New Image of Programming: In Search of an Educationally Powerful Concept Technological Fluency

该项目旨在描述编程的新愿景，作为定义和完善作为学习能力来源的技术流畅性概念的努力的一部分。我们的建构主义理论使我们把技术知识看作是“反身性的”，不仅在其本身的权利上有价值，而且能够加强对许多其他事物的学习。在过去，人们一直把编程作为这种反身性知识的最容易获得的形式。现在，新的思想和新的先进计算机使技术流畅性的作用得到戏剧性的扩展成为可能。编程继续提供一种自然的进入途径，但在这种新的上下文中，编程的含义有了新的含义。作为发展和研究这一扩展的方案拟订概念的一种手段，建议开展三项补充活动。在“编程范式”活动中，重点是将新的计算框架，最显著的是多处理，转移到教育中。在机器人学的活动中，经典的构建套件包含了新的计算元素。在“软件设计”活动中，孩子们开发完整的多媒体软件“产品”时所发生的学习将被探索，这些软件“产品”是为其他人设计的。这三种活动都涉及技术开发。但在每一种情况下，主要的重点是概念发展和新的教育问题和战略。在每项活动中，将研究其技术和思想在与学校，特别是与传统上不应享有权利或在智力上被剥夺权利的社区密切互动中的适宜性。

This project seeks to describe a new vision of programming, as part of an effort to define and refine the idea of technological fluency as a source of learning power. Our Constructionist theory leads us to view technological knowledge as "reflexive," valuable not only in its own right, but also capable of enhancing the learning of many other things. In the past, th focus has been on programming as the most accessible form of such reflexive knowledge. Now new ideas and new advanced computers make possible a dramatic extension of this role of technological fluency. Programming continues to provide a natural entry route, but in this new context a new sense of what programming means. As a means of developing and studying this extended notion of programming, three complementary activities are in proposed. In the "Pogramming Paradigms" activity, the focus is on transferring new computational frameworks, most notably multiprocessing, into education. In the Robotics activity, the classical construction kit to include new computational elements. In the "Software Design" activity, the learning that takes place when children develop complete, multimedia software "products," designed for use by others will be explored. Each of these three activities involves technology development. But in each case, the main focus is on conceptual development and new educational issues and strategies. In each activity, the appropriability of its technologies and its ideas in close interaction with schools and particularly with communities that have traditionally been undeserved or intellectually disenfranchised will be studied.