UMass Lowell
Computer Science Colloquium 
Announcement
 
 
Speaker: Dr. Fred G. Martin, MIT Media Lab
Date & Time: November 7, 2001, 3:00pm--4:00pm
Place:  Olsen 311 (The Media Lab), Refreshments are served at 2:30pm



 
  
 
 
  
  
 


 

Designing for Designers: A Vision of Learning, 
Technology, and Computational Media
 
We are at a crossroads with respect to how we use computers in schools.  Our past approach of
installing computer labs and providing computer literacy courses does not result in significant new
learning. 




 
We are limited by impoverished models of the significance of the computer. In Europe, the 
widespread use of the term "IT" (information technology) has given way to an updated "ICT" 
(information and communication technology), but these are only two facets of the opportunity that 
computation has to change our ways of thinking and learning.  Presently in the USA, the richer 
concept of computer as "digital hub" is being popularized.  Yet we can go much further when we 
realize that (1) computation itself is an object-to-think-with, and (2) computation isn't confined to a 
box on your desk or your lap. 
 
Not only can the tools for learning change, but so can our approaches. Instead of increased 
emphasis on test preparedness, we need alternate types of intellectual activity in schools.  
Not all learners start from an analytic and formal framework.  Students with negotiational, 
concrete, and "bottom-up" thinking styles learn far better from situated and personally 
meaningful activities, which give them rapid feedback on their ideas, and ultimately build 
the foundation for the formal thinking we value.
 
I will discuss the design and use of computational building materials which encourage their 
users to take an iterative and negotiational design process as they conceive and carry out 
their project ideas. This includes Logo, a programming language written for children, and 
materials I developed that allow learners to build interactive systems that incorporate 
sensing, programming, and control. 




 
Computation is a powerful idea which can be relevant to many people who don't think 
of themselves as technologists.  When computation is embodied in everyday media 
and made accessible, it's possible to give people of widely varying ages, backgrounds, 
and interests the possibility for their own creative statement and learning.



 
  
 
 
  
  
 


 

Colloquium Coordinator: Jie Wang, wang@cs.uml.edu

Website: http://www.cs.uml.edu/~wang/colloquia/