[squeakland] [etoys-dev] (SQ-749) and Kathleen's question on "What do you mean by Artifacts?"
K. K. Subramaniam
kksubbu.ml at gmail.com
Thu Aug 12 12:42:21 EDT 2010
On Thursday 12 Aug 2010 8:41:46 pm Steve Thomas wrote:
> The challenge in a system where everything is done from "First Principles"
> is that when you are designing an"educational environment" "lesson",
> or "Artifact" ( better terms might be "playthink" and/or "tool to think
> with"), it can take a lot of work to build those preferably translucent
> boxes.
The learning env may have become digital today but the challenge is not very
different. Ever tried to help 5-8 yr olds learn basic arith ops with a
electronic calculator around? I found that they figure out the tool faster than
basic ops and then are not motivated to work through long additions. Kids
spend long hours adding a string of numbers like 3+3+3 .... and then suddenly
the mult tables start making a lot of sense. Or after exploring multiple ways
of solving 792 - 598 and stumbling on an unconventional solution - like
boosting both by 2 and solve 794 - 600 ;-).
It is tempting to build "convenience tools" and drop them into Etoys for kids
to use. But a much better way is to let them plod through and figure it out for
themselves. Tips and shortcuts can be offered later after basic comprehension
is in place.
Subbu
More information about the squeakland
mailing list