It is hard to imagine someone without some type of personal computer, tablet or communicative device in present time. They have been become mainstream, both inside our homes and within learning environments. Their educational potential benefits have been documented extensively in literature and have far reaching applications within education such as assisting those with disabilities (Priest & May, 2001). Briggs and Blair (2016) describe that “educational technology in the form of information and communication technology is now common place in the modern classroom” (p. 545; see also Lawless & Pellegrino). Some secondary and elementary schools provide 1:1 laptop distribution for students to have an immersive technological experience while learning (Zucker & Hug, 2008). Within their research study Zucker and Hug state that “more than 90% of [seniors] report that the laptops have had a positive impact on how much they learn from school, and nearly the same fraction report that the laptops help make class more interesting” (Zucker & Hug, 2008, p. 589). This influx of technology infused into our education systems has been aided by pioneer and computer science guru Alan Kay. Watters (2014) describes Alan Kay as a pivotal instrument in education and technology. In her book “The Monsters of Education Technology”, Watters (2014) describes that Alan Kay is responsible for the development and production of Dynabook, a tablet like device designed to be the personal computer for all children. She credits him with designing ‘Smalltalk,’ the computer language used in education technology that aided constructionist learning. After ‘smalltalk’ came bigger computer language programs more common to present day such as Java and Python. It is clear that contributions from Alan Kay and others with the talent for programming combined with innovative foresight have made the field of education and technology what it is today. The historical contributions he made back in the 60-80s can still be felt and seen today. Alan Kay’s contributions truly describe what it is to be a pioneer in this field.

Here is more about Alan Kay:

A) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Kay

B) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dynabook

Reference

Briggs, G. & Blair, E. (2016). Everyday personal laptop usage in secondary schools in Trinidad and Tobago. Education and Information Technology, 21, 545-558. doi: 10.1007/s10639-014-9338-4

Lawless, K.A., & Pellegrino, J.W. (2007). Professional development in integrating technology into teaching and learning: Knowns, unknowns, and ways to pursue better questions and answers. Review of Educational Research, 77, 575-614.

Priest, N., & May, E. (2001). Laptop computers and children with disabilities: Factors influencing success. Australian Occupational Therapy Journal, 48, 11-23. doi: 10.111/j.1440-1630.2001.00220.x

Watters, A. (2014). History of the Future of Ed-Tech, Chapter 1. In Monsters of Education Technology. Licensed under the Creative Commons CC BY-SEA. Retrieved from http://hackeducation.com/2014/12/01/the-monsters-of-education-technology

Zucker, A.A., & Hug, S.T. (2008). Teaching and learning physics in a 1:1 laptop school. Journal of Science Education and Technology, 17, 586-594. doi: 10.1007/s10956-008-9125-3