Logo is an educational programming language, designed in 1967 by wally feurzeig, seymour papert, and cynthia solomon. Paperts career traversed a trio of influential movements. Seymour papert was born in 1928 in pretoria, south africa, and went on to study at the. Seymour papert is a leader in early childhood learning behaviors among many other technologybased specialties. Seymour papert, logo turtles, and the origin of educational robots. Papert has always been a visionary where computers and education intersect, and it is incredible how glacially society has moved to embrace his proposed. Constructionism, logo, and seymour papert seymour papert logo in the mid 1960s seymour papert, a mathematician who had been working with piaget in geneva, came to the united states where he cofounded the mit artificial intelligence laboratory with marvin minsky.
He is one of the pioneers of artificial intelligence, and coinventor, with wally feurzeig, of the logo programming language. Seymour papert and others used it at the massachusetts institute of technology mit to teach mathematical thinking to schoolchildren. Looks at the use of computers in the classroom through the eyes of massachusetts institute of technologys seymour papert, inventor of the computer language logo and father of the turtle a computerized robot that crawls on the floor and communicates in logo, a versatile language even fiveyearolds can learn. Logo was created by seymour papert in the mid1960s along with colleagues at mit and members of. Seymour papert, who was born in the late 20s and passed away a few weeks ago, was one of the pioneers within the constructionist movement in. In the late 1960s, seymour papert and colleagues at mit developed logo as a programming language for children papert 1980. Seymour papert computers in the lives of our children an mit mathematician and philosopher is exploring how technology can educate the next generation and their parents. Seymour paperts mindstorms is a seminal text in educational technology. Seymour papert is currently lego professor of learning research and. A generalpurpose language, logo is widely known for its use of turtle graphics, in which commands for movement and drawing produced line or vector graphics, either on screen or with a small robot termed a turtle. Seymour papert was cocreator of logo in much the same way that doug engelbart was creator of the mouse. On march 1, 1928, american mathematician, computer scientist, and educator seymour aubrey papert was born.
Seymour papert south africanborn mathematician and. Papert believed that computers had a unique potential to help us learn and think. Sunday interview seymour papert computers in the lives of our children an mit mathematician and philosopher is exploring how technology can educate the next generation and their parents. Computers have completely changed the way we teach children.
In the late 1960s, seymour papert and colleagues at mit developed logo as. Evidence of paperts ideas in todays constructivist practice. Mar 01, 2016 seymour papert, spacewar rolling stone 7 december 1972. In 1986 seymour papert, the father of logo, collaborated with awardwinning filmmaker william schwartz and elizabeth schwartz, who was assistant superintendent of the ladue, missouri school district, to produce seymour papert on logo in this video series, papert shares his vision of thinking, learning, and teaching in a computer culture, and also. Basic is to computer programming as qwerty is to typing. In the mid 1960s seymour papert, a mathematician who had been working. Today papert is considered the worlds foremost expert on how technology can provide new ways to learn. In 1981, papert along with several others in the logo group at mit, started logo computer systems inc. Seymour paperts logo programming language scihi blog. Seymour aubrey papert was a south africanborn american mathematician, computer scientist. The book that started the computer revolution in schools computers have completely changed the way we teach children.
People laughed at seymour papert in the 1960s, more than half a century ago. Constructionism as a learning theory emphasizes studentcentered discovery learning, and educators are currently expanding its reach to the field of educational robotics in order to. Logo, a computer programming language that originated in the late 1960s as a simplified lisp dialect for use in education. Seymour papert, who was part of the team that first developed logo, and is often referred to as the father of logo, worked closely with piaget at the center for genetic epistemology in geneva from 1958 to 1963 before moving to the united states where he was the cofounder of the artificial intelligence laboratory at the massachusetts. Initially, the language controlled an interactive graphic turtle in a simple computer program. Papert saw logo and the turtle as an opportunity for. February 29, 1928 july 31, 2016 was a south africanborn american mathematician, computer scientist, and educator, who spent most of his career teaching and researching at mit. Widespread use of logo began with the advent of personal computers during the. Papert insists a simple language or program that children can learnlike logocan also have advanced functionality for expert users. This discussion explores many of paperts recurring themes of children, computers. Aug 11, 2016 seymour papert, who has died aged 88, held the title lego professor for learning research at the massachusetts institute of technology mit and was a world expert on it and learning and. Students could command it with simple terms such as. Papert insisted a simple language or program that children can learnlike logocan also have advanced functionality for.
Educational technology research and development, 625, 583600. Software engineering, is fundamentally about the philosophy of computer. But in 1976, seymour papert dismissed apl, which is in many ways similar in spirit. Seymour papert, who was part of the team that first developed logo, and is. Computer scientist, and professor of mathematics at mit. Seymour papert massachusetts institute of technology cambridge, ma 029 abstract this article describes a learning research called the instructional software design project isdp, and offers a constructionist vision of the use of computers in education. The paperts were the only white people in the area. Feb 25, 2020 seymour papert, south africanborn mathematician and computer scientist who was best known for his contributions to the understanding of childrens learning processes and to the ways in which technology can support learning. The way you write a logo program is to follow this outline invented by. He is the father of constructionism, a forefather in artificial intelligence, a mathematician, and the creator of logo, a computer programming language designed as a tool for learning.
Technological horizons in education journal in june, 1997, pp. Seymour paperts turtle is included in this category for various reasons. Educational robotics and constructionism papert learning. Npr ed seymour papert was a pioneer in artificial intelligence and learning with technology. Han var en af pionererne inden for kunstig intelligens og sammen med wally feurzeig ophavsmand til det p. Aug 16, 2012 the logo foundation was created to inform people about logo and to support them in their use of logobased software for learning and teaching. Seymour papert, artificial intelligence guru obituary. Of course, in our culture, generally, the stereotype of computer programming is logical, analytic, precise, leftbrain stuff. And why is this spirit so rarely found in computer work without logo.
Foundations of constructivismcontributorsseymour papert. Paperts widely read and highly influential book mindstorms was published in 1981, just around the time that microcomputers were starting to find their way in to classrooms. Children, computers, and powerful ideas 1980, published by basic books, is a book by seymour papert. Children, computers and powerful ideas and which forms the basis for the first lego. Papert used piagets work in his development of the logo programming language while at mit. I see logo as a means that can, in principle, be used by educators to support the development of. Logo is remembered mainly for its use of turtle graphics, in which commands for movement and drawing produced line. Papert serves on the advisory board of the lego mindstorms product line, which was named after his seminal book mindstorms. Papert and his colleagues in the epistemology and learning group at the mit media lab developed the concept of constructionism, which extended the constructivism of piaget to include the idea that a good way to support the building of knowledge in ones head is to build something in the real world a computer program, a robot, a drawing, a story, or a musical. The book begins with an affirmation of the importance of making a personal connection with ones own learning and ends with an examination of the social context in which learning occurs. Journal, it is appropriate to think about where the whole enterprise of educational computing is in its life cycle. Seymour papert, south africanborn mathematician and computer scientist who was best known for his contributions to the understanding of childrens learning processes and to the ways in which technology can support learning.
Influential professor at mit laid the foundations for using computers to teach kids. Seymour papert is known both as an educationaltechnology visionary and for marking a turning point in artificial intelligence. I see logo as a means that can, in principle, be used by educators to support the development of new ways of thinking and learning. In the mid 1960s seymour papert, a mathematician who had been working with piaget in geneva, came to the united states where he cofounded the mit artificial intelligence laboratory with marvin minsky. The logo foundation was created to inform people about logo and to support the use of logobased software for learning and teaching. Seymour papert on logo offers a window into a time when computers and logo had been in widespread use in schools for just a few years, while also delving into issues about computing and education that remain relevant today. The logo foundation was created to inform people about logo and to support them in their use of logobased software for learning and teaching. By no coincidence, 1980 was also the year seymour papert published mindstorms, in which he conveyed a vision for how to leverage the democratization of computing for learning. He invented logo, a computerprogramming language that was an educational. Electronic turtles made their designs on a video display monitor.
In this book, pioneering computer scientist seymour papert uses the invention of logo, the first childfriendly programming language, to make the case for the value of teaching children with. Terrapin software, a company that was set up in 1977 to distribute robot floor. It marks the start of the continuance of our need for realization of concepts in the real world, satisfying our thousands of years old quest to build objects that mimic living things, typically mans own image, but animals as well. Seymour papert is currently lego professor of learning research and director of the epistemology and learning group at m. Seymour papert s mindstorms is a seminal text in educational technology. Seymour papert works by papert people laughed at seymour papert in the 1960s, more than half a century ago, when he vividly talked about children using computers as instruments for learning and for enhancing creativity, innovation, and concretizing computational thinking. It was a challenging read, especially in the philosophical sections in the end. Logo is designed to be an environment in which piagetian learning can occur and is supported. Papert worked with the team from bolt, beranek and newman, led by wallace feurzeig that created the first version of logo in 1967. He has published several books, includ ing mindstorms, the childrens machine, and the connected family, all acclaimed discussion of computers, children and learning. Feb, 2018 etwinning webinar on coding, 7 february at 17 pm, part i free software, libreoffice, librelogo the turtle geometry of seymour papert bodysyntonic learning basic coding constructs. In logo, we worked very hard to make something that doesnt fit in with that stereotype. Seymour paperts vision and logo in his 1993 introduction to the second edition of mindstorms. Mar 25, 2010 the logo foundation was created to inform people about logo and to support the use of logobased software for learning and teaching.
Seymour papert, who has died aged 88, held the title lego professor for learning research at the massachusetts institute of technology mit and was a world expert on it and learning and. Legologo builds on several decades of research on computers and children. Aug 31, 2016 seymour papert did so much for the worlds of education and computer science that it becomes difficult to make people understand the huge influence he had in so many different industries and lives. By seymour papert s eymour papert is currently lego professor of learning research and director of the epistemology and learning group at m. This commercial video, produced around 1986, features seymour. Lcsi, of which he was board chair for over 20 years. In this book, pioneering computer scientist seymour papert uses the invention of logo, the first childfriendly programming language, to make the case for the value of teaching children with computers. Also i have this weird thing where seymour papert and mark gross somehow blend into one person papert is fascinated by embodied learning, and the logo turtle is one of many. Seymour papert, cocreator of the logo programming language and the man who pioneered the idea that learning to use, i.
For those who have not heard of him, a brief summary of the mans life is in order. Children, computers and powerful ideas reflects paperts broad visionary ambition, yet the cover of its second edition is headlined. Papert was born and educated in pretoria, south africa. Working with lcsi, papert designed a number of awardwinning programs, including logowriter 25 and lego logo marketed as lego mindstorms. Seymour papert, whose ideas and inventions transformed how millions of children around the world create and learn, died sunday, july 31, 2016 at his home in east blue hill, maine. This led the young seymour into trouble when he had to eventually attend school in johannesburg. Seymour papert, cocreator of the logo programming language and the.
I enjoyed this short book by the inventor of logo, which i fondly remember first hearing about from yuri as a kid. Papert was given the lifetime achievement award by the software publishers association. Seymour papert computers in the lives of our children an mit mathematician and philosopher is exploring how technology can educate the next generation. Seymour papert was a visionary, ahead of his time and often ridiculed for his ideals.
Children, computers, and powerful ideas, seymour papert wrote. People laughed at seymour papert in the 1960s, more than half a century ago, when he vividly talked about children using computers as instruments for learning and for enhancing creativity, innovation, and concretizing computational thinking. Paperts interest with children grew as a result of his work with jean piaget in the late 1950s and early 1960. Children, computers and powerful ideas reflects papert s broad visionary ambition, yet the cover of its second edition is headlined. Seymour papert is best known as the inventor of the logo programming language, a tool for teaching children problem solving, but his influence in education goes much further than that. Ti logo for the ti 994a computer was also used in primary schools, emphasizing logos. Their ideas were bigger than something you can fit in a headline. He contributes actively to lcsi research and development keeping lcsi abreast of innovations in the fields of education and technology. Before i read mindstorms and had only read about mindstorms i gained the impression that paperts educational philosophy was. It had a more conventional syntax than lisp and featured turtle.
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