Dr seymour papert: I think there are some very, very good experimental projects, such as the Pro I mentioned. He comes from Beijing Normal University. They are doing some very interesting experimental projects. In some schools, I think about 50 schools have many computers. They really let students spend a lot of time on computers. So I'm impressed. I didn't expect to see such …
Steven: Dramatic change?
Dr. seymour papert: They are relatively large, with 50 schools, though not 50,000. This is not just a classroom, it is a study, and its scale is quite large. This is just an example. My impression is that many of them are doing very interesting research projects for digital education.
Steven: Are you encouraging students to spend more time surfing the Internet with computers? I mean, surfing the Internet.
Dr seymour papert: They don't need encouragement. They're all doing it.
Steven: Yes, they are doing it themselves, but the problem is that some parents have concerns. If children spend more time surfing the internet, they may lose their ability to read and write. They can't write. This may be the problem.
Dr seymour papert: First of all, it's not necessarily true. We can't generalize. Indeed, you may waste your time surfing. But you can also surf. So it depends on what they are doing.
Steven: And the age of the students.
Dr seymour papert: I don't think it depends on age. For example, the Pro experiment I mentioned. What he is doing is that these are first-year and second-year students. They are just learning to write. Why should they learn to write? Because they find interesting things to read online. By surfing, they certainly learned to read, and when they learned to read, they also learned to write. This is an example. Surfing helps them encourage writing. They write better and learn more than other students. Indeed, you can also see the opposite.
Steven: Yes. Because I used to practice Chinese calligraphy, now I use the computer so much that I can hardly pick it up.
Dr seymour papert: Yes, but if you are really interested in playing the piano, you will take the time to play it. That's one thing. Do you think it's because of the computer, or because you are already interested in other things?
Steven: Because there is too much fun online.
Dr seymour papert: Well, you can find fun online, but if you are a musician, you will find fun in musical instruments, or if you are a poet, you will find it interesting to write a poem. I wonder if computers are more fun. It's more interesting for people who like this. But for people who like other things, that is (not like this).
Steven: Suppose the computer is just a tool through which we can do our homework, download music and so on.
Dr. seymour papert: Of course, you can use it as a tool, but some people are interested in how it works. If you want to change it, it doesn't have to be just a tool.
Steven: So what do you do with the computer in class?
Dr seymour papert: In my class? This question is very interesting. Of course, everyone uses a computer if you can find some articles about someone. Some of my courses are about using computers. So they will do other things, and may create some new things, software, or some uses of computers. Because that's how they learn.
Steven: So students use computers after class, right?
Dr seymour papert: You mean in class? Or take notes. Yes