UMass Lowell
Computer Science
Colloquium
Announcement
Speaker:
Dr. Fred G. Martin, MIT Media Lab
Date & Time: November 7, 2001, 3:00pm--4:00pm
Place:
Olsen 311 (The Media Lab), Refreshments are served at
2:30pm
Designing for Designers: A Vision of Learning,
Technology, and Computational Media
We are at a crossroads with respect to how we use computers in schools. Our past approach of
installing computer labs and providing computer literacy courses does not result in significant
new learning.
We are limited by impoverished models of the significance of the computer. In Europe, the
widespread use of the term "IT" (information technology) has given way to an updated "ICT"
(information and communication technology), but these are only two facets of the opportunity
that computation has to change our ways of thinking and learning. Presently in the USA, the
richer concept of computer as "digital hub" is being popularized. Yet we can go much further
when we realize that (1) computation itself is an object-to-think-with, and (2) computation isn't
confined to a box on your desk or your lap.
Not only can the tools for learning change, but so can our approaches. Instead of increased
emphasis on test preparedness, we need alternate types of intellectual activity in schools. Not all
learners start from an analytic and formal framework. Students with negotiational, concrete, and
"bottom-up" thinking styles learn far better from situated and personally meaningful activities,
which give them rapid feedback on their ideas, and ultimately build the foundation for the formal
thinking we value.
I will discuss the design and use of computational building materials which encourage their users
to take an iterative and negotiational design process as they conceive and carry out their project
ideas. This includes Logo, a programming language written for children, and materials I
developed that allow learners to build interactive systems that incorporate sensing, programming,
and control.
Computation is a powerful idea which can be relevant to many people who don't think of
themselves as technologists. When computation is embodied in everyday media and made
accessible, it's possible to give people of widely varying ages, backgrounds, and interests the
possibility for their own creative statement and learning.
Colloquium Coordinator: Jie Wang, wang@cs.uml.edu , Website: http://www.cs.uml.edu/~wang/colloquia/