“Most writers emphasized using computers for games, entertainment, income tax, electronic mail, shopping, and banking. A few talked about the computer as a teaching machine. This book too poses the question of what will be done with personal computers, but in a very different way. I shall be talking about how computers may affect the […]
Today’s Word for Learning from Seymour Papert Read More »
“When people claim that my vision of education does away with teachers, I get very upset. That turns on its head what I’ve been trying to say. Schools give teachers very little opportunity to teach. They spend most of their time brainwashing or forcing children to do rote activities nobody believes in. In the kind of learning environment I envision, teachers can really teach.” Greth, C. V. (2983). Seymour Papert on Education and Language. Atari Connection (Fall 1983), 22-25. Retrieved from https://ia801708.us.archive.org/9/items/Atari_Connection_Volume_3_Number_3_1983-09_Atari_US/Atari_Connection_Volume_3_Number_3_1983-09_Atari_US_text.pdf
February 29, 2020 – Happy Birthday Seymour! Read More »
Curator’s Note: Melody Ayres-Griffiths, Editor of Paleotronic Magazine, recently sent me a link to this obscure 1983 Seymour Papert interview found at the Internet Archive (full issue). The issue followed a predictable storyline from that era – debate Logo vs. BASIC. Another old friend of mine, Arthur Luhrmann, was setup in a virtual debate with
February 29, 2020 – Happy Birthday Seymour! Read More »
Seymour Papert (early 200s): And by the way something that we’ve seen that’s incredibly encouraging is that there’s a lot of fear that computers can mean … teachers are afraid to give up control in their classroom. It’s really interesting, the schools that have already had these computers here. There’s none of that, not a
Seymour Papert: One of the negative … one of the big problems about computers in Maine and this is a continuing problem, we got … say we are assimilated into this local state group that it was The Governor’s Initiative. Okay, so the computers contract is now signed with Apple to provide computers starting seventh
Eight Big Ideas Behind the Constructionist Learning Lab By Dr. Seymour Papert (1999) From the Ph.D. dissertation, “An Investigation of Constructionism in the Maine Youth Center,” by Gary Stager, 2007. A number of translations of this document into other languages may be found here. The first big idea is learning by doing. We all learn
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“Connecting new knowledge to things you know and love, and things you think you can do, makes you feel good about it, makes you take it in in a form that is your own. By taking in knowledge in a form that feels to you as you, you change your feelings about yourself as well.
Alan Kay and Seymour Papert testify before a rogue’s gallery of Congressional misfits and a clueless venture capitalist. In October 1995, the House Committee Economic and Educational Opportunities and House Science Committees held a nearly three-hour hearing to examine “technological advances in education.” The first two hours or so of the hearing are a
Dr. Papert Goes to Washington Read More »
“The world lost an amazing wit, intellect, inventor, bricoleur, scholar, freedom fighter, and friend with the passing of Seymour Papert. He was arguably the most influential educator of the past half century. It would be wise for us all to start thinking about what we each might do to build upon his mighty legacy.” Gary Stager,
A Heartfelt Tribute to Seymour Papert Read More »
This commercial video, produced around 1986, features Seymour Papert answering questions from teachers. This discussion explores many of Papert’s recurring themes of children, computers, and powerful ideas. Papert also interprets Piagetian theory for the assembled practitioners. Transcript Seymour Papert: Should we sit down? I think what I learned most from Piaget is that the
Seymour Papert on Logo Read More »