Abstract

In 1968 Papert expressed the concern, republished in Tutor, Tool, Tutee in 1980, that often the phrase "technology and education" means "inventing new gadgets to teach the same old stuff in a thinly disguised version of the old way." Two decades later similar sentiments were echoed by Garofalo: "Using technology to teach the same mathematical topics in fundamentally the same ways that could be taught without technology does not strengthen students' learning of mathematics and belies the usefulness of technology" (Garofalo, Drier, Harper, Timmerman, & Shockey, 2000, p. 71). In practice, however, this is more easily said than done, as current practice in today's schools demonstrates. These fundamental questions related to thinking about thinking transcend any specific technology, and in that sense are timeless. For that reason, we are pleased to be able to republish and make available the original paper, "Teaching Children Thinking" - written nearly four decades ago - along with an updated introduction by the author.

Citation

Bull, G. (2005). Children, Computers, and Powerful Ideas. Contemporary Issues in Technology and Teacher Education, 5(3), 349-352. Waynesville, NC USA: Society for Information Technology & Teacher Education. Retrieved August 13, 2024 from https://www.learntechlib.org/primary/p/21843/.

© 2005 Society for Information Technology & Teacher Education

Keywords

• children
• Educational Technology
• Mathematics