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In an amazing experiment a Delhi-based IT professional has proved that kids can learn computer skills on their own. Over the years the results of Dr. Mitra’s experiments have been so spectacular that the National Geographic Channel has made a film on his unique research.

Again, to his surprise he discovered that the slum kids quickly taught themselves how to surf the Internet, read news and download games and music. Dr. Mitra then replicated the experiment in other locations, with the same results---within hours the children would teach themselves how to use the Net.

Critics of one-to-one laptop programs in the United States say the computers facilitate more in-class distraction (instant messaging, MySpace, and so on) than learning, that they allow children access to inappropriate content, and that the benefits of constant access are so far unproven. Do you share those concerns? We do not share those concerns, but that is not to say they are not real issues. Our kids in Cambodia learn English using chat and MySpace. Children are distracted if the teaching is not interesting. One education minister just said to us, about the $100 laptop, "Finally, education will include learning."

Albert-László Barabási states that “nodes always compete for connections because links represent survival in an interconnected world” (2002, p.106).

Some questions to explore in relation to learning theories and the impact of technology and new sciences (chaos and networks) on learning: How are learning theories impacted when knowledge is no longer acquired in the linear manner? What adjustments need to made with learning theories when technology performs many of the cognitive operations previously performed by learners (information storage and retrieval). How can we continue to stay current in a rapidly evolving information ecology? How do learning theories address moments where performance is needed in the absence of complete understanding? What is the impact of networks and complexity theories on learning? What is the impact of chaos as a complex pattern recognition process on learning? With increased recognition of interconnections in differing fields of knowledge, how are systems and ecology theories perceived in light of learning tasks?

Constructivism suggests that learners create knowledge as they attempt to understand their experiences (Driscoll, 2000, p. 376).