The Connected Family: Bridging the Digital Generation Gap [With CDROM]

by Seymour Papert

Book Overview

Discusses the advantages and pitfalls of using computers in childhood education, and suggests ways parents can help children who are more computer-literate than they. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1563523353
• ISBN13: 9781563523359
• Release Date: October 1996
• Publisher: Taylor Trade Publishing
• Length: 211 Pages
• Weight: 1.30 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.2" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

How about a Connected *School* ?

Seymour Papert's The Connected Family is better suited toteachers than parents, since its chief criticism concerns schools' useof computers. He seems to believe that since schools are doing such a poor job of finding new and innovative uses for computers, he will target families in an attempt to allow children at least some positive experience with computers. While this is not a bad idea, I think his time would be better spent encouraging schools to rethink their use of computers. Certainly families should develop common interests and work together on projects, but children spend so much more time in school that changes there are likely to have a greater impact. I hope that many teachers find the time to read this book and consider making changes in their use of computers.Teachers of very young students often recognize exploration as legitimate learning, but as the age of the student increases, the tendency is to decrease the time spent on exploration and increase time spent on instruction. This is done in the quest for efficiency in spite of the fact that we all know the most powerful lessons in life come from experience (exploring and experimenting.) It is Papert's idea that computers are best used as alternate universes in which students can continue to explore and experiment. It used to be that you could explore a piece of technology and learn how it worked (picture peering into a manual typewriter,) but with increasing reliance on microprocessors this is laregly untrue today (picture peering inside your PC.) Papert's ideal of learning through exploration cannot occur when the working of the world is opaque. His solution for computers is to ignore the hardware (it is hopelessly opaque) and focus instead software. Don't ask children to merely use software but ask them to program a computer. This will reveal the workings of the digital age and remove some of the mystery of computers. Papert poses some interesting ideas in this teaser of a book. I'd like to see more work done towards developing the type of software he imagines. The book's web site ... may have once had some of this, but it has now been replaced by ... a kid-oriented, but very limited site ...

To Be Connected Or Not To Be Connected,That Is The QuestionI

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

Family learning cultures respected

What I like best about Papert's book is the attitude of respect toward children, parents, and the learning potential of families. He is an advocate for learning in non-traditional ways. The calm tone of the book and its overall good sense when talking about learning, intelligence, "learning disabilities," and the politics of School (his capitalization) are very helpful. To anyone who is worried about computers and children; To anyone who is enthusiastic about children and computers; To anyone who really wanted to understand computers and their potential better; I recommend this book.I teach developmental psychology at Ivy Tech State College; I also homeschool two sons who have never been at a conventional school.

An important book by the Father of Learning with Computers

Papert's previous books, Mindstorms and the Children's Machine, set the gold standard for thinking about learning and constructing knowledge with computers. While those books focused on learning at school, The Connected Family uses natural "home-style" learning as a metaphor for thinking about how glorious the construction of powerful ideas can be regardless of the setting in which learning occurs.Papert argues that the proliferation of low-cost personal computers and net access throughout society shifts the locus of learning innovation from the school to the home. This ability to learn in new ways and learn new things at home creates an opportunity to unify the family around the pursuit of knowledge. Papert asks us not to view the computer as a polarizing force in our lives, but through charming examples challenges us to seize the opportunity to create new collaborative learning opportunities and strengthen existing ones in the home and school.Papert's discussion of what's wrong with most educational software (for a start its not educational) provides parents with critically important consumer information. The simple ideas for computer-based learning projects (and accompanying CD-ROM) inspires us to use the computer as an intellectual laboratory and vehicle for self expression.The Connected Family was written for parents and grandparents and is thus an easy-read. However, the number of profound ideas expressed elegantly in its pages makes the book one you will read over and over again.Read the Connected Family and then read The Children's Machine and Mindstorms. If you ever finish, share them with friends.