'Hole-In-The-Wall' Computer Kiosks Foster Mathematics Achievement - A Comparative Study

Earlier work at unsupervised playground computer kiosks in rural India, popularly called 'hole-in-the-wall', showed that children exposed to these kiosks learn to use computers on their own and that they are able to clear school examinations in computer science, without any classroom teaching for it. Extending this, our recent research work examines the possible impact on attainments in other curricular subjects, arising from self- directed use of these kiosks. This paper investigates the impact of use of the playground computer kiosk, on school examination results, of students in a rural school in India over a 2.5-year period from 2002-2004. A comparative study was conducted, of students from a kiosk school and a non-kiosk school, as well as of frequent and infrequent users of the kiosk. The study covered groups of a total of 161 students who were aged 13-14 in 2004. Students were measured for differences in their intelligence, creativity potential, leadership potential, and frequency of kiosk use. The school results show a significant impact of kiosk usage on Mathematics achievement.