Certain common observations from the experiments described here suggest an interesting learning process, in a minimally invasive environment where children self-instruct each other in computer usage:

• Sometimes, one child knows a little about computers already, he shows off his skills to others. Sometimes, one child explores randomly in the GUI (Graphical User Interface) environment, others watch until an accidental discovery is made. For example, when they find that the cursor changes to a hand shape at certain places on the screen.
• Several children repeat the discovery for themselves by requesting the first child to let them do so.
• While in step 2, one or more children make more accidental or incidental discoveries.
• All the children repeat all the discoveries made and, in the process, make more discoveries and start to create a vocabulary to describe their experience.
• The vocabulary encourages them to perceive generalisations ("when you click on a hand shaped cursor, it changes to the hourglass shape for a while and a new page comes up").
• They memorise entire procedures for doing something, for example, how to open a painting program and retrieve a saved picture. They teach each other shorter procedures for doing the same thing, whenever one of them finds a new, shorter, procedure. They discuss, hold small conferences, make their own timetables and research plans. It is important not to underestimate these.
• The group divides itself into the "knows" and the "know-nots", much as they did into "haves" and "have-nots" in the past. However, they realise that a child who knows will part with that knowledge in return for friendship and exchange as opposed to ownership of physical things where they could use force to get what they did not have.
• A stage is reached when no further discoveries are made and the children occupy themselves with practising what they have already learned. At this point, intervention is required to introduce a new "seed" discovery ("Did you know that computers can play music? Here let me play a song for you."). Usually, a spiral of discoveries follow and another self instructional cycle begins.

In order to meet the above instructional objectives, it is important that:

• The computer should be in an outdoor, public, and safe location. Children, and often their parents, are apprehensive of enclosed spaces such as closed rooms or "clubs". Locating computers indoors, even inside a school, is associated with regimentation, control, "studying", pedophilia and other negatives that formal schooling seems to suggest. Locating a computer in a school playground, on the other hand, is ideal.

• Children should use the computer in heterogeneous groups. Since the MIE process depends on exploration and discovery, working in groups is essential. Collaborative constructivism is the main paradigm of MIE. Children teach each other very effectively and are also effective at self-regulating the process. That is how over 100 children are able to use one computer.

• There should be no adult intervention or supervision. Adults should not use the kiosk. All activity should be monitored remotely to ensure that the kiosk is being used for the right purposes.

• PC functioning and Internet connectivity should be reliable.

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