As Martin Weller’s book “25 Years of Ed Tech” emphasized, the field of Ed tech is one into which people transfer from other fields (2020). Seymour Aubrey Papert is one such individual who transferred into the field of Ed Tech. Professor Papert was known for his contributions as a mathematician, learning theorist, and educational-technology visionary. Papert studied at several educational institutions, including the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of Geneva, the University of Paris and the National Physical Laboratory. He was also one of the founding faculty members of the Artificial Intelligence Lab at MIT. He was influential in Artificial Intelligence, child development and educational technologies, being one of the inventors of LOGO, an educational programming language.
In his book The Childrens Machine, Papert (1993) states that “ nothing could be more absurd than an experiment in which computers are placed in a classroom where nothing else is changed…computers serve best when they allow everything to change.” He highlighted the importance of incorporating computers as a tool that can change human behaviour and bring innovative transformations. Papert further emphasized institutions’ role in stifling the use of computers as instruments of change, encouraging forward-thinking educators to allow technology to unlock the mystery in school children.
Papert authored and co-authored several books about children and computers, such as Mindstorms: Children, Computers, and Powerful Ideas, a book which talks about the significance of educating children on the fundamentals of computing and how it might equip them to flourish in the ever-changing technological world ( 1980) and The Children’s Machine: Rethinking School in the Age of Computer (1993). In this book, he investigated the success and resistance to the growth of computer usage in American classrooms, the need to teach students the principles of computing, and how it might prepare them to thrive in an ever-changing technological environment (Papert, 1993).
Onward looking, Papert dreamt of seeing computer software that would interest even the reluctant, rebellious learner. This software would not be designed like the typical regular educational software, as highlighted in an interview he did with SFGATE news (Evenson, 1997), but instead, it would be appealing to even the less intrinsically motivated student. As an Ed Tech visionary, he saw the potential that computers had to bring betterment to online learning.
Links
Book: Mindstorms: children, computers, and powerful ideas
The children’s machine : rethinking school in the age of the computer.
References
Evenson, L. (1997, February 2). SUNDAY INTERVIEW — Seymour Papert / Computers In the Lives of… SFGATE. https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/SUNDAY-INTERVIEW-Seymour-Papert-Computers-In-2856685.php
Papert, S. (1980). Mindstorms : children, computers, and powerful ideas (Ser. Harvester studies in cognitive science, 14). Basic Books.
Papert, S. (1993). The children’s machine : rethinking school in the age of the computer. BasicBooks.
Weller, M. (2020, February). 25 Years of Ed Tech. AU Press—Digital Publications. https://read.aupress.ca/projects/25-years-of-ed-tech