People laughed at Seymour Papert in the sixties when he talked about children using computers as instruments for learning and for enhancing creativity. Today Papert is considered the world’s foremost expert on how technology can provide new ways to learn.

• Papert is a firm believer of inquiry and project-based curriculum. He advocates the idea of collaboration and meaningful projects. In a recent interview with the George Lucas Educational Foundation (Seymour Papert Interview), Papert said that he tries to “develop kinds of activities that are rich in scientific, mathematical, and other contents that are managerial and project skills, and which mesh with interests that particular kids might have.”
• A proponent of Constructionism - "From constructivist theories of psychology we take a view of learning as a reconstruction rather than as a transmission of knowledge. Then we extend the idea of manipulative materials to the idea that learning is most effective when part of an activity the learner experiences as constructing a meaningful product."
• In the early 1960’s, Papert came to MIT where, with Marvin Minsky, he founded the Artificial Intelligence Laboratory.
• A site that Professor Papert and friends helped create for children (and their parents) is MaMaMedia.
• Collected writings of Dr. Seymour Papert

Sources

Professor Seymour Papert

Books