tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5303307482158922565.post9165031331303115115..comments2024-03-22T13:39:55.941-07:00Comments on Math Mama Writes...: Mindstorms: Children, Computers, and Powerful IdeasSue VanHattumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10237941346154683902noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5303307482158922565.post-58988104631154383842009-10-08T09:40:54.808-07:002009-10-08T09:40:54.808-07:00I would love links to things you think are good. ...I would love links to things you think are good. <br /><br />Hmm, I wonder if there's anything we can do to help send Papert the therapy he needs to recover.Sue VanHattumhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10237941346154683902noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5303307482158922565.post-22948389211280086632009-10-08T09:08:15.567-07:002009-10-08T09:08:15.567-07:00As you know, Seymour Papert has long been my hero....As you know, Seymour Papert has long been my hero. I've read Mindstorms at least 6 or 7 times and I always find something new that I can think about and apply to my work. I'm glad you've discovered him.<br /><br />I've been using a newer version of the original floor turtle at my math center. It's a robot called Roamer and is produced by Valiant Technology. Roamer has a small computer onboard but hidden from view. On the outside, there are button symbols that students use to create programs. When students press the Go button, Roamer follows the procedure. Roamer is simple enough for a 5 year old to program but is capable of procedures that would challenge a 12 year old. Roamer can also be equipped with sensors that detect touch, sound, and light.<br /><br />A friend of mine works with students who have processing issues. She visited Papert at his home in Maine last summer and tried to help him. He had a lot of difficulty expressing his thoughts but she could tell that he understood. She felt that he may not be getting the therapy he needs. It's really sad.<br /><br />Now that you've read Mindstorms, you may want to delve deeper and read his published articles as well as the work of Idit Harel, one of his doctoral students. Gary Stager has worked with Papert and has an extensive list of articles on his site. If you need links, let me know.mathplaygroundhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08194204545624618033noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5303307482158922565.post-17621021084586964442009-10-07T19:12:35.955-07:002009-10-07T19:12:35.955-07:00Here's the email I just sent to the parents at...Here's the email I just sent to the parents at the school I work at:<br /><br />Well, I have mixed feelings about using computers with kids. There is some evidence that lots of screen time isn't good for their development. (For example, the eyes need to change distance focus lots when playing with a ball, and they don't get this practice when watching something on a screen.) The Waldorf folks say no screen time before 8 years old. They're more rigid about it than I want to be, but I am torn... So I've avoided doing a whole lot of computer stuff with the kids until now.<br /><br />Then I read <i>Mindstorms</i>, by Seymour Papert. I am blown away! I wrote a blog post about it here. <br /><br />He developed a computer language called LOGO especially to help kids learn to think. One of its main descendants is an environment called Scratch. You can get that here. You may have to set up an account, but it is free. It's easy to learn, and kids can do lots of cool projects with it. They can create Sprites (there's a painting portion of the program for that or they can ask the system to surprise them), and each Sprite can get a script that makes it do things.<br /><br />I've been bringing my computer to school this week. J, E, and T already had played with Scratch, and were excited to get to do it at school. Lots of other kids gathered around my computer and watched and then took their own turns. D (much younger) signed up for time today, and came running when I called her. She had been watching earlier, and just needed a few nudges to get going on what she wanted to do. Her mom was watching, and wondered how she'd already learned so much. She learned from the other kids. And that's how it goes with Scratch. Check out this video of an experiment in India to see how much poor kids would teach each other given access to a touch screen computer set into a hole in a wall. (Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xRb7_ffl2D0)<br /><br />I highly recommend reading <i>Mindstorms</i>. But if you don't have time, and you're wondering what this has to do with math, let me give you one example. In the book Papert refers to turtles, which is what LOGO controlled. But I'll refer to sprites as I give an example from the book. Kids wanted to make their sprite go in a circle, and weren't sure how, so he suggested they go in a circle themselves and describe what they had done. A child's description of that might be, "I took a small step and then turned a little, and I did that over and over until I got all the way around." They learn how to put together a script (from available tiles) for their sprite that does this, and they've come to understand circles in a new way.<br /><br />Try it out yourself. See if you can make a sprite go in a circle. It's fun! (There's a pen down command, so you can see the circle itself.)<br /><br />We'll still do the more usual sorts of math lessons, but I may have to tear kids away from their turn at the computer for it. ;^)<br /><br />There are 3 computers in the computer room that do not have internet access. If someone could help me get Scratch installed on those, the kids would be grateful, and I think we'd see some amazing creativity. I'm going to try downloading the installer for those older operating systems onto my computer, then putting it on my flash drive, then maybe getting it on the macs. I don't think the PC even has the right place for my flash drive to plug in.<br /><br />If this keeps the kids' interest, I'll keep pointing out the math connections.<br /><br />Warmly,<br />SueSue VanHattumhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10237941346154683902noreply@blogger.com