06.08.08
Culture Shock
Have you heard the one about the Baby, the Flying Machines and the Movies? It’s not what it seems. Seymour Papert has written an article titled Educational Computing: How Are We Doing?, assessing the stage of the life-cycle in which educational computing currently exists, however focuses on the programming language LOGO. He has used three seemingly irrelevant items as metaphors to assist in his explanation of the life-cycle, hence the Baby, the Flying Machines and the Movies. While the Baby and the Flying Machine analogies provide understanding into the development of educational computing, I found that the insights presented in the Movie metaphor to be pertinent to the current status of computers and technology in schools. Movie cameras were introduced to the theatre, a technology that invoked minimal change, not fully exploiting the potential benefits. This is reminiscent to the implementation of computers in the classroom; this comparison acknowledges the reality that computers are an additional tool being used with traditional classroom practices, the stage Papert believes most schools currently reside. While technology is currently being used to assist in the teaching and learning of the curriculum content, it has the potential to significantly change the way in which students learn. New technologies have been met with some resistance, thus Papert’s suggestion that a development of the culture of schools needs to be addressed if we are to access the potential of educational computing technologies.
Image from: http://www.flickr.com/photos/judybaxter/48011834/
