Wk 2 - Feb. 18
Video for Week 2:
Readings:
- Seymour Papert (1980): Mindstorms: Children, Computers, and Powerful Ideas (Foreword: The Gears of My Childhood)
- Joi Ito blog posts: Formal vs Informal Education, Reading the Dictionary, Dubai and Learning about the Unknowable
- Joi Ito (2012). Keynote to Open Educational Resources meeting (video), Hewlett Foundation.
- Mimi Ito et al. (2009): Learning and Living with New Media. MacArthur Foundation.
Tasks:
- In preparation, please read the suggested readings (above), and share with your group about:
What did you find most interesting or surprising in the readings? What did you disagree with or have questions about? Please keep your postings short (just two or three paragraphs).
- Read Seymour Papert’s essay on the “Gears of My Childhood” and write about an object from your childhood that interested and influenced you (and share with your group). For inspiration, you can find more childhood-object stories in Additional Resources (below).
Also, we encourage you to try out the Marshmallow Challenge, as described in the first-session video, and discuss your experiences with others in your group. Afterwards, watch the TED talk (embedded below) about the Marshmallow Challenge, to learn about the experiences of others, from kindergarteners to business-school students. (Note that we decided to organize the challenge slightly differently than the one in the TED talk. What do you see as the advantages of each approach?)