<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:m="http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/2004/12/omml" 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 12 (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]-->
<style>
<!--
/* Font Definitions */
@font-face
{font-family:Calibri;
panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4;}
@font-face
{font-family:Tahoma;
panose-1:2 11 6 4 3 5 4 4 2 4;}
@font-face
{font-family:StoneSerif;}
@font-face
{font-family:StoneSerif-Italic;}
/* Style Definitions */
p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
{margin:0cm;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";}
a:link, span.MsoHyperlink
{mso-style-priority:99;
color:blue;
text-decoration:underline;}
a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed
{mso-style-priority:99;
color:purple;
text-decoration:underline;}
p
{mso-style-priority:99;
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","serif";}
span.EmailStyle19
{mso-style-type:personal-reply;
font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
color:#1F497D;}
.MsoChpDefault
{mso-style-type:export-only;
font-size:10.0pt;}
@page Section1
{size:612.0pt 792.0pt;
margin:72.0pt 72.0pt 72.0pt 72.0pt;}
div.Section1
{page:Section1;}
-->
</style>
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:shapedefaults v:ext="edit" spidmax="1026" />
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:shapelayout v:ext="edit">
<o:idmap v:ext="edit" data="1" />
</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]-->
</head>
<body lang=EN-AU link=blue vlink=purple>
<div class=Section1>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
color:#1F497D'>Hi Kent and others,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
color:#1F497D'>It’s fantastic to see discussion on girls and computing.
We are few and far between, that is for sure!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
color:#1F497D'>Another tool that you may consider which combines simple
programming concepts and the ‘making something pretty’ aspect is
Scratch [1]. Scratch has been mentioned before on this list. It’s really
intuitive and easy for kids to pick up and is very versatile. Lots of projects
online to give kids inspiration – you can make games, plays, animate your
name in as many different ways as you can think off… and big kids can
waste hours playing with it too (can you tell that is me?). And [2] is an
interesting article about creative thinking and learning.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
color:#1F497D'>Just for your interesting, I am piloting an online mentoring
program this year with a small number of schools that aims to encourage girls
in secondary school to consider careers in Information Communication Technology
(ICT). We hope that through the eMentoring program, students will be provided
with insights into careers in ICT through interactions with graduates and
current students. We hope the program will encourage students, particularly
female students, to consider undertaking ICT at senior secondary and tertiary level.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
color:#1F497D'>Regards, Sarah.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
color:#1F497D'>[1] <a href="http://scratch.mit.edu/">http://scratch.mit.edu/</a>
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
color:#1F497D'>[2] <a
href="http://www.media.mit.edu/~mres/papers/kindergarten-learning-approach.pdf">http://www.media.mit.edu/~mres/papers/kindergarten-learning-approach.pdf</a>
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
color:#1F497D'>--<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
color:#1F497D'>Sarah Pulis<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
color:#1F497D'>Program Coordinator<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
color:#1F497D'>Science Teachers' Assistance Program<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
color:#1F497D'>Faculty of Science, Technology and Engineering<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
color:#1F497D'>La Trobe University<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
color:#1F497D'>Ph: 9479 1283<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
color:#1F497D'>Fax: 9479 3060<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
color:#1F497D'><a href="http://www.latrobe.edu.au/scitecheng/stap">www.latrobe.edu.au/scitecheng/stap</a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
color:#1F497D'>--<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
color:#1F497D'>If you would like to stay informed of new developments within
STAP and be notified of upcoming education program and professional development
opportunities, please subscribe to the <a
href="http://www.latrobe.edu.au/scitecheng/stap/mailing-list.php">STAP mailing
list</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
color:#1F497D'>--<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<div>
<div style='border:none;border-top:solid #B5C4DF 1.0pt;padding:3.0pt 0cm 0cm 0cm'>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:
"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>From:</span></b><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'> yr7-10it-bounces@edulists.com.au
[mailto:yr7-10it-bounces@edulists.com.au] <b>On Behalf Of </b>Kent Beveridge<br>
<b>Sent:</b> Tuesday, 25 March 2008 3:37 PM<br>
<b>To:</b> Year 7 - 10 Information Technology Teachers' Mailing List<br>
<b>Subject:</b> RE: [Yr7-10it] girls, IT, computer literacy<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
</div>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<div id=idOWAReplyText60718>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:black'>Hey folks, it seems we are getting in a few meters deeper than I
originally planned. I am not writing a thesis on girls in computing, just after
some basic ideas on typical things that some 7/8/9/10 year level girls might
like to do to increase their participation rate in the subject of IT. </span><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal> <o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Keep
in mind here, that it is still a separate subject here and not integrated a la
VELS into other disciplines. Also, my classes are all mixed sex so I dont have
the luxury of all girls (or all boys) classes, the numbers just cant justify
that yet.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal> <o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Its
nice to hear that lots of research has been done etc etc..but, the bottom line
(and we all love a nice bottom line!) is, what will enthuse teenage girls into
IT that can be started with a simple single session one lunchtime per week with
basic software programs, the internet(filtered) and no PhD?</span><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal> <o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Kent.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal> <o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
</div>
<div id=idSignature27399>
<div>
<div style='margin-left:42.55pt'>
<p class=MsoNormal><strong><i><span style='color:blue'>Kent Beveridge</span></i></strong><i><span
style='color:blue'>,</span></i><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div style='margin-left:42.55pt'>
<p class=MsoNormal><i><span style='color:blue'>I.T. co-ordinator</span></i><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div style='margin-left:42.55pt'>
<p class=MsoNormal><i><span style='color:blue'>St. Brigids Catholic Sec.
College</span></i><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div style='margin-left:42.55pt'>
<p class=MsoNormal><i><span style='color:blue'>Horsham</span></i><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div style='margin-left:42.55pt'>
<p class=MsoNormal><i><span style='color:black'>email.. <a
href="mailto:kbeveridge@stbc.vic.edu.au">kbeveridge@stbc.vic.edu.au</a></span></i><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div style='margin-left:42.55pt'>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:black'> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div style='margin-left:42.55pt'>
<p class=MsoNormal><strong><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:black'>|<3|\|7 b3\/3r1D93 ? ;-)</span></strong><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div style='margin-left:42.55pt'>
<p class=MsoNormal><i><span style='color:black'>Wishes and Eggs, one you make
and one you break! A bit like promises.....</span></i><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div style='margin-left:42.55pt'>
<p class=MsoNormal><i><span style='color:purple'>“This email and any
attachments may be confidential. You must not disclose or use the
information in this email if you are not the intended recipient. If you
have received this email in error, please notify us immediately and delete the
email and all copies. The School does not guarantee that this email is
virus or error free. The attached files are provided and my only be used
on the basis that the user assumes all responsibility for any loss, damage or
consequence resulting directly or indirectly from the use of the attached
files, whether caused by the negligence of the sender or not. The content
and opinions in this email are not necessarily those of the School.”</span></i><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<div class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'>
<hr size=2 width="100%" align=center>
</div>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:12.0pt'><b><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>From:</span></b><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'> yr7-10it-bounces@edulists.com.au on behalf
of Bill Kerr<br>
<b>Sent:</b> Tue 3/25/2008 2:59 PM<br>
<b>To:</b> Year 7 - 10 Information Technology Teachers' Mailing List<br>
<b>Subject:</b> Re: [Yr7-10it] girls, IT, computer literacy</span><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom: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></p>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal>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></p>
<div>
<div>
<p><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>I sent
something through yesterday re Kent's questions about girls in IT. </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>It hasn't
appeared maybe because I added a largish attachment </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Anyway,
here's another link I found yesterday that might be of interest - </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>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><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><a
href="http://www.thinkingcurriculum.com/alice.pdf" target="_blank">www.thinkingcurriculum.com/alice.pdf</a></span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>(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><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Be worth
schools having an account) </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>it talks
about the overlap between animation and programming and the appeal in this
approach appeals to me as well ! </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>also a copy
and paste of whats I sent yesterday : </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:navy'>Sherry Turkle did
some pioneering work on computer cultures, gender, etc </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:navy'>I think it would
be fair to describe her as a feminist orientated scholar; </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";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><o:p></o:p></p>
<p> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:navy'>Here's an excerpt
from the 20<sup>th</sup> anniversary edition of the "Second Self :
Computers and the human spirit"</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:navy'>(in other work
with Papert, they looked at how gender interacted with programming style and
knowledge construction </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:navy'>I worked in a
girls school for quite a while and agree with Rachel's observations about
preferred activities</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:navy'>But seems pretty
crucial to me that we offer programming in accessible forms and styles as well</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:navy'>(while I'm on that
here's a review of introductory programming languages -</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:navy'>"Lowering the
Barriers to Programming: A Taxonomy of Programming Environments and
Languages for Novice Programmers" </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:navy'>looks at about 200
of them </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:navy'><a
href="http://www.thinkingcurriculum.com/lowerbarrier.pdf" target="_blank">http://www.thinkingcurriculum.com/lowerbarrier.pdf</a>
</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:navy'>Turkle : </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style='font-family:StoneSerif'>In </span><i><span style='font-family:
StoneSerif-Italic'>The Second Self </span></i><span style='font-family:StoneSerif'>I
report on my studies of children learning Logo. Their</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style='font-family:StoneSerif'>styles of programming were varied and
revealing. The computer, as I have</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style='font-family:StoneSerif'>said, served as a Rorschach, and
programming was one of the most powerful</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style='font-family:StoneSerif'>manifestations of its projective power.
Twenty years later, programming</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style='font-family:StoneSerif'>is no longer taught much in standard
classrooms, relegated for the</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style='font-family:StoneSerif'>most part to special after-school
computer clubs. These days, educators</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style='font-family:StoneSerif'>most often think of computer literacy
as the ability to use the computer</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style='font-family:StoneSerif'>as an information appliance for such
purposes as word processing, running</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style='font-family:StoneSerif'>simulations, accessing educational
CD-ROMs, navigating the Internet, and</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style='font-family:StoneSerif'>using presentation software such as
PowerPoint. But the question remains</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style='font-family:StoneSerif'>whether mastery of these skills should
be the goal of computer education.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style='font-family:StoneSerif'>Do they constitute computer literacy?</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style='font-family:StoneSerif'>One unhappy seventh-grade teacher
concurred,</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style='font-family:StoneSerif'>"It's not my job to instruct
children in the use of an appliance and then</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style='font-family:StoneSerif'>to leave it at that." These
teachers were struggling toward an argument for</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style='font-family:StoneSerif'>a certain kind of "computational
exceptionalism." It takes as a given that</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style='font-family:StoneSerif'>people once knew how their cars,
televisions, or telephones worked and</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style='font-family:StoneSerif'>don't know this any more, but that in
the case of mechanical technology,</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style='font-family:StoneSerif'>such losses are acceptable. It insists,
however, that ignorance about the fundamentals</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style='font-family:StoneSerif'>of computation comes at too high a
price. One teacher put it</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style='font-family:StoneSerif'>this way: "Children know that the
telephone is a mechanism and that they</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style='font-family:StoneSerif'>control it. But it's not enough to have
that kind of understanding about</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style='font-family:StoneSerif'>the computer. You have to know how a
simulation works. You have to</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style='font-family:StoneSerif'>know what an algorithm is."</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style='font-family:StoneSerif'>In the nearly ten years since I
recorded these conversations, educational</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style='font-family:StoneSerif'>advocates for computational
transparency have, in large measure, lost their</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style='font-family:StoneSerif'>battle. Educators who want to demystify
the computer face a new generation</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style='font-family:StoneSerif'>of children that no longer finds enough
mystery in the machine to</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style='font-family:StoneSerif'>care what an algorithm is. It is a
generation that has made a transition</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style='font-family:StoneSerif'>from the transparency of algorithm to
the opacity of simulation. This generation</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style='font-family:StoneSerif'>takes overland journeys along a
simulated Oregon Trail and when</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style='font-family:StoneSerif'>it plays </span><i><span
style='font-family:StoneSerif-Italic'>The Sims </span></i><span
style='font-family:StoneSerif'>or </span><i><span style='font-family:StoneSerif-Italic'>The
Sims Online</span></i><span style='font-family:StoneSerif'>, it designs houses,
personal histories,</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style='font-family:StoneSerif'>and social engagements for the virtual
citizenry. In </span><i><span style='font-family:StoneSerif-Italic'>The Second
Self</span></i><span style='font-family:StoneSerif'>, when</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style='font-family:StoneSerif'>I wrote of the "computer as
Rorschach," it was programming that served</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style='font-family:StoneSerif'>as the projective screen for personal
and cultural differences. These days,</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style='font-family:StoneSerif'>computation offers far more immediate
projective media: one can create</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style='font-family:StoneSerif'>multiple avatars in online communities
and play with relationships, quite</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style='font-family:StoneSerif'>literally using one's "second (or
third, or fourth, of fifth) self."</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style='font-family:StoneSerif'>I have suggested, in talking about
Deborah, that on the level of the individual</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style='font-family:StoneSerif'>child, something interesting has been
lost in the move away from</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style='font-family:StoneSerif'>authorship of the programs that
underlie one's own game. On a societal</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style='font-family:StoneSerif'>level, there is an analogous loss. The
aesthetic of transparency (common</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style='font-family:StoneSerif'>to the Logo movement and the early
generations of personal computer</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style='font-family:StoneSerif'>hobbyists) carried with it a political
aesthetic that was tied both to authorship</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style='font-family:StoneSerif'>and to knowing how things worked on a
level of considerable detail.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style='font-family:StoneSerif'>This is a kind of understanding that is
not communicated by playing</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style='font-family:StoneSerif'>off-the-shelf simulations.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style='font-family:StoneSerif'>On one level, high school sophomores
playing </span><i><span style='font-family:StoneSerif-Italic'>SimCity </span></i><span
style='font-family:StoneSerif'>for two hours</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style='font-family:StoneSerif'>may learn more about urban planning
than they would from a textbook,</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style='font-family:StoneSerif'>but on another level, they may not know
how to think about what they</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style='font-family:StoneSerif'>are doing. They "play"
simulations but don't have a clear way to discriminate</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style='font-family:StoneSerif'>between the rules of the game and those
that operate in a real city.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style='font-family:StoneSerif'>Most have never programmed a computer
or constructed their own simulations.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style='font-family:StoneSerif'>They do not have a language for talking
about how one might</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style='font-family:StoneSerif'>rewrite the rules of their games. So,
for example, </span><i><span style='font-family:StoneSerif-Italic'>SimCity </span></i><span
style='font-family:StoneSerif'>often gives players</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style='font-family:StoneSerif'>the impression that raising taxes will
lead to riots. But, of course, there is</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style='font-family:StoneSerif'>a way to write the game so that increased
taxes lead to an increase in health</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style='font-family:StoneSerif'>services, productivity, and social
harmony. In my view, citizenship in a</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style='font-family:StoneSerif'>culture of simulation requires that you
know how to rewrite the rules. You</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style='font-family:StoneSerif'>need tools to measure, criticize, and
judge every simulation. Today's</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style='font-family:StoneSerif'>teenagers are comfortable as
inhabitants of simulated worlds, but most</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style='font-family:StoneSerif'>often, they are there as consumers
rather than as citizens. To achieve full</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style='font-family:StoneSerif'>citizenship, our children need to work
with simulations that teach about</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style='font-family:StoneSerif'>the nature of simulation itself.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style='font-family:StoneSerif'>Tim, who did not know how to program,
worked in a complex system built by</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style='font-family:StoneSerif'>others. Tim played his simulation
software as though it were a video game,</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style='font-family:StoneSerif'>moment to moment, with no understanding
of the rules. Deborah was</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style='font-family:StoneSerif'>nurtured by transparency; Tim's skill
set was centered on the artful navigation</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style='font-family:StoneSerif'>of opacity. His philosophy of play:
"Don't let it bother you if you</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style='font-family:StoneSerif'>don't understand. I just say to myself
that I probably won't be able to</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style='font-family:StoneSerif'>understand the whole game any time
soon. So I just play it."6</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style='font-family:StoneSerif'>Tim's method enabled him to accomplish
a great deal in simulation</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style='font-family:StoneSerif'>space. His comfort in his virtual world
might serve him (not well, but adequately)</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style='font-family:StoneSerif'>in the many possible careers that lay
before him, careers in architecture,</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style='font-family:StoneSerif'>law, business, medicine, or history. In
all of these fields, dealing</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style='font-family:StoneSerif'>with information increasingly entails
the navigation of simulations of</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style='font-family:StoneSerif'>other people's creation. However, as I
meet professionals in all of these</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style='font-family:StoneSerif'>fields who move easily within their
computational systems and yet feel</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style='font-family:StoneSerif'>constrained by them, trapped by their
systems' unseen limitations and</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style='font-family:StoneSerif'>unknown assumptions, I feel continued
concern. Are the new generations</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style='font-family:StoneSerif'>of simulation consumers reminiscent of
people who can pronounce the</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style='font-family:StoneSerif'>words in a book but don't understand
what they mean? We come to</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style='font-family:StoneSerif'>written text with centuries-long habits
of readership. At the very least, we</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style='font-family:StoneSerif'>have learned to begin with the
journalist's traditional questions: Who,</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style='font-family:StoneSerif'>what, when, where, why, and how? Who
wrote these words, what is their</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style='font-family:StoneSerif'>message, why were they written, and how
are they situated in time and</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style='font-family:StoneSerif'>place, politically and socially? The
dramatic changes in computer education</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style='font-family:StoneSerif'>over the past decades leave us with
serious questions about how we</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style='font-family:StoneSerif'>can teach our children to interrogate
simulations in much the same spirit.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style='font-family:StoneSerif'>The specific questions may be
different, but the intent needs to be the</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style='font-family:StoneSerif'>same: to develop habits of readership
appropriate to a culture of simulation.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style='font-family:StoneSerif'>These habits of readership are central </span><span
style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:StoneSerif'>to computer literacy and social</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:StoneSerif'>responsibility in the
twenty-first century.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><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><o:p></o:p></p>
<p> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>(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><o:p></o:p></p>
<p> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>More Turkle
/ Papert </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><a
href="http://www.thinkingcurriculum.com/turklePapert.pdf" target="_blank">http://www.thinkingcurriculum.com/turklePapert.pdf</a></span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>(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><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><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><o:p></o:p></p>
<p> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>needs a free
web registration but then gives you the whole book ) </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>I'm in the
middle of researching stuff this is the tip of the iceberg of whats out
there </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Cheers </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p><i><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Rob </span></i><o:p></o:p></p>
<p> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p> <o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<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.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>_______________________________________________ <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></p>
</div>
</div>
<p class=MsoNormal><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></p>
</div>
</div>
</body>
</html>