Mindstuff: Educational technology beyond the computer

Convergence

Volumn 9, Issue 2, 2003, Pages 29-53

  Eisenberg, Michael ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO   (United States)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

EID: 61049315043     PISSN: 13548565     EISSN: 17487382     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1177/135485650300900205     Document Type: Article

References (42)

1. S. Papert, Mindstorms (New York: Basic Books 1980)
2. A provocative discussion, from the perspective of cognitive science, on the physical origins of mathematical understanding, may be found in G. Lakoff and R. Núñez, Where Mathematics Comes From (New York: Basic Books, 2000)
3. For discussions of some of the central current research issues surrounding the use of manipulatives in mathematics education, see for example, D.L. Ball, 'Magical hopes: manipulatives and the reform of math education', American Educator (Summer) 1992, pp. 15-18 and 46-47
4. as well as the introductory sections of N. Hall, 'Concrete Representations and the Procedural Analogy Theory', Journal of Mathematical Behavior, 17, no. 1 (1998), pp. 33-51
5. and S. Chao, J. Stigler, and J. Woodward, 'The Effects of Physical Materials on Kindergartners' Learning of Number Concepts', Cognition and Instruction, 18, no. 3 (2000), pp. 285-316
6. Probably the most widely-used sense of the term 'transitional object' derives from the work of the child psychologist D.W. Winnicott. This more clinical notion of transitional object functions, in fact, primarily in the emotional (and not the cognitive) realm: the typical summary of Winnicott's thought stresses the infant's use of an inanimate object (such as a blanket) to substitute for the presence of the mother. Papert's use of the term is clearly closer to the interests of Piaget than Winnicott, but there are certainly overtones of the 'clinical' definition in Papert's emphasis on the affective role of transitional objects
7. It should be noted that both types of turtles are in fact described in Mindstorms, and that the floor turtle is - like the screen turtle - capable of drawing figures (in this case, with a physical pen). Still, the examples shown in the book (see especially Chapters 3 and 5) are heavily weighted toward the graphical features and advantages of the screen turtle; and for the most part, subsequent treatments of turtle mathematics and programming have likewise focused on the screen- (as opposed to floor-) turtle
8. For an inspiring introduction to the subject of turtle-based mathematics, see H. Abelson, and A. diSessa, Turtle Geometry (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1980)
9. H.M. Cundy, and A.P. Rollett, Mathematical Models (London: Oxford University Press, 1961)
10. H. Strobl, 'Symmetry in Two- and Three-Dimensional Origami with Knotted Tape' in Origami Science and Art: Proceedings of the Second International Meeting of Origami Science and Scientific Origami, ed K. Miura (Otsu, Japan, 1997)
11. H. Abelson, and G. J. Sussman, Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1996)
12. M. Eisenberg, and A. Nishioka, 'Orihedra: Mathematical Sculptures in Paper', International Journal of Computers for Mathematical Learning, 1, 1997, pp. 225-261
13. See, for instance, Eisenberg and Nishioka 1997
14. M. Eisenberg, A. Rubin, and T. Chen, 'Computation and Educational Handicrafts: a Strategy for Integrative Design', in Proceedings of International Conference on the Learning Sciences, 1998, Atlanta, December 1998, pp. 84-90
15. and Carol Strohecker, 'Understanding Topological Relationships through Comparisons of Similar Knots', Al & Society, 10 (1996), pp. 58-69
16. An argument along these lines is presented at much greater length in M. Eisenberg, 'Output Devices, Computation, and the Future of Computational Crafts', International Journal of Computers in Mathematical Learning, 7, no. 1 (2002), pp. 1-44
17. See, for instance, C. Mann, 'Electronic Paper Turns the Page', Technology Review (March 2001); and the commercial websites for electroluminescent wire at www.glowire.com and www.thatscoolwire.com (April 2003)
18. Zometool, Inc. at www.zometool.com (April 2003)
19. The sources for these commercial images are (upper left, upper right, and bottom, respectively): www.1on1schoolsupplies.com/legsofbricst.html (April 2003) www.hoberman.com/fold/sphere/spheres_all.htm (April 2003) www.1on1schoolsupplies.com/unitblocks.html (April 2003)
20. See www.briotoy.com (April 2003)
21. More detailed argument along these lines may be found in M. Eisenberg, A. Eisenberg, M. Gross, K. Kaowthumrong, N. Lee, and W. Lovett, 'Computationally-Enhanced Construction Kits for Children: Prototype and Principles', in Proceedings of International Conference on the Learning Sciences, Seattle, WA. 2002
22. See library.thinkquest.org/20551/home.html (April 2003)
23. See, for instance: M. Resnick, F. Martin, R. Sargent, and B. Silverman, 'Programmable Bricks: Toys to Think With', IBM Systems Journal, 35, no. 3 (1996), pp. 443-452
24. M. Resnick, F. Martin, R. Berg, R. Borovoy, V. Colella, K. Kramer, and B. Silverman, 'Digital Manipulatives: New Toys to Think With', in Proceedings of CHI '98, pp. 281-287
25. M.G. Gorbet et al, 'Triangles: Tangible Interfaces for Manipulation and Exploration of Digital Information Topography', in Proceedings of CHI '98, pp. 49-56
26. Y. Kitamura et al, 'Real-time 3D Interaction with ActiveCube', in Proceedings of CHI 2001 (Extended Abstracts), Seattle, WA, pp. 355-356
27. P. Wyeth, and G. Wyeth, 'Electronic Blocks: Tangible Programming Elements for Preschoolers', in Proceedings of the Eighth IFIP TC13 Conference on Human-Computer Interaction (INTERACT 2001)
28. K. Camarata et al, 'Navigational Blocks', in Proceedings of Intelligent User Interfaces '02, San Francisco, CA.; and Eisenberg et al 2002
29. See: Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences 2000. The Nobel Prize in Chemistry, 2000: Conductive Polymers www.nobel.se/chemistry/laureates/2000/ chemadv.pdf (April 2003)
30. See, for instance, the Sage Electrochromics, Inc. www.sage-ec.com (April 2003)
31. S. Levy, Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution (New York: Doubleday 1984)
32. D. Bennahum, Extra Life: Coming of Age in Cyberspace (New York: Basic Books, 1998)
33. See D. Smith, and A. Cypher, 'Making Programming Easier for Children', in The Design of Children's Technology, ed. A. Druin (San Francisco, CA: Morgan Kaufmann, 1999), pp. 201-221. Since the publication of this reference, Cocoa has been renamed 'Stagecast Creator'
34. This is a reasonable surmise from the useful data in H. J. Becker, 'How are Teachers Using Computers in Instruction?' Paper presented at 2001 meetings of American Education Research Association (AERA) 2001, www.crito.uci.edu/tlc/ FINDINGS/special3/How_Are_Teachers_Using.pdf, (April 2003)
35. and H. Wenglinsky, Does It Compute? The Relationship Between Educational Technology and Student Achievement in Mathematics (Princeton, NJ: Educational Testing Service, 1998), although the topic of programming per se is not a specific focus of either paper
36. Fascinating extended discussion of these issues can be found in a variety of sources: B. Nardi, A Small Matter of Programming (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1993)
37. A. diSessa, Changing Minds: Computers, Learning, and Literacy (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2000)
38. and the collection edited by A. Cypher, Watch What I Do: Programming by Demonstration (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1993). It should be noted that the various authors represented here assuredly would not concur with all of my own views on the subject
39. For example, of the sort shown in W.M. Clark, A Manual of Mechanical Movements (Garden City, NY: Garden City Publishing Co, 1943)
40. M. Csikszentmihalyi and E. Rochberg-Halton, The Meaning of Things (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1981)
41. Cf. I. Opie and P. Opie, Children's Games with Things (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1997)
42. From the title of I. Opie, The People in the Playground (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1993)