The School in the Cloud

What is the future of education, especially in developing countries where resources are minimal? That is the question posed in filmmakers Jerry Rothwell and Ranu Ghosh’s documentary, which provides an overview of an ambitious project devised by physicist Sugata Mitra to promote Internet-based instruction conducted largely by students themselves, particularly (although not exclusively) in areas where conventional facilities are absent—a program that was expanded through a 2013 TED Prize. Mitra originated his experiment in what he calls Minimally Invasive Education (MIE) by installing a computer in a hole in the wall of a building in an Indian slum, where street children were invited to use it. The film follows the expansion of this concept into Indian and African villages where solar power is used in lieu of electricity, but also as part of the ordinary curriculum in an English school. In addition, the documentary explores how "prompting" has been added to the method through the employment of Internet "granny volunteers" and on-site ex-students. Years of testing have, Mitra admits, revealed weaknesses as well as strengths in MIE, but he also contends that it provides a corrective to the rote forms of instruction so often employed in traditional schooling, and parents and educators here testify to the program’s value. Along the way, The School in the Cloud also highlights related success stories, such as that of Priya Pal, who wants to be a police officer, and Mridul Mondal, who against all odds aims to become an engineer. Recommended. Aud: C, P. (F. Swietek)