Professor Sugata Mitra, Chief Scientist at NIIT, first created the Hole-in-the-Wall concept in 1982. Finally, in 1999, he decided to test his ideas in the field. His team carved a "hole in the wall" that separated the NIIT premises from the adjoining slum in Kalkaji, New Delhi. Through this hole, a freely accessible computer was put up for use. This computer proved to be popular among the slum children. With no prior experience, the children learnt to use the computer on their own. This prompted Professor Mitra to propose the following hypothesis:

The acquisition of basic computing skills by any set of children can be achieved through incidental learning provided the learners are given access to a suitable computing facility, with entertaining and motivating content and some minimal (human) guidance.

Now over 300 Hole-in-the-Wall Stations are installed in India and Africa (including Nigeria), showing that children can indeed use a computer and learn skills by creating their own learning environment.

Links

http://www.hole-in-the-wall.com

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minimally_Invasive_Education