A faint scraping sound can be heard in this teacher's 6th class social science class. The students are on a dig. Each group of three or four has been assigned a plot within an ancient Assyrian site. Their mission: to uncover what is at the site, to analyse carefully each artifact they find, then to formulate and defend a thesis about the nature of the place and the people who lived once there.Imagine to have to take a whole class on an excavation to the Middle East. Not even the most elite school could afford to do that. So these students are working on an Archeological software ( A computer simulation of a dig - shoveling sounds and all based on an actual site). The excitement of the hunt is palpable. As they uncover spearheads and ivory pieces on the screen these 11-year-olds speak of `stratification' and `in situ artifacts' with near the professional fluency.When the computer first entered the classroom more than a few years ago, prophets of information age foretold a marvelous revolution. The world's storehouses of knowledge would become instantly available to young minds. Captivating digital landscapes would bring history, geography and science alive on a screen. Not since the invention of the printing press, had there been such a powerful new tool for learning. Their bold predictions were not wrong, just premature. Computers are indeed everywhere but they are generally used as little more than electronic workbooks for drill, or as places for kids to play games during free periods. The promised revolution has failed to materialize.But here and there at cutting edge institutions there are glimpses of what could be. The earlier mentioned scenario is from one such American school. Such approaches to learning are changing traditional roles of the teacher as oracle and the student as passive receptacle for hand me down knowledge. The course described, is one in which kids learn by doing - absorbing science and ancient history through acts of discovery. The material they find will admit of a variety of explanations. There is just not one right answer. To marshal evidence for their theories, students may consult online libraries' of information and images, or even the nearby Metropolitan Museum of Art.Class subjects are no more a drag that have to be studied to ready oneself for adulthood. They are fun experiences and inculcate in the participants a new and healthy approach to learning. One cannot imagine even many of our college students achieve these levels.In such kinds of learning the teacher's role changes. The teacher is more a resource and guide helping the students refine their own questions and assisting in their search for answers. One achieves depth in learning which otherwise would never have been achieved in children this young. Their incisiveness is stunning. This method of learning shifts education from adults giving answers to students seeking answers.The premise is we all understand what we have discovered for ourselves far better than what we have been merely told. In all our training programs and presentations we always emphasis this aspect. We firmly believe that if we have inculcated the ability to teach himself or herself, we have achieved our objective. It is far better than teaching any one particular package or software. This way s/he is equipped to embark on an exciting voyage of learning and discovery all on his own. It is empowering.Still, the guiding hand of the teacher is indispensable.
