Customer Reviews:
 Reforms and more reforms! May 22, 2000
As a school teacher, I agree with Papert when he says that there should be room for more "reforms" in schools for technology. Computers are taking over at a fast pace and our future generation needs to acquire every last bit of information and/or skills that will be needed to both build and operate these machines.
 Connecting the Community and Educators. May 22, 2000
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
In my synopsis of the connected family bridging the digiital generation gap, by Seymour Papert, I have found it to be rewarding reading, but it puts the parents down. Seymour Papert connects the learning of children, and the educator. However, he puts the parents in an isolated arena. He makes them seem uninterested in the learning of new concepts with the use of the computers. Most parents have not had the opportunity to experience what their children are today. I felt that parents have the same ability as the children. They have and can perform at the same levels when instructed to do things. In reading this book, I received insight on how parents can achieve the same goals as teachers, and students. Teachers are instructed to learn how to use the computers in the class with their lessons. This is done through special training classes and lectures. They are to integrate it in the classroom and ensure that children are incorporating the computer's technology in their final outcomes from the lesson. In turn, the students are going home, and hopefully, practicing with their parents. This practice between parent and child will incorporate better socializing skills. It will also help parents understand how to use the computer. Most parents are learning what their children are involved in at school, as well as, learning valuable knowledge that will bridge both teacher, student, and parent. This book is a very good instructional book, but it would be better suited for teachers, and students. It can help children encourage and stimulate their parents in being a vital part of their learning. Especially, in assessing lessons using the computer. It also enhances the skills of the teachers in the classroom. It helps teachers motivate students to be more responsible for the outcomes of their lessons. It helps them to use the computers in a more productive manner. Rather than, as a tool for e-mailing others in chat rooms, or playing games.
Education 571 Hermans May 20, 2000
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
Seymour Papert has shared many things in this book. He also finds a way to formulate a connection between children, parents, and educators. Seymour's conception of the link between the computer is a very strong bond. The computer is being used as a tool to reach the generation gap in technology recognition. Although Seymour's belief's are very argumentive, his teaching is not traditional. I strongly agree with his explantation about the connected family. He provides the parent and child an opportunity to learn and become aware of the technology around them, without being afraid or lost. In conclusion Seymour Papert has enlightened my awareness as well as children and their parents in the field of technology. Overall, I would strongly recommend this book to many of our parents and educators.
To Be Connected Or Not To Be Connected,That Is The QuestionI May 15, 2000
In my response to "The Connected Family" I am compelled to agree with the educational perspectives Papert considers. Most Efficiently, the authors discourse forces one to think and recall educational and sociological thery courses. All through the dialogue we here theories of psychological, social, and most profoundly, educational development: "Children learn in a way that comes natural to them".1 All the while, technological fluency will allow them to grow or change as their world changes around them. "The Connected Family" or "The Family Learning Culture" must encounter the computer or technology in a way that will enhance learning and the family's culture: " My bottom line was that parents should recognize the need to build new kinds of relationships with their children and should see the computer as a vehicle for building, rather than as an obstacle to, family cohesion.Parents should spend less time worrying about what the kids are doing or are not doing with computers and more time trying to find common interest or projects to do together. The article suggested using the children's enthusiam for the computers as a basis for enhancing the family's learning culture."2The most obvious revelation I discovered in reading Papert's book was his assessment of adult interactions, fears, and styles of learning with the computer or technology (i.e. the planner verses the tinkerer or the functionalist verses the experimentalist). Yes, this book is full of social, psychological, and educational theory. From Piaget concrete and operational stages of child development, the author moves smoothly to a project oriented assessment or aquisition of knowledge. In conclusion, this book was thought provoking and intellectually stimulating for the heart and soul of all its readers and, most assuredly, for educators and sociologists like myself. Papert gets his readers to feel and think about his analysis and review of computers and technology in our educational system and in our family.In my opinion, the book should be required reading for all Sociology of Education courses. fluency
To Be Connected Or Not To Be Connected,That Is The QuestionI May 15, 2000
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
In my response to "The Connected Family" I am compelled to agree with the educational perspectives Papert considers. Most Efficiently, the authors discourse forces one to think and recall educational and sociological thery courses. All through the dialogue we here theories of psychological, social, and most profoundly, educational development: "Children learn in a way that comes natural to them".1 All the while, technological fluency will allow them to grow or change as their world changes around them. "The Connected Family" or "The Family Learning Culture" must encounter the computer or technology in a way that will enhance learning and the family's culture: " My bottom line was that parents should recognize the need to build new kinds of relationships with their children and should see the computer as a vehicle for building, rather than as an obstacle to, family cohesion.Parents should spend less time worrying about what the kids are doing or are not doing with computers and more time trying to find common interest or projects to do together. The article suggested using the children's enthusiam for the computers as a basis for enhancing the family's learning culture."2The most obvious revelation I discovered in reading Papert's book was his assessment of adult interactions, fears, and styles of learning with the computer or technology (i.e. the planner verses the tinkerer or the functionalist verses the experimentalist). Yes, this book is full of social, psychological, and educational theory. From Piaget concrete and operational stages of child development, the author moves smoothly to a project oriented assessment or aquisition of knowledge. In conclusion, this book was thought provoking and intellectually stimulating for the heart and soul of all its readers and, most assuredly, for educators and sociologists like myself. Papert gets his readers to feel and think about his analysis and review of computers and technology in our educational system and in our family.In my opinion, the book should be required reading for all Sociology of Education courses. fluency
|
