THE HISTORY OF EDUCATIONAL

COMPUTING PROJECTS: The Logo Computer Language

Mary E. Hopper, Ph.D.

Technology in Education

Lesley University

Project Goal• Long-term project to study and learn from the

history of educational computing projects. • Goal remains the same:Improve the viability of

educational computing projects by identifying effective and sustainable strategies.

• Historically, this has been a common goal. (Taylor, 1980; McClintock, 1986; OTA, 1988).

Earlier Findings of Project Studies• Projects have cyclic nature due to interaction of broader

technology and internal funding cycles.

• Mature projects go through multiple generations.

• Difficult to define boundaries between projects.

• Projects designed to achieve transient goals rather than long-term continuation, so the question of success more impact than survival, and influence on others definition of success.

A New Direction Emerged• Document and understand the complex historical

contexts that led to success of ongoing projects across multiple generations of technology.

• A significant body of aggregated information about projects is necessary to track evolution of projects and complex relationships among them.

• Systematically gather and integrate increasingly elaborate, detailed and older data about projects.

New Methodology• Aggregate information from sets of data obtained

from catalogs, summaries and reports. • Use weighting scheme to determine when to pursue

targeted documentation such as published findings. • Do not collect, if can avoid it, but track and

document.• Facilitate clear use of materials otherwise won’t be

likely to be saved and accessible.

Typical Sources

Descriptions (10,000’s) *• Name• Brief Abstract

Profiles (1,000’s) *• Structured Headings• References

Public Documents (100’s) *• Seminal References• Published Findings

Detailed Accounts (10’s) *• Contact and Interviews• Internal Documents

Elaborate Insights (<10) *• Direct Project Involvement• Private Records

Level of Data

Incr

easi

ng

ly Q

ual

itat

ive

Increasingly Quantitative

Project Catalogs Examples

• Escape

• Context32• TODOR Mechanics• Geology Tutor

• Plato• Andrew

• OTA• To Improve Learning

• Digital Library

* Projected count of data collected for projects at the specified level

ProjectParticipation

Edited Publications

Systematic Survey

Historical Case Study

Yet Another Twist to the Story• Level and amount of data collected varies directly with

access to projects (best participant-observer). • This causes a real dilemma for any large-scale

investigations of history of educational computing. • Most detailed data and accurate insights are obtained

from participants who worked on project, so most productive approach is to create ways for participants themselves to contribute information.

Parallels Elsewhere, Ref. in Paper• Scholars who study the recent history of science and

technology have undertaken digital projects focused on automation and collaboration with living participants.

• Most recognized is the History of Recent Science and Technology (HRST) funded by Sloan at the Dibner Institute at MIT.

• History of Apollo, Genome & other projects.

The MIT HUST Cautionary Tale “As the HRST project progressed, however,

historians began to face significant difficulties in their attempts to engage scientists and engineers in direct online participation. Some scientists found the interface too complex, some did not have Internet connection, some were too busy, and some simply were not motivated enough to devote their time to historical reflection.” (Gerovitch, 2002)

Gradual, Direct, Personal Partnerships• Gradually develop a network of direct personal

interaction for facilitating the development of a set of shared resources for a known community to use for information, reflection and advice.

• Document both where project information resides and what it contains for use and preservation.

• Advocate ongoing longitudinal collection and preservation of resources by project participants.

Current Direction• Establish a technical environment to support

follow-up and further elaboration about expanding set of projects.

• Pilot Project (LOGO & Relatives)• Previously Studied Projects (Context 32 etc.)• Related projects (PLATO, cT and Andrew etc.)• Manage and coordinate participant owned and

operated “distributed hybrid archive.”

Why LOGO?• Existing contact and involvement with community.• One of the oldest projects.• Embedded in story somewhere is explanation of

paradox of both robust success and serious failure.• Durability over many generations of computing.• Wide range of audiences from children to adult. • Focus and success in international arena.

“Logo Computer Language” Searches

• Project Catalog for Descriptions (Name/Abstract): Google 1,500,000 hits initially found on a search, 844 returned due to similarity, 500+ after bad hits.

• Systematic Survey (References/Resources) LOC= 170 Resources, MIT Library/Archive=34

Published Work (Key Refs. & Reports)

• OTA, 1988 - Early History from PowerOn Report• Papert, 1980 - Text of Mindstorms Aft. & Ack.• Tempel, 2000 - Logo Foundation History/Insights• Chadwick, 1984 - History of LCSI/Canada• LCSI, 1999 - International Implementations

Historical Case Study • Integration of previous information resulted in a set

of organized and contextualized information. • Initiating personal contact with requests based

on weighting of previously collected data.• Requesting information review, further resources,

descriptions of personal holdings and insights.• Overwhelmingly large set of potential material

Participatory History Project

Hope to evolve into a collaborative community resource where project participants can share their knowledge and reflect upon the complex relationships among educational, technical and organizational contexts within and between projects across a variety of disciplines and levels as they change over time.

Conclusion• Just 1 very tiny step towards a disciplinary memory of

where education and computing has been, how successful it has been and why.

• Having such an integrated memory available could make it easier to determine how to go forward with existing and new projects more successfully.

Why Remember?

Why document and preserve history if not then to teach the lessons from the past to students today in the hope of improving tomorrow?

Further Information

Mary Hopper, Ph.D.

Web: http://www.theworld.com/~mehopper

Email: mehopper@theworld.com