CEP 824- 1.1 Reading notes

Read

I love to use bullet points and illustrations with texts to summarize readings! It makes me feel relaxing! The reflection part is at the end, sorry for the confusion!

Falbel, A. (1990, Fall). The computer as a convivial tool. Mothering, (57), 90+.

Main question: the effect of the computer on the mind of a child. (as a convivial tool.)

Convivial Tool: refer to tools or social arrangements that can enhance a person's freedom and autonomy.

Technocentrism : Computer directly changes the way children think and learn.

• Papert-To illustrate the absurdity of technocentric thinking: These betray themselves as technocentric questions by ignoring people and elements that only people can introduce: skills, design, aesthetics....

• what children are doing with computers, NOT at what the computer is allegedly doing to them

  • no sense to talk of good or bad objects without reference to the particular ways in which they are used: One can use a pencil to write a beautiful sonnet, or one can use it to stab someone.

• Education: Active or Passive? Education ≠ instruction

• X " educational tool." "tool for learning."

√ Computer is just a tool, like all tools.

😊 Computer as a convivial tool

• More convivial software could be written in a programming language that is easy to understand.

• computers can be used in liberating ways-in ways that increase one's range of choices.

• learning to program a computer can increase its capacity for conviviality and can help counteract the current trend toward anticonvivial hardware.

Computer Literacy or Computer Culture?

Talk of the future is beside the point because today's computer literacy will be woefully out-of-date when applied to tomorrow's tools.

Computers can be used to enslave people, to program them, and to dehumanize them; or they can be used to liberate people, to extend their creative and expressive reach, and to foster conviviality.

What About Computer Games? Do they lead to violence?

According to the available evidence, playing with violent computer games does not by itself lead to violence.

What children do with computer games depends largely upon how children are treated.

1. If we push them around,

2. if we convince them that they do not matter,

3. or if we give them few choices, then we need to worry a great deal about computer addiction.

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Hazzan O., Lapidot T., Ragonis N. (2014) Overview of the discipline of computer science. In: Guide to Teaching Computer Science. Springer, London

• The question “what is computer science?” does not have a single answer

  • Wing: CT

  • artistic and creative thinking

  • about conceptual ideas,

• The discipline of computer science and with cross-curriculum topics

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Reflect

• What did you learn?

• What lingering questions do you have?

• What thoughts does it inspire?

In Falbel, I have learned a controversial doctrine, Technocentrism, and I think it is very true that computers are just tools like all other tools as pencils. We cannot simply say that affects children. Children do things with computers, not computers do to them. Instead, we should think about how students should use those tools productively and vividly. Moreover, I am surprised that the reason to become computer literate is that we need to use it right now. It inspires me because I would like to be a computer scientist because I think it is an essential skill that can be beneficial for me in the future, but I haven't thought about it right now. The idea is that today's computer literacy would be out-of-date soon, so it is pointless if we prepare for the tool. In this course, we are going to use some coding to solve problems, and I am looking forward to learning those!

In addition, in Hazzan, I have learned how different ways computer science has defined, and explored a list of various lesson plans that we could introduce various topics in computer science, like history, definition, etc.

I am currently having a question about the part of the computer games. The author claims that computer game is that we don't have to worry too much about computer addiction because it depends on children (How we treat our children). I agree that different children have a different attitude to computer games(just entertainment vs escaping from the real world), but I am questioning that does that really not matter? In order to make profits, game companies may not focus on the development of human nature, but seize the weaknesses of human nature and try their best to indulge as long as possible. (Play more! more and more! )If the game is designed in this way, it is still possible for children to play for a long time.