Amber Nicole McCracken

Reflection 1
1. What worthwhile skills were learned and/or applied by the student in order
to successfully create this project?
-The student was able to see how everyday things can be seen completely
differently. They were also able to see how certain eras and times presented
different problems. With that said, the student could interpret how these
events were reflected into the poets writings.
2. How might this project be different for the student, and how might Google
Earth make the entire process better (or worse) for the student?
-If the student was unable to use Google Earth for this project it could have
been harder for them to have a clear understanding to where each of the
poets were from. By visually allowing the students to see their locations on
Google Earth, I believe that it gave them the ability to put themselves in that
person's shoes. They are able to compare all of the poet's locations to what
they wrote about and possibly see if the two things were correlated positively
or negatively with each other.
Reflection 2
1. Papert asks the following question following his parable of the time
traveler from 100 years ago who lands in an operating room, as well as a
classroom, and sees two very different levels of advancement: Why, through
a period when so much human activity has been revolutionized, have we not
seen comparable changes in the way we help our children learn?
-When comparing an operating room to a classroom, of course it is
going to be much more evident that there are many, many new
advances in the operating room. Tons of technological advances
have aided doctors, nurses, and others in the medical fi eld.
However, there has also been advances in education. They are just
harder to see. While brain surgery is far more complex to do than
teaching 1 st graders the parts of a sentence it appears to be easier
to create a solution for the surgery. Researchers fi nd a method in
which works best to save peoples lives. They know that this method
must be bedded in stone and show no faults. When devising a lesson
plan it takes several (SEVERAL) tries to fi nd the perfect one. And
even when you think you have found the perfect one, two students

may still struggle grasping the concept so you must go back and
create an even more perfect lesson. It is much harder to show just
how much has changed and been developed in the education fi eld
when so many tools are still changing themselves.
2. Papert seems to believe that video games are particularly
educational. What have been your personal experiences with video
games? In what ways are your feelings about the value of video
games the same or diff erent from Paperts?
-I have not personally played video games for quite some time,
however when I did play them I honestly never remember them
being very educational. However, I do know that with the technology
today there are many advances in games that do have many
educational aspects to them. I can see how some games are
benefi cial for children in learning particular things. For instance, a
child could be struggling with counting yet if there was a game with
a monkey eating bananas and the child had to count how many
bananas the monkey could eat until they got sick then that could be
an easier concept for a child to learn. Also, video games are simply
more fun than doing pencil and paper homework. It is really hard for
me to say I believe all video games are educational because frankly I
do not believe that is the case. On the other hand though, I do think
when monitored and picked out by a teacher or parent video games
do have certain qualities within them to allow a child to succeed in a
certain subject or lesson.
3. Papert asks the following question related to instruction: In trying to teach
children what adults want them to know, does School utilize the way human
beings naturally learn in nonschool settings?
-To an extent, schools do not necessarily utilize the way we learn
naturally in non-school settings. While teachers and other educators
are continuously creating new learning techniques they still diff er
from outside learning. A lot of our knowledge gained naturally is due
to past experiences. We know if we like a certain food because we
have tried it before and either loved it or hated it. It has to do with
our choice of judgment as well. If you have always told me the truth,
I will more than likely always believe what you say. If you have lied
to me then it makes it harder for me to trust you. Outside learning is
more emotional I believe because we use so many diff erent things to

make a decision instead of simply learning the correct answer (2+2

will always be 4 but why? It takes more of instruction for even
simple math problems vs natural learning).
4. After Paperts story about sleeping giraffes, he mentions the possibility of
the creation of a Knowledge Machine. The book was published in 1993. Do
you think the Internet is the Knowledge Machine Papert envisioned in the
early 1990s? If so, does it work the way Papert envisioned?
-Yes I believe the Knowledge Machine Papert envisioned was the Internet.
Anything we wish to know or learn about is at our fingertips. Search engines
seem to go on forever and the answers limitless. While printed work provides
us with in depth information, the Internet allows us to see other sources that
we may not have previously been able to access. I think the Internet is very
close to what Papert envisioned. Although the Internet has yet to execute
smells, it does everything else imaginable. And who knows, before too long
we could all be able to stop and smell the roses simply by searching them!
5. After envisioning the introduction of a Knowledge Machine into the
classroom, Papert asks the following question: How would the introduction of
Knowledge Machines into the School environment compromise the primacy
with which we view reading and writing-that is, childrens fluency in using
alphabetic language?
-Reading and writing are vital in life, that is why we are introduced
to both at such an early age. It is nearly impossible to go a day
without doing these skills. I wouldnt be able to type my answer if I
didnt know that letters make up words and that each letter has a
sound. I also wouldnt be able to drive to the grocery store because I
wouldnt be able to read the signs on the way there (or also read the
price tags/brands). Today it is so easy for a child to simply press a
button, ask a question, and be given an answer. There is no writing
down of the question or no reading of the answer. Everything is
made accessible via audio. Some answers are even given visual
descriptions or videos. While technological advances are great and
shouldnt be put on the back burner when it comes to reading and
writing we shouldnt lose sight of how important it is to read and
write.