Twenty Things to Do with a Computer Forward 50: Future Visions of Education Inspired by Seymour Papert and Cynthia Solomon’s Seminal Work

In 1971, Cynthia Solomon and Seymour Papert published Twenty Things to Do with a Computer, a revolutionary document that would set the course of education for the next fifty years and beyond. This book, Twenty Things to Do with a Computer Forward 50, is a celebration of the vision set forth by Papert and Solomon a half-century ago. Four dozen experts from around the world invite us to consider the original provocations, reflect on their implementation, and chart a course for the future through personal recollections, learning stories, and imaginative scenarios.

Twenty Things to Do with a Computer Forward 50 can inspire parents, educators, and aspiring teachers to make the world a better place for learning.

The impact of Twenty Things is all around us. In 1971, Solomon and Papert predicted 1:1 personal computing, the maker movement, the rise of computational thinking, children programming computers, robotic construction kits, computer science for all, and integrating computing across the curriculum. All of this, years, or even decades, before such notions became more commonplace.

In fewer than thirty pages, Twenty Things to Do with a Computer introduced readers to an exciting world in which children use computers they own to create, solve problems, control their world, and bring powerful ideas to life across subject areas. More importantly, Twenty Things situates the ideals of progressive education in a modern context. Papert and Solomon demonstrated how computing could be creative, humane, whimsical, childlike, and a way to learn “everything else,” even ideas at the frontiers of mathematics and science.

Contributors to this book include scholars and tech pioneers who worked with Papert and Solomon in the 1970s, phenomenal classroom teachers, inventors, researchers, school administrators, university professors, and educational technology leaders. Essays in this collection offer multiple pathways for school reform. Authors include Cynthia Solomon, Sugata Mitra, Conrad Wolfram, Audrey Watters, David Thornburg, Yasmin Kafai, Dale Dougherty, Nettrice Gaskins, Dan Lynn Watt, Molly Lynn Watt, Gary Stager, Artemis Papert, Stephen Heppell, along with forty other brilliant thinkers and legendary educators.

Twenty Things to Do with a Computer Forward 50 is an effort to preserve a historical document and share it with future of generations seeking a more creative, personal, empowering, and meaningful educational experience for young people.

This book is a must-read for:

• Educators
• School leaders
• Preservice teachers
• Policymakers
• Librarians
• Technology developers
• Parents

Veteran teacher educator Gary Stager, Ph.D. is co-author of Invent To Learn — Making, Tinkering, and Engineering in the Classroom, publisher at Constructing Modern Knowledge Press, and the founder of the Constructing Modern Knowledge summer institute. He led professional development in the world's first 1:1 laptop schools thirty years ago and designed one of the oldest online graduate school programs. In addition to being a popular keynote speaker at some of the world's most prestigious education conferences, Gary Stager is a journalist, teacher educator, consultant, professor, software developer, publisher, and school administrator. In addition to being a popular keynote speaker at some of the world's most prestigious education conferences,. He is also the curator of The Seymour Papert archives at DailyPapert.com.