“Looking at the complex texture of LOGO development (of which I have mentioned only a sample of what already exists and barely a foretaste of what might come) provides a new perspective on the problem of deciding not only whether LOGO succeeded or failed, but whether all endeavors in the field have succeeded or failed. […]
“Thus we are brought back to seeing the necessity for the educator to be an anthropologist. Educational innovators must be aware that in order to be successful they must be sensitive to what is happening in the surrounding culture and use dynamic cultural trends as a medium to carry their educational interventions.” Papert, Seymour A.
“This neat picture of successive stages has aroused such strong positive and negative reactions that the ensuing debates have obscured Piaget’s really important contribution: His description of different ways of knowing is far more important than quibbling about whether they neatly follow one another chronologically. And what is especially important is the description of the
“LOGO environments are like samba schools in some ways, unlike them in other ways. The deepest resemblance comes from the fact that in them mathematics is a real activity that can be shared by novices and experts. The activity is so varied, so discovery-rich, that even in the first day of programming, the student may
February 29, 2012 – HAPPY BIRTHDAY SEYMOUR!! Read More »
Curator’s note: In 1983, The BBC and Open University produced and aired a documentary entitled, “Talking Turtle,” about the work of Seymour Papert and his colleagues, their creation, Logo and a vision of how computers may revolutionize education. There is also a large segment about the groundbreaking (and often overlooked) work members of the Logo
“We do have to think also about content, we do have to think about making another kind of intellectual diet for children, we have to think about them understanding this technology in a deeper way than simply being able to use it, however magical and wonderful and that may be, for access of knowledge and
“The essential point about the turtle is its role as as a transitional object. That is transitional between the body, the self and abstract mathematical ideas. The turtle, you can identify with it. You can move your body in order to guess how to command the turtle, so it’s related to you, to the body,
“Plastic robots, arrows on screens, hyperactive sprites all belong to the same turtle family. They all obey the same commands. By getting to know these turtles the way they get to know a person, these children are learning to be mathematicians. This is Piaget’s real message to us – learning rooted in experience.” Papert, S.
“What we really have to think about is what produces involvement? Engagement? What grabs the individual? And so, it’s much more related to love than to logic. It’s much more related to how you see yourself fitting into the social and cultural fabric, including how you see television. Is it something that’s been done to
“Nineteenth century researchers seeking to improve transportation stumble on the idea of a jet engine and propose to use it to augment the power of horses pulling stage coaches. Researchers of a rival school ridicule the idea of using technology to solve the problem and suggest that the better way is to train the coachmen.