November Annual Conference and AGM 17 - 21 November 2010 - Nice, France

Professor Sugata Mitra who has worked in the areas of Cognitive Science, Information Science and Educational Technology for over 30 years and is currently Professor of Educational Technology at Newcastle University. Dr. Mitra`s experiments with unsupervised access to public computers by children in remote areas, often called the "hole in the wall" experiments are known throughout the world. His ‘Hole in the Wall’ project in India was the inspiration behind ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ - the Oscar winning film of 2009. One of the best known areas of Dr Mitra`s work is his discovery that the Internet, computers and children are literally “made for each other,” with cognitive processes so similar that children need little or no instruction to master computing at the basic level. Mitra is building on this discovery through the design of hardware and software that enable children to reach intermediate to expert level entirely on their own. His current research is leading towards an alternative primary education using self organized learning, mediation and assessment environments. Professor Mitra is responsible for a number of inventions and first-time applications amongst which, he is credited with having started the database publishing industry (particularly the Yellow Page industry) in India and Bangladesh, as well as having implemented the first applications of digital multimedia and internet based education in India in the late 1980s. The global consequences of Professor Mitra’s discovery for closing the digital divide have resulted in many international awards and other honours. His current interests include Children’s Education, Remote Presence, Self-organising systems, Cognitive Systems, Physics and Consciousness.  

Adora Lily Svitak has been called a “tiny literary giant” by respected journalist Diane Sawyer. Twelve-year-old Adora is the world’s youngest teacher, seasoned speaker and a published author. She explores new technologies and their possibilities in education through her teaching and speaking. Adora’s daily video conferences with students from around the world have earned her Berrien RESA’s “Best Author and Expert” award for distance learning three years in a row.

To inspire the teachers of tomorrow, she speaks at schools of education including DePaul and Bowling Green State University. Adora advocates for education innovation around the world. A prolific writer on education and related technology, Adora has written for EdTech Magazine. She is a prodigious blogger, posting on 21st-century learning at The Educators’ Royal Treatment, a blog dedicated to education. She was nominated in 2009 for the Edublogs Student Blog Award. Adora’s books include: Flying Fingers, an engaging "how-to" hand book on writing for parents and kids from a student’s point of view; Dancing Fingers, a collection of poetry she co-authored with her sister Adrianna; and Yang in Disguise, a coming-of-age fantasy novel with undertones of political satire.