[Yr7-10it] Scratch, Gamemaker, VB.net, Python, PHP and MySQL - Programming for all levels

[Costello, Rob R]

> Thanks for making the effort to read a 300+ page dissertation Rob :-)

Turned out to be good timing - start of the hols, had to travel so lots
of travelling & reading time 

I'm doing further study - and taken a somewhat parallel path - so all
comes together 

once I got into it also very compelling reading - 

what are the powerful ideas that computer literacy opens for us? 

I like his notion that powerful ideas are the ones with the most
connection, the most networked into various areas 

systems thinking and simulation as the powerful ideas - good case for
that here 

Maxwell says it better 
" The kinds of powerful ideas emergent in the digital age - simulations,
systems dynamics, multimedia, collaborative works, and so on-mean one
must become conversant with the genres and methods of elaborating such
constructs, and to be able to create and manipulate them oneself (see
Lemke 2001). Are these not the special province of
education? Is not the ideal of public education, mass education, that
these ideas be accessible to all, and that the very structure and health
of democratic society depends upon their reasonably widespread fluency
(Dewey 1916; Kellner 2006)? And furthermore, as my emphasis on the
ability of the literate to themselves construct and actively participate
in each of these forms hopefully suggests, is it not the responsibility
of education to nurture not the givenness of these ideas, but our own
role in their ongoing construction and definition Is this not what
democractic citizenship-as framed by Dewey-is all about? " 

I'd never heard of Squeak until a few weeks ago 
(although I've seen Scratch - which I take it is a java app somehow
built on squeak - at least on the web version) 

I do know of SmallTalk - but I had no idea it was conceived to give
children an authentic entry into the world of computing - part of the
Dynabook vision

given that squeak / e-toys is built on smalltalk - I have that right? -
and its going onto the "hundred dollar laptop"  / one laptop per child
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/XO-1_(laptop) 

then maybe it will all change 

reminds me the world doesn't have to look like web pages and office apps
- the "given-ness" is much more up for grabs than it seems - just needs
people fluent in both IT and education in the right places

cheers 

rob 
 ------------------------------------------------ 
>For those with less time but are still interested then I'd recommend
starting with Ch 4 (38pp) which provides a high level overview of alan
kay's
educational vision
http://thinkubator.ccsp.sfu.ca/Dynabook/dissertation

Reading up on some of the history of computing / educational computing
has
altered my views of what we could / should be trying to achieve
substantially

I've read a lot of Papert's material years ago but the alan kay material
adds a whole new dimension to it IMO. Why? One possibility is that with
commercialization of computers the original educational potential became
terribly distorted - certainly Maxwell explores this theme
comprehensively.

Although alan kay was strongly influenced by Papert - Kay was involved
at a
more fundamental level - ie. directly involved in the invention of the
PC
and the first OOPs language, Smalltalk

Etoys / squeak is a modern software synthesis of some of the best
educational computing ideas from the past 30 years - although not a
final
end product.

I've compiled some rough notes, brief history and an annotated reference
list of some of alan kay's best articles and  video presentations here:
http://learningevolves.wikispaces.com/alanKay+talk

cheers,
- Bill
-- 
Bill Kerr
http://billkerr2.blogspot.com/



On 10/3/07, Costello, Rob R <Costello.Rob.R at edumail.vic.gov.au> wrote:
>
> Thanks Bill
>
> Read Maxwells phd thesis
> (http://thinkubator.ccsp.sfu.ca/Dynabook/dissertation)
> on Alan Kay and his vision of computing - the vision of the dynabook
>
> Pretty amazing document, documentation of little known history - at
> least to me -
>
> even though his vision of real computing as childs play hasn't been
> fulfilled, he has still had a huge influence on current software
> principles etc
>
> Catalysing a deep change of thinking on technology directions
>
> Be nice if the ultranet people read something like this
>
> Thanks
> Rob
>
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