- Paperback: 294 pages
- Publisher: MIT Press; New Ed edition (10 Oct 2001)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0262541327
- ISBN-13: 978-0262541329
- Product Dimensions: 22.4 x 15 x 1.8 cm
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,464,543 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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More About the Author
Product Description
Review
"A remarkable book. Part educational philosophy, part scholarly memoir, part cultural manifesto, it weaves these elements together beautifully in a single captivating narrative. This is one of the best modern books on education that I have read." --Michael Eisenberg, University of Colorado "Wonderfully thought-provoking and mind-expanding. I've waited a long time for a book like this. Changing Minds certainly changed my mind about how best to proceed with computers, learning, and literacy and even changed my mind about what literacy is." --John Seely Brown, Chief Scientist, Xerox, and author of The Social Life of Information
Product Description
Andrea diSessa's career as a scholar, technologist, and teacher has been driven by one important question: can education -- in particular, science education -- be transformed by the computer so that children can learn more, learn more easily at an earlier age, and learn with pleasure and commitment? This book is diSessa's informed and passionate affirmative answer to that question.While written at a level that anyone with a good acquaintance with high school science can understand, the book reflects the depth and breadth of the issues surrounding technology in education. Rejecting the simplistic notion that the computer is merely a tool for more efficient instruction, diSessa shows how computers can be the basis for a new literacy that will change how people think and learn. He discusses the learning theory that explains why computers can be such powerful catalysts for change in education, in particular, how intuitive knowledge is the platform on which students build scientific understanding. He also discusses the material and social reasons for the computer's potential and argues for "two-way literacies," where everyone is a creator as well as consumer of dynamic and interactive expressive forms. DiSessa gives many examples from his work using the Boxer computer environment, an integrated software system designed to investigate computational literacies.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
5.0 out of 5 stars (3 customer reviews)
16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Revolutionary!, 28 April 2000
By A Customer - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Changing Minds: Computers, Learning and Literacy (Bradford Book) (Bradford Books) (Hardcover)
An absolutely amazing book! Stimulating and engaging material is addressed in a totally approachable way. Truly new and complicated ideas are described with expressive and informal language making it greatly appealing to a reader at any level. The subject matter is extremely interesting and far broader than the book's focus on computers and education; it ranges from children, to product design, to the internet, to human/machine interface, to driving a car, and to the role computers will play in society in the future. All this fascinating material revolves around the author's ideas of a Computational Medium and Computational Literacy (which is very different from computer literacy as we usually use the term).The ideas are powerful and, whether or not you agree with all the conclusions drawn, will likely change the way you think about computers. I work in a completely unrelated field, but the focus on education was still very engrossing and enlightening. Especially the many stories and anecdotes about actual children, and what they had done using the Boxer computational medium. The author points out that any high school algebra student can now easily perform the proofs on relative motion for which, had it been offered then, Galileo would have surely won the Nobel Prize, and proves unarguably that we must continue to modify and update our educational system to progress as a whole, and to take advantage of the new developments and efficiencies (such as algebra) of a society that is constantly evolving.
Changing Minds potentially offers invaluable insight, and at a minimum entertaining intellectual exercises, about computers and education. From web or software designers, to system builders, to CEOs, to technophiles, and to the teachers, administrators, parents, and students in our schools, everyone will take something away from this book. For anyone involved in (or interested in) either computers or education, this book is a must read!
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Meeting Minds, 20 Dec 2000
By Jack Lochhead - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Changing Minds: Computers, Learning and Literacy (Bradford Book) (Bradford Books) (Hardcover)
What will computers do to our minds? Will they make us smarter or will they, instead, reduce us to mindless button clickers? Is there anything we can do to influence the outcome? These are the questions motivating Andy DiSessa's thoughts in Changing Minds. The basic premise is simple. The invention of written language led eventually to wide-spread literacy and to a large advance in the capabilities of the human mind. Similarly the invention of computer-based communication tools could create a giant leap in human mental capacity. But that leap will only come about if we develop appropriate tools and establish a culture that encourages their widespread use. Current trends are not encouraging. Few suitable tools are being developed and there is no culture encouraging widespread use. In Changing Minds DiSessa describes the kinds of software we would need to develop if we were to reach for the next level in human mental capability. He describes efforts that have been made to create such software and provides examples of the exciting results that can be obtained when children are given access to such tools. But he also warns of the many obstacles blocking the path to this better future. In the end he is unsure that we will have the will to reach it. If Changing Minds were only about the future of the human mind it would be an important book, but it is much more. It is an opportunity to experience a particularly exciting mind of the present. Reading Changing Minds is rather like spending an intensive weekend with a new friend. Through this book you come to know Andy. You see how he thinks, discover what motivates him and learn many fascinating details about his life. Few authors have ever been able to bring a character to life as effectively as Andy brings forth himself. So pack your bags, bring a little calculus and physics if you can and prepare to enjoy an exciting new friendship.
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Meeting Minds, 20 Dec 2000
By Jack Lochhead - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Changing Minds: Computers, Learning and Literacy (Bradford Book) (Bradford Books) (Hardcover)
What will computers do to our minds? Will they make us smarter or will they, instead, reduce us to mindless button clickers? Is there anything we can do to influence the outcome? These are the questions motivating Andy DiSessa's thoughts in Changing Minds. The basic premise is simple. The invention of written language led eventually to wide-spread literacy and to a large advance in the capabilities of the human mind. Similarly the invention of computer-based communication tools could create a giant leap in human mental capacity. But that leap will only come about if we develop appropriate tools and establish a culture that encourages their widespread use. Current trends are not encouraging. Few suitable tools are being developed and there is no culture encouraging widespread use. In Changing Minds DiSessa describes the kinds of software we would need to develop if we were to reach for the next level in human mental capability. He describes efforts that have been made to create such software and provides examples of the exciting results that can be obtained when children are given access to such tools. But he also warns of the many obstacles blocking the path to this better future. In the end he is unsure that we will have the will to reach it. If Changing Minds were only about the future of the human mind it would be an important book, but it is much more. It is an opportunity to experience a particularly exciting mind of the present. Reading Changing Minds is rather like spending an intensive weekend with a new friend. Through this book you come to know Andy. You see how he thinks, discover what motivates him and learn many fascinating details about his life. Few authors have ever been able to bring a character to life as effectively as Andy brings forth himself. So pack your bags, bring a little calculus and physics if you can and prepare to enjoy an exciting new friendship.
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