Mindstorms revisited: Making new construals of seymour papert’s legacy

Abstract

Seymour Papert’s Mindstorms is a seminal text in educational technology. Its subtitle: Children, Computers and Powerful Ideas reflects Papert’s broad visionary ambition, yet the cover of its second edition is headlined: ALL ABOUT LOGO - HOW IT WAS INVENTED AND HOW IT WORKS. Notwithstanding the enormous practical impact of LOGO on educational applications of computers, we should not forget Papert’s declaration regarding the computer-inspired revolution in learning he envisioned: “I do not present LOGO environments as my proposal for this … [they are] too primitive … too limited by the technology of the 1970s …”. This paper revisits the challenge implicit in this declaration, appraising the extent to which today’s technological advances can realise Papert’s vision, and proposing an alternative model for his central conception of “an object-to-think-with, that will contribute to the essentially social process of constructing the education of the future”.