[OLPC-Oceania] virtual and neutral

[Sean Linton]

Thanks for getting back to me those people who have off the list.

OLPC is a world wide movement, and the places the computers go to have their
own pedagogies, I can see their being some issues in inheriting an embedded
pedagogy within this technology. The thing to remember maybe that OLPC also
contains a learning environment which has its own consequences, which on one
level is a neutral learning environment -  that assumes universal
recognition of symbols and on screen aids.

Even if the embedded pedagogy of OLPC is an experiential
learning environment in itself this doesn't mean that an
inherited pedagogy will begin to disappear (that 'social missions' are
competing) maybe just that it is a sign of what can be expected, and needed
to prepare children for growing into adults in the 21st century.

One way these two backgrounds (or pedagogies) may complement each other, and
I think OLPC and Sugar are already on the way to doing this is by trying to
 balance creating a neutral learning platform and encouraging virtual
learning environments. Virtual learning environments are powerful because
they may contain cultural metaphors, however they can also feel limiting
where the user is bound by what is already familiar. The strengths of a
neutral learning environment include a sense that what is possible is not
already defined. How broad do people think the metaphors contained with the
activities should be? Can anyone relate to the metaphor as an effective way
of making sense of a new experience, perhaps with a specific activity?

Sean
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