The Connected Family: Bridging the Digital Generation Gap

The Connected Family: Bridging the Digital Generation Gap

At a time when parents wonder how computers are changing their children's lives, the world's foremost expert on how children learn to work with computers speaks out. Children love computers. But what do parents and teachers (the older generation) have to offer children using computers? This latest book by visionary educator and computer pioneer Papert is directed at parents looking for constructive strategies. Papert encourages family computing activities such as drawing and games and urges parents to learn from their children. Advocating home-style over school-style learning, he claims to prefer "bricoleurs" (tinkerers) over "planners." He also offers specific projects on the accompanying CD-ROM and on his personal web site. Papert further ruminates about the computer's impact on education, presenting examples of how computer use has enhanced children's learning. Continuing this theme, which he first developed in Mindstorms (Basic, 1993. 2d ed.) and The Children's Machine (Basic, 1993), Papert addresses parents in a conversational and nontechnical style. Recommended for public libraries and education collections. Laverna Saunders, Salem State Coll. Lib., Mass. Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. Accustomed from early childhood to using computers both at home and in school, the next generation is becoming more comfortable and technologically fluent than most adults. Papert shows us that this new-found independence in children's exploration of the world has profound consequences. Rejecting both the dire warnings of "cybercritics" and the fantasies of "cypbertopians", Papert addresses parents' most pressing questions on the formidable changes around us. He tells us how video games can be transformed into a positive learning experience; why much of "educational" software is contrary to the best principles of learning; why "cyberporn" is only part of the much larger issue of how the computer presence affects values; and, above all, how to bridge the digital generation gap that threatens to further separate children and their parents.