<html xmlns:v="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml" xmlns:o="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" xmlns:w="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:word" xmlns:st1="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40">
<head>
<meta http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=us-ascii">
<meta name=Generator content="Microsoft Word 11 (filtered medium)">
<!--[if !mso]>
<style>
v\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
o\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
w\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
.shape {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
</style>
<![endif]--><o:SmartTagType
namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="country-region"/>
<o:SmartTagType namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"
name="place"/>
<!--[if !mso]>
<style>
st1\:*{behavior:url(#default#ieooui) }
</style>
<![endif]-->
<style>
<!--
/* Font Definitions */
@font-face
{font-family:Wingdings;
panose-1:5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0;}
@font-face
{font-family:Tahoma;
panose-1:2 11 6 4 3 5 4 4 2 4;}
@font-face
{font-family:StoneSerif;
panose-1:0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0;}
@font-face
{font-family:StoneSerif-Italic;
panose-1:0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0;}
/* Style Definitions */
p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
{margin:0cm;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";}
a:link, span.MsoHyperlink
{color:blue;
text-decoration:underline;}
a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed
{color:blue;
text-decoration:underline;}
p
{mso-margin-top-alt:auto;
margin-right:0cm;
mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
margin-left:0cm;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";}
p.favStyle, li.favStyle, div.favStyle
{margin:0cm;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
line-height:150%;
font-size:18.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
color:#33CCCC;
font-weight:bold;
font-style:italic;
text-decoration:underline;}
span.EmailStyle19
{mso-style-type:personal-reply;
font-family:Arial;
color:navy;}
@page Section1
{size:595.3pt 841.9pt;
margin:72.0pt 90.0pt 72.0pt 90.0pt;}
div.Section1
{page:Section1;}
/* List Definitions */
@list l0
{mso-list-id:1513370614;
mso-list-template-ids:1755864672;}
@list l0:level1
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:\F0B7;
mso-level-tab-stop:36.0pt;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-18.0pt;
mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Symbol;}
ol
{margin-bottom:0cm;}
ul
{margin-bottom:0cm;}
-->
</style>
</head>
<body lang=EN-AU link=blue vlink=blue>
<div class=Section1>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>Here’s a bit more of what I think we’re
missing <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>Information fluency, rather than
information literacy <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><a
href="http://www.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/pub7006f.pdf">http://www.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/pub7006f.pdf</a><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>not that I’m fussed about the terms
per se, but the notion that “skills” are not enough, is a key here <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>Also relates to the idea of doing more
than “black boxing” the technology as an unknown which we use for
various “higher order” purposes<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'> I know “I don’t focus on
the technology” sounds noble – and seems more enlightened
than an unhealthy fascination with techno stuff - but I’m interested in
how the absence of underlying understandings compromises innovation in the medium<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>Eg I wonder if its like a person saying I don’t
focus on the words in, say, a video clip, just the overall meaning - since
I’m a 21<sup>st</sup> century learner<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>- that’s fine – but of course
we’d all want to know, if you had my student - can you still write something
worthwhile? <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>We’d see the gaps there -- we
have a clearer idea of what traditional literacy entails – and would only
reluctantly embrace video literacy as an *alternative* to print literacy –
we’d want most kids to get the traditional skills as well <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>we don’t seem to see that clearly with
digital media – we make trade offs about what digital literacy means without
sensing what we’re losing <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>eg can we do more than post on each other
blogs about how the world is changing (sorry, shifting) <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>can we create tools? Can we understand it
all the way down, at least in principle? <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><a
href="http://www.nap.edu/html/beingfluent/es.html">http://www.nap.edu/html/beingfluent/es.html</a><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Generally,
"computer literacy" has acquired a "skills" connotation,
implying competency with a few of today's computer applications, such as word
processing and e-mail. Literacy is too modest a goal in the presence of rapid
change, because it lacks the necessary "staying power." As the
technology changes by leaps and bounds, existing skills become antiquated and
there is no migration path to new skills. A better solution is for the
individual to plan to adapt to changes in the technology. This involves
learning sufficient foundational material to enable one to acquire new skills
independently after one's formal education is complete. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><!--_paraIndent_--><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'> This requirement of a
deeper understanding than is implied by the rudimentary term "computer
literacy" motivated the committee to adopt "fluency" as a term
connoting a higher level of competency. People fluent with information
technology (FIT persons) are able to express themselves creatively, to
reformulate knowledge, and to synthesize new information. Fluency with
information technology (i.e., what this report calls FITness) entails a process
of lifelong learning in which individuals continually apply what they know to
adapt to change and acquire more knowledge to be more effective at applying
information technology to their work and personal lives. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><!--_paraIndent_--><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'> Fluency with information
technology requires three kinds of knowledge: contemporary skills, foundational
concepts, and intellectual capabilities. These three kinds of knowledge prepare
a person in different ways for FITness. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<ul type=disc>
<li class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'>Contemporary skills, the ability to use today's
computer applications, enable people to apply information technology
immediately. In the present labor market, skills are an essential
component of job readiness. Most importantly, skills provide a store of
practical experience on which to build new competence. <o:p></o:p></span></font></li>
<li class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'>Foundational concepts, the basic principles and
ideas of computers, networks, and information, underpin the technology.
Concepts explain the how and why of information technology, and they give
insight into its opportunities and limitations. Concepts are the raw
material for understanding new information technology as it evolves. <o:p></o:p></span></font></li>
<li class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'>Intellectual capabilities, the ability to apply
information technology in complex and sustained situations, encapsulate
higher-level thinking in the context of information technology.
Capabilities empower people to manipulate the medium to their advantage
and to handle unintended and unexpected problems when they arise. The intellectual
capabilities foster more abstract thinking about information and its
manipulation. <o:p></o:p></span></font></li>
</ul>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>In answer to last years VITTA conference,
yes, I want a revolution <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<div style='border:none;border-left:solid blue 1.5pt;padding:0cm 0cm 0cm 4.0pt'>
<div>
<div class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:12.0pt'>
<hr size=2 width="100%" align=center tabindex=-1>
</span></font></div>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=2 face=Tahoma><span lang=EN-US
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Tahoma;font-weight:bold'>From:</span></font></b><font
size=2 face=Tahoma><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Tahoma'>
yr7-10it-bounces@edulists.com.au [mailto:yr7-10it-bounces@edulists.com.au] <b><span
style='font-weight:bold'>On Behalf Of </span></b>Bill Kerr<br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>Sent:</span></b> Tuesday, 25 March 2008 2:59
PM<br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>To:</span></b> Year 7 - 10 Information
Technology Teachers' Mailing List<br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>Subject:</span></b> Re: [Yr7-10it] girls, IT,
computer literacy</span></font><span lang=EN-US><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:12.0pt'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>great resources - thanks
rob<br>
<br>
yes, I want to be part of this discussion group, when and if it is set up :-)<br>
<br>
alan kay's material complements the turkle quote - she focuses on social
relations being embedded in simulations; he focuses on how they are embedded in
the user interface<br>
<br>
insofar as we conceptualise computers as "mere tools" then they will
continue to be used poorly in schools IMO - better to see them as interactive
medium which either molds the user in its image (eg. an application or a GUI)
or the user molds the machine, expresses themselves through the medium,
including the ability to modify and develop aspects of the medium <br>
<br>
-- <br>
Bill Kerr<br>
<a href="http://billkerr2.blogspot.com/">http://billkerr2.blogspot.com/</a><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>On Tue, Mar 25, 2008 at 12:00 PM, Costello, Rob R <<a
href="mailto:Costello.Rob.R@edumail.vic.gov.au">Costello.Rob.R@edumail.vic.gov.au</a>>
wrote:<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<div link=blue vlink=purple>
<div>
<p><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'>I
sent something through yesterday re <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on">Kent</st1:place></st1:country-region>'s questions about girls in IT.
</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'> </span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'>It
hasn't appeared – maybe because I added a largish attachment </span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'> </span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'>Anyway,
here's another link I found yesterday that might be of interest - </span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'> </span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'>paper
is sub titled : "Using the Storytelling Alice programming
environment to create computer-animated movies inspires middle school girls'
interest in learning to program computers." </span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'><a
href="http://www.thinkingcurriculum.com/alice.pdf" target="_blank">www.thinkingcurriculum.com/alice.pdf</a></span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'> </span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'>(having
a student login at a uni opens up amazing journal resources over the web
– seems nearly all journals have been digitised – back issues and
all </span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'>Be
worth schools having an account) </span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'> </span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'>it
talks about the overlap between animation and programming and the appeal in
this approach – appeals to me as well ! </span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'> </span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'>also
a copy and paste of whats I sent yesterday : </span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'> </span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=3 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:
Arial;color:navy'>Sherry Turkle did some pioneering work on computer cultures,
gender, etc </span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=3 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:
Arial;color:navy'> </span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=3 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:
Arial;color:navy'>I think it would be fair to describe her as a feminist
orientated scholar; </span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=3 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:
Arial;color:navy'> </span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=3 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:
Arial;color:navy'>She has some powerful arguments in favour of programming; and
critiques of its general removal from school curriculum over the last 20 years</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=3 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:
Arial;color:navy'> </span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=3 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:
Arial;color:navy'>Here's an excerpt from the 20<sup>th</sup> anniversary
edition of the "Second Self : Computers and the human spirit"</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=3 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:
Arial;color:navy'> </span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=3 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:
Arial;color:navy'>(in other work with Papert, they looked at how gender
interacted with programming style and knowledge construction </span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=3 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:
Arial;color:navy'> </span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=3 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:
Arial;color:navy'>I worked in a girls school for quite a while and agree with
Rachel's observations about preferred activities</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=3 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:
Arial;color:navy'> </span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=3 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:
Arial;color:navy'>But seems pretty crucial to me that we offer programming in
accessible forms and styles as well</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=3 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:
Arial;color:navy'> </span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=3 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:
Arial;color:navy'>(while I'm on that – here's a review of introductory
programming languages -</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=3 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:
Arial;color:navy'>"Lowering the Barriers to Programming: A Taxonomy of
Programming Environments and Languages for Novice Programmers" </span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=3 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:
Arial;color:navy'> </span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=3 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:
Arial;color:navy'>looks at about 200 of them </span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=3 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:
Arial;color:navy'><a href="http://www.thinkingcurriculum.com/lowerbarrier.pdf"
target="_blank">http://www.thinkingcurriculum.com/lowerbarrier.pdf</a> </span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=3 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:
Arial;color:navy'> </span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=3 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:
Arial;color:navy'>Turkle : </span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=3 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:
Arial;color:navy'> </span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=3 face=StoneSerif><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:StoneSerif'>In
</span></font><i><font face=StoneSerif-Italic><span style='font-family:StoneSerif-Italic;
font-style:italic'>The Second Self </span></font></i><font face=StoneSerif><span
style='font-family:StoneSerif'>I report on my studies of children learning
Logo. Their</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=3 face=StoneSerif><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:StoneSerif'>styles
of programming were varied and revealing. The computer, as I have</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=3 face=StoneSerif><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:StoneSerif'>said,
served as a Rorschach, and programming was one of the most powerful</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=3 face=StoneSerif><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:StoneSerif'>manifestations
of its projective power. Twenty years later, programming</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=3 face=StoneSerif><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:StoneSerif'>is
no longer taught much in standard classrooms, relegated for the</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=3 face=StoneSerif><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:StoneSerif'>most
part to special after-school computer clubs. These days, educators</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=3 face=StoneSerif><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:StoneSerif'>most
often think of computer literacy as the ability to use the computer</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=3 face=StoneSerif><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:StoneSerif'>as
an information appliance for such purposes as word processing, running</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=3 face=StoneSerif><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:StoneSerif'>simulations,
accessing educational CD-ROMs, navigating the Internet, and</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=3 face=StoneSerif><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:StoneSerif'>using
presentation software such as PowerPoint. But the question remains</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=3 face=StoneSerif><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:StoneSerif'>whether
mastery of these skills should be the goal of computer education.</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=3 face=StoneSerif><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:StoneSerif'>Do
they constitute computer literacy?</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=3 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:
Arial;color:navy'> </span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=3 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:
Arial;color:navy'> </span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=3 face=StoneSerif><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:StoneSerif'>One
unhappy seventh-grade teacher concurred,</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=3 face=StoneSerif><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:StoneSerif'>"It's
not my job to instruct children in the use of an appliance and then</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=3 face=StoneSerif><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:StoneSerif'>to
leave it at that." These teachers were struggling toward an argument for</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=3 face=StoneSerif><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:StoneSerif'>a
certain kind of "computational exceptionalism." It takes as a given
that</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=3 face=StoneSerif><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:StoneSerif'>people
once knew how their cars, televisions, or telephones worked and</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=3 face=StoneSerif><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:StoneSerif'>don't
know this any more, but that in the case of mechanical technology,</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=3 face=StoneSerif><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:StoneSerif'>such
losses are acceptable. It insists, however, that ignorance about the
fundamentals</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=3 face=StoneSerif><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:StoneSerif'>of
computation comes at too high a price. One teacher put it</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=3 face=StoneSerif><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:StoneSerif'>this
way: "Children know that the telephone is a mechanism and that they</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=3 face=StoneSerif><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:StoneSerif'>control
it. But it's not enough to have that kind of understanding about</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=3 face=StoneSerif><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:StoneSerif'>the
computer. You have to know how a simulation works. You have to</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=3 face=StoneSerif><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:StoneSerif'>know
what an algorithm is."</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=3 face=StoneSerif><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:StoneSerif'> </span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=3 face=StoneSerif><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:StoneSerif'>In
the nearly ten years since I recorded these conversations, educational</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=3 face=StoneSerif><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:StoneSerif'>advocates
for computational transparency have, in large measure, lost their</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=3 face=StoneSerif><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:StoneSerif'>battle.
Educators who want to demystify the computer face a new generation</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=3 face=StoneSerif><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:StoneSerif'>of
children that no longer finds enough mystery in the machine to</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=3 face=StoneSerif><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:StoneSerif'>care
what an algorithm is. It is a generation that has made a transition</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=3 face=StoneSerif><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:StoneSerif'>from
the transparency of algorithm to the opacity of simulation. This generation</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=3 face=StoneSerif><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:StoneSerif'>takes
overland journeys along a simulated <st1:place w:st="on">Oregon Trail</st1:place>
and when</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=3 face=StoneSerif><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:StoneSerif'>it
plays </span></font><i><font face=StoneSerif-Italic><span style='font-family:
StoneSerif-Italic;font-style:italic'>The Sims </span></font></i><font
face=StoneSerif><span style='font-family:StoneSerif'>or </span></font><i><font
face=StoneSerif-Italic><span style='font-family:StoneSerif-Italic;font-style:
italic'>The Sims Online</span></font></i><font face=StoneSerif><span
style='font-family:StoneSerif'>, it designs houses, personal histories,</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=3 face=StoneSerif><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:StoneSerif'>and
social engagements for the virtual citizenry. In </span></font><i><font
face=StoneSerif-Italic><span style='font-family:StoneSerif-Italic;font-style:
italic'>The Second Self</span></font></i><font face=StoneSerif><span
style='font-family:StoneSerif'>, when</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=3 face=StoneSerif><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:StoneSerif'>I
wrote of the "computer as Rorschach," it was programming that served</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=3 face=StoneSerif><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:StoneSerif'>as
the projective screen for personal and cultural differences. These days,</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=3 face=StoneSerif><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:StoneSerif'>computation
offers far more immediate projective media: one can create</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=3 face=StoneSerif><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:StoneSerif'>multiple
avatars in online communities and play with relationships, quite</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=3 face=StoneSerif><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:StoneSerif'>literally
using one's "second (or third, or fourth, of fifth) self."</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=3 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:
Arial;color:navy'> </span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=3 face=StoneSerif><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:StoneSerif'>I
have suggested, in talking about Deborah, that on the level of the individual</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=3 face=StoneSerif><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:StoneSerif'>child,
something interesting has been lost in the move away from</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=3 face=StoneSerif><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:StoneSerif'>authorship
of the programs that underlie one's own game. On a societal</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=3 face=StoneSerif><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:StoneSerif'>level,
there is an analogous loss. The aesthetic of transparency (common</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=3 face=StoneSerif><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:StoneSerif'>to
the Logo movement and the early generations of personal computer</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=3 face=StoneSerif><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:StoneSerif'>hobbyists)
carried with it a political aesthetic that was tied both to authorship</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=3 face=StoneSerif><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:StoneSerif'>and
to knowing how things worked on a level of considerable detail.</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=3 face=StoneSerif><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:StoneSerif'>This
is a kind of understanding that is not communicated by playing</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=3 face=StoneSerif><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:StoneSerif'>off-the-shelf
simulations.</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=3 face=StoneSerif><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:StoneSerif'> </span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=3 face=StoneSerif><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:StoneSerif'>On
one level, high school sophomores playing </span></font><i><font
face=StoneSerif-Italic><span style='font-family:StoneSerif-Italic;font-style:
italic'>SimCity </span></font></i><font face=StoneSerif><span style='font-family:
StoneSerif'>for two hours</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=3 face=StoneSerif><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:StoneSerif'>may
learn more about urban planning than they would from a textbook,</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=3 face=StoneSerif><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:StoneSerif'>but
on another level, they may not know how to think about what they</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=3 face=StoneSerif><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:StoneSerif'>are
doing. They "play" simulations but don't have a clear way to
discriminate</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=3 face=StoneSerif><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:StoneSerif'>between
the rules of the game and those that operate in a real city.</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=3 face=StoneSerif><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:StoneSerif'>Most
have never programmed a computer or constructed their own simulations.</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=3 face=StoneSerif><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:StoneSerif'>They
do not have a language for talking about how one might</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=3 face=StoneSerif><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:StoneSerif'>rewrite
the rules of their games. So, for example, </span></font><i><font
face=StoneSerif-Italic><span style='font-family:StoneSerif-Italic;font-style:
italic'>SimCity </span></font></i><font face=StoneSerif><span style='font-family:
StoneSerif'>often gives players</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=3 face=StoneSerif><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:StoneSerif'>the
impression that raising taxes will lead to riots. But, of course, there is</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=3 face=StoneSerif><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:StoneSerif'>a
way to write the game so that increased taxes lead to an increase in health</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=3 face=StoneSerif><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:StoneSerif'>services,
productivity, and social harmony. In my view, citizenship in a</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=3 face=StoneSerif><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:StoneSerif'>culture
of simulation requires that you know how to rewrite the rules. You</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=3 face=StoneSerif><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:StoneSerif'>need
tools to measure, criticize, and judge every simulation. Today's</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=3 face=StoneSerif><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:StoneSerif'>teenagers
are comfortable as inhabitants of simulated worlds, but most</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=3 face=StoneSerif><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:StoneSerif'>often,
they are there as consumers rather than as citizens. To achieve full</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=3 face=StoneSerif><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:StoneSerif'>citizenship,
our children need to work with simulations that teach about</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=3 face=StoneSerif><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:StoneSerif'>the
nature of simulation itself.</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=3 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:
Arial;color:navy'> </span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=3 face=StoneSerif><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:StoneSerif'>Tim,
who did not know how to program, worked in a complex system built by</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=3 face=StoneSerif><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:StoneSerif'>others.
Tim played his simulation software as though it were a video game,</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=3 face=StoneSerif><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:StoneSerif'>moment
to moment, with no understanding of the rules. Deborah was</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=3 face=StoneSerif><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:StoneSerif'>nurtured
by transparency; Tim's skill set was centered on the artful navigation</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=3 face=StoneSerif><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:StoneSerif'>of
opacity. His philosophy of play: "Don't let it bother you if you</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=3 face=StoneSerif><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:StoneSerif'>don't
understand. I just say to myself that I probably won't be able to</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=3 face=StoneSerif><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:StoneSerif'>understand
the whole game any time soon. So I just play it."6</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=3 face=StoneSerif><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:StoneSerif'>Tim's
method enabled him to accomplish a great deal in simulation</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=3 face=StoneSerif><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:StoneSerif'>space.
His comfort in his virtual world might serve him (not well, but adequately)</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=3 face=StoneSerif><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:StoneSerif'>in
the many possible careers that lay before him, careers in architecture,</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=3 face=StoneSerif><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:StoneSerif'>law,
business, medicine, or history. In all of these fields, dealing</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=3 face=StoneSerif><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:StoneSerif'>with
information increasingly entails the navigation of simulations of</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=3 face=StoneSerif><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:StoneSerif'>other
people's creation. However, as I meet professionals in all of these</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=3 face=StoneSerif><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:StoneSerif'>fields
who move easily within their computational systems and yet feel</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=3 face=StoneSerif><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:StoneSerif'>constrained
by them, trapped by their systems' unseen limitations and</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=3 face=StoneSerif><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:StoneSerif'>unknown
assumptions, I feel continued concern. Are the new generations</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=3 face=StoneSerif><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:StoneSerif'>of
simulation consumers reminiscent of people who can pronounce the</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=3 face=StoneSerif><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:StoneSerif'>words
in a book but don't understand what they mean? We come to</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=3 face=StoneSerif><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:StoneSerif'>written
text with centuries-long habits of readership. At the very least, we</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=3 face=StoneSerif><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:StoneSerif'>have
learned to begin with the journalist's traditional questions: Who,</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=3 face=StoneSerif><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:StoneSerif'>what,
when, where, why, and how? Who wrote these words, what is their</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=3 face=StoneSerif><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:StoneSerif'>message,
why were they written, and how are they situated in time and</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=3 face=StoneSerif><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:StoneSerif'>place,
politically and socially? The dramatic changes in computer education</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=3 face=StoneSerif><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:StoneSerif'>over
the past decades leave us with serious questions about how we</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=3 face=StoneSerif><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:StoneSerif'>can
teach our children to interrogate simulations in much the same spirit.</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=3 face=StoneSerif><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:StoneSerif'>The
specific questions may be different, but the intent needs to be the</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=3 face=StoneSerif><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:StoneSerif'>same:
to develop habits of readership appropriate to a culture of simulation.</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=3 face=StoneSerif><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:StoneSerif'>These
habits of readership are central </span></font><font size=1 face=StoneSerif><span
style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:StoneSerif'>to computer literacy and social</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=1 face=StoneSerif><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:StoneSerif'>responsibility
in the twenty-first century.</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=3 face=StoneSerif><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:StoneSerif'> </span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'><a
href="http://mitpress.mit.edu/catalog/item/default.asp?ttype=2&tid=10515&mode=toc"
target="_blank">http://mitpress.mit.edu/catalog/item/default.asp?ttype=2&tid=10515&mode=toc</a></span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'> </span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'>(I've
uploaded a few of these files sharing – illustrate the amazing resources
which are hidden from google– just a little sample sharing of what's out
there with journals and electronic access to a uni library - but I guess I will
take them pretty soon ) </span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'> </span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'>More
Turkle / Papert </span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'><a
href="http://www.thinkingcurriculum.com/turklePapert.pdf" target="_blank">http://www.thinkingcurriculum.com/turklePapert.pdf</a></span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'> </span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'>(no
copyright here I would think – there are various versions of this paper
online – in fact Paperts classic book MindStorms can be downloaded for
free here </span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'><a
href="http://portal.acm.org/toc.cfm?id=SERIES11430&type=series&coll=ACM&dl=ACM"
target="_blank">http://portal.acm.org/toc.cfm?id=SERIES11430&type=series&coll=ACM&dl=ACM</a></span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'> </span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'>needs
a free web registration but then gives you the whole book ) </span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'> </span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'>I'm
in the middle of researching stuff – this is the tip of the iceberg of
whats out there </span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'> </span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'>Cheers
</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'> </span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><i><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;
font-style:italic'>Rob </span></font></i><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<p><b><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-weight:bold'>Important - </span></font></b>This email and any attachments
may be confidential. If received in error, please contact us and delete all
copies. Before opening or using attachments check them for viruses and defects.
Regardless of any loss, damage or consequence, whether caused by the negligence
of the sender or not, resulting directly or indirectly from the use of any
attached files our liability is limited to resupplying any affected
attachments. Any representations or opinions expressed are those of the
individual sender, and not necessarily those of the Department of Education and
Early Childhood Development.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>_______________________________________________ <br>
<a href="http://www.edulists.com.au" target="_blank">http://www.edulists.com.au
</a>- FAQ, resources, subscribe, unsubscribe <br>
Year 7 - 10 IT Mailing List kindly supported by <br>
<a href="http://www.vcaa.vic.edu.au" target="_blank">http://www.vcaa.vic.edu.au
</a>- Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority and <br>
<a href="http://www.vitta.org.au" target="_blank">http://www.vitta.org.au </a>-
VITTA Victorian Information Technology Teachers Association Inc<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
</div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><br>
<br>
_______________________________________________ <br>
<a href="http://www.edulists.com.au">http://www.edulists.com.au </a>- FAQ,
resources, subscribe, unsubscribe <br>
Year 7 - 10 IT Mailing List kindly supported by <br>
<a href="http://www.vcaa.vic.edu.au">http://www.vcaa.vic.edu.au </a>- Victorian
Curriculum and Assessment Authority and <br>
<a href="http://www.vitta.org.au">http://www.vitta.org.au </a>- VITTA Victorian
Information Technology Teachers Association Inc<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
</div>
<p></p><p><b>Important - </b>This email and any attachments may be confidential. If received in error, please contact us and delete all copies. Before opening or using attachments check them for viruses and defects. Regardless of any loss, damage or consequence, whether caused by the negligence of the sender or not, resulting directly or indirectly from the use of any attached files our liability is limited to resupplying any affected attachments. Any representations or opinions expressed are those of the individual sender, and not necessarily those of the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development.</p>
</body>
</html>