Mindstorms: Children, Computers, And Powerful Ideas

by Seymour A Papert

Overview

Seymour Papert was among the first to see that massive change was needed in the education system, particularly in the fields of math and science, and in the role that technology could play in learning. Mindstorms is the book born of these observations. Papert posits two central themes: that children can learn to use computers and technology in a masterful way, and that mastery can change the way they learn everything else, even outside the classroom.

Papert makes the point that in classrooms saturated with technology there is actually more socialization, and that the technology often contributes to increased interaction among students and between students and instructors.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781541675124
Publisher:	Basic Books
Publication date:	10/06/2020
Edition description:	Revised ed.
Pages:	288
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.10(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Seymour Papert (1928-2016) was a professor of mathematics and education at MIT, where he co-founded the Artificial Intelligence and Media Laboratories. He was the co-inventor of the LOGO programming language. He is the author of numerous books, including Perceptrons, The Connected Family, and The Children's Machine.


Mitchel Resnick is Lego Papert Professor of Learning Research, Director of the Okawa Center, and Director of the Lifelong Kindergarten group at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Media Lab. A former student of Papert's, Resnick developed Scratch, a programming language designed to help children learn coding, and his project Programmable Bricks served as the foundation for LEGO Mindstorms. He is the recipient of the Harold W. McGraw Jr. Prize in Education. Resnick is also the author of Lifelong Kindergarten.

Editorial Reviews

New edition of an influential book published in 1980 by the inventor of LOGO, the computer programming language designed for children. Papert discusses why and how he invented the language and shares his insightful thinking about children and learning. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Booknews

"[Papert] offers one of the most promising glimpses yet of how we might build toward an education system in which we could take renewed pride."—New York Times Book Review

"Seymour Papert is the greatest of all living education theorists. He puts into the hands of the child new conceptual tools and thus changes the learning experience from a matter of discipline and suffering into one of excitement."—Marvin Minsky

"Ever since I met Seymour...I liked the way he talked about kids and how they learn. What he taught me was that each of us can learn and that computers are a unique tool to be used in our learning. But real learning is not rote and not commanded, but the result of exploration and delight."
—Governor Jerry Brown

"Papert's fascinating volume should help adults allay their own fear of computers and not extend those fears into the uncorrupted psyches of children."
—Choice

From the Publisher