Mindstorms by Seymour Papert.
From the webpage:
Seymour Papert’s Mindstorms was published by Basic Books in 1980, and outlines his vision of children using computers as instruments for learning. A second edition, with new Forewords by John Sculley and Carol Sperry, was published in 1993. The book remains as relevant now as when first published almost forty years ago.
The Media Lab is grateful to Seymour Papert’s family for allowing us to post the text here. We invite you to add your comments and reflections.
From the introduction:
…I believe that certain uses of very powerful computational technology and computational ideas can provide children with new possibilities for learning, thinking, and growing emotionally as well as cognitively….
You should read Mindstorms along with Geek Heresy by Kentaro Toyama.
Toyama gives numerous examples that dispel any naive faith in technology as a cure for social issues.
Given the near ubiquitous presence of computers in first world countries, how do you account for the lack of children with
…new possibilities for learning, thinking, and growing emotionally as well as cognitively….
If new learning or thinking has developed, it’s being very well hidden in national and international news reports.