In the late 1980s, I was appointed headteacher of a primary school. It was an exciting time for education, with rapid developments in many areas. The early version of the Internet was emerging, the World Wide Web had just been invented, and computers were advancing at an incredible pace. I decided it would be useful to return to study, so I pursued a degree that included educational computing.
That decision proved to be a more than worthwhile investment of my time and effort. One of the most valuable discoveries I made during my studies was the work of Seymour Papert and his turtle. I still have my well-used copy of his book Mindstorms to this day!
Exploring his ideas and learning about the LOGO programming language, designed specifically for children, was eye-opening. His “object to think with,” based on Piaget’s theory of constructionism, led to the creation of the small mobile robot known as the “Logo Turtle.” I saw first-hand how children could use it in a playful environment to solve simple problems and develop their thinking skills.
