 The magazine of the Melbourne PC User Group Leaping Into the Learning Unknown Neil Hookey |
A few years ago, the father of educational computing, Seymour Papert,
commented amazingly that "computers are redefining childhood".
Papert, a professor of mathematics and computing from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and famous for
his development of the Logo computer language and subsequent work with Lego and robotics, was making the
point that a new environment for learning had been created. Perhaps he could have driven sceptics into a
frenzy by adding, "there is no turning back!"
Many claims have been made regarding the benefits of information technology for society and protagonists in
education have had high hopes since the early years that children would learn better and differently. New
avenues into mathematics would emerge, thought experiments previously denied would be accessible, a more
intimate relationship with text and technology would occur. Generally speaking, the research findings are
ambiguous on these questions.
Papert had studied with the Swiss Psychologist Jean Piaget in the 1960s and had seen the development of the
microcomputer as a means of pursuing some of Piaget's basic ideas: that children are wonderful learners, that
they learn in a concrete and practical way and that the mind does not store knowledge like a filing cabinet,
but draws on experience in a fluid and dynamic manner as required.
The computer could represent and manipulate knowledge in a variety of ways not currently possible and could
help "make the concrete abstract" for young learners. This active, practical, enquiry approach to learning,
where children build their own meaning from experience, places emphasis on the personal construction of
ideas, rather than instruction by others. If true, or even vaguely accurate, the computer will indeed
redefine learning and childhood.
Music is a case in point. Whoever has worked or played with children using a synthesiser and music program
will attest that composition and improvisation occurs very quickly, with very little musical experience at
all. This contrasts with a more traditional approach of building music in a step by step process. Children
sprint into the "intellectual sandpit" conversation of "can we speed it up," "what about some drums" or "that
sounds good, let's repeat it".
Childrens' play is an extremely important concept in learning. In computerese, it is a little like debugging,
drafting and editing where an idea is tried, refined, strengthened, or discarded to meet requirements. It is
also similar to experimentation. Programming a Lego car to move around a course, a process of trial and
error, reflection on practice, moving from the known to the unknown are all important steps in learning for
humans of all ages.
What are some guidelines for parents who want their children to receive maximum benefit from the world's
latest technologies? Perhaps tonight all parents could put a large sign on the refrigerator door: "Put the
learning first!" In other words, keep uppermost that technology of all forms assist people to investigate
their worlds and challenge our understandings and thinking. The purpose of investing in a computer system for
children is primarily to leap into the learning unknown, not to merely remain in a comfort zone of the
present.
Next, ensure that the computer has as many functions as possible. This ranges from working with text, to the
Internet, chat rooms, art and design, robotics, music, video conferencing and whatever else you can find.
Having ready access to such an uncertain environment, where unexpected things happen and where there is wide
scope for moving across unfamiliar terrains, will stimulate the child to explore and think. Fun for children
often involves challenging puzzles and a twist in the tail/tale, rather than expecting the expected.
Parents, too, may also feel the need to instruct much as they do when crossing the road or going for a swim,
but a guide to construction is to be much preferred. Let the child be intellectually free, to wander,
backtrack, become frustrated, forming and rejecting ideas, becoming excited and working where the answers are
unknown to all the family. Put the expert mentality to rest and adopt the role of co-pilot in learning,
resist the temptation to reach over and press the correct buttons.
A good example of using technology for learning - or not - along the above lines, is the wide spread
diffusion of mobile telephones throughout Australia. No doubt they have a place in certain situations and
they seem to be an essential aspect of teenage life. But, in terms of learning, do they contribute anything,
do they open up new vistas, do they prompt the uncertain, do they enable experimentation? How might this
change when Internet application is readily available on the mobile for youth, together with a wide range of
other services for communication and information yet to be invented, or imagined?
Children these days learn in many settings, formal and informal, structured and open, school and non-school,
and most include technology in some shape and form. As Piaget and Papert said, they are indeed wonderful
learners, but I suspect we have only scratched the surface of what is possible
About the Author:
Neil Hooley is a lecturer in the School of Education, Victoria University of Technology,
Melbourne.
Reprinted from the August 2000 issue of PC Update, the
magazine of Melbourne PC User Group, Australia
