Abstract

Abstract

Abstract
The explosion in the use of computing in learning holds great potential for preschool education, and yet information on common educational practices with computers at the level of preschool education is scarce. This chapter shares two distinct goals: first, to provide context for the practitioner by providing a panorama of the information available on actual field practices and recommendations by official bodies from several countries regarding the inclusion of computing technology in the educational practice at the preschool and kindergarten levels; and second, to present a hands-on technical perspective on the matter of immersion of the computer in the daily practice of preschools in the form of a four-way guide, including the use of computer programming in this manner. At the end, a list of readings and activity suggestions is provided to help the reader put these ideas into practice. © 2008, IGI Global.

Abstract
ToonTalk is a child-oriented programming language whose environment is an animated virtual world, with objects that children can pick up and use as in a game, such as birds, trucks, and robots, providing direct child-oriented metaphors for programming constructs. Actions performed by a programmer's avatar with these objects are both code and coding. ToonTalk is a powerful system, not just a "toy" system: it is based upon concurrent constraint programming languages, and programs written in languages such as Flat Guarded Horn Clauses and Flat Concurrent Prolog can be straightforwardly constructed in ToonTalk. However, there is not a specification of ToonTalk, for ready implementation in other environments. We propose that the ToonTalk language lies not in the animations displayed by the current environment, but on the actions performed by the programmer with virtual world objects; we present a description and analysis of the methods the ToonTalk language provides to programmers for expressing programs.

Abstract

Abstract
Four research projects used Second Life", a 3D virtual-world platform, to investigate aspects of technology-enhanced STEM education. These European and USA studies, which differ in their pedagogical-philosophy commitments, theoretical frameworks, methodologies, and target content, critically examine a range of cognitive, affective, technical, and social factors pertaining to the prospects of students' and teachers' successful engagement with immersive microworlds. Specifically, each project describes students' successes and challenges in creating complex virtual artifacts and collaborating in real time with peers and the broader community. The design-based research studies of mathematical and computational literacy present sample student artifacts and discuss the learning they evidence. Collectively, we posit that overcoming the following obstacles could make virtual worlds both effective and exciting learning environments: professional development (technical skill, affective disposition), collaboration with school systems (logistics of access, allocation of resources), alignment with targeted content (harnessing students' creative divergence), and initial learning curves (issues of teacher-to-student ratio).