determiners
(light brown)
The
a

Prepositions
(turquoise)
before
from

Conjunctions
(yellow)
but
and

Function Words
Pronouns
(purple)
we
I