Papert, Technology, chapter 2
To summarize the chapter that I read, I think Papert sees technology as a tool to promote learning. Not in the sense that you will learn how to use a computer program or that you will use technology to learn how to do math or science. He sees it more as a tool to develop ways to learn how to learn. He feels that computers in most classrooms are not being used in the right way, and that much of the software used in schools is just a polished version of the old way of learning. Papert feels that technology should give the student the opportunity to chase after the knowledge that they really want - that learning works best when the learner is a willing and conscious participant. He feels it is up to us to shape the computer future, that we should empower ourselves not to predict the future of technology, but to participate it making it.
Papert feels that computers in the schools at present are used as an aide to old ways of doing things. He states that computer literacy courses are of little value to students because often what is learned is superficial and can not be transfered to real situations. The thing that really matters is that you can use a computer for your own purpose, as a means of getting the most out of living and learning in the present. They should not be used to teach skills that may be required for some job in the distant future. By the time the student probably gets that job, the technology will have developed to a higher level and previos learning will be obsolete.
Papert feels that the best way to gain computer fluency is through use. He feels the best evidence of technology fluency is what a person does when something does not work. The technology fluent person will depend on skills he learned from constant use, where the technolong unfluent person will become embarassed and go for help. The fear of doing something wrong inhibits exploration that would lead to finding the solution to a problem. Children are more often likely to find answers to problems through exploration. They keep trying different ways of exploring and becoming fluent not only in technology but in learning.
Paupet feels that fluency in technology is like fluency in most aspects of life - that you know enough to know you can get somewhere. That is all you really need to know. Finally, Paupet feels that computer technology today is opaque. That because of the way computers are made, most people have no idea of how a computer or a computer program works. He feels that children should be exposed to making web pages to get a better understanding of how programs work. Papert tells us that technology today is only in a state of marginal readiness and urges us to be patient and trust ourselves enough to understand why things are not working as fast and as efficient as they should.
Margaret Watterson