Points of Viewing Children's Thinking [Paperback]

Ricki Goldman-Segall (Author), Ricki Goldman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 20, 1997 | ISBN-10: 0805824324 | ISBN-13: 978-0805824322

This book is about learning and ethnography in the context of technologies. Simultaneously, it portrays young people's "thinking attitudes" in computer-based learning environments, and it describes how the practice of ethnography is changing in a digital world. The author likens this form of interaction to "the double helix," where learning and ethnography are intertwined to tell an emergent story about partnerships with technology. Two school computer cultures were videotaped for this study. Separated not only by geography -- one school is on the east coast of New England and the other on the west coast of British Columbia on Vancouver Island -- they are also separated in other ways: ethnic make-up and inner-city vs. rural settings to name only two. Yet these two schools are joined by a strong thread: a change in their respective cultures with the advent of intensive computer-use on the part of the students. Both school communities have watched their young people gain literacy and competence, and their tools have changed from pen to computer, video camera, multimedia and the Internet. Perhaps most striking is that the way they think of themselves as learners has also changed: they see themselves as an active participant, in the pilot's seat or director's chair, as they chart new connections between diverse and often unpredictable worlds of knowledge.

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Psychology Press (December 20, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0805824324
• ISBN-13: 978-0805824322
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,412,478 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Goldman-Segall addresses relevant issues for educators., November 16, 1998

By 

[e-mail] (Los Angeles, California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Points of Viewing Children's Thinking (Paperback)

Goldman-Segall addresses issues and concepts relevant to today's new generation of educators. The context for her research focuses on two very different schools in British Columbia and Massachusetts. Her role as a video ethnographer uncovers some of the social-historical and ethical issues both students and teachers must address in today's post-modern era. Goldman-Segall documents these issues through the use of video and the Internet. In doing so she offers a refreshing medium for discourse and understanding.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must read for educators, November 3, 1998

By 

[e-mail] (D.C.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Points of Viewing Children's Thinking (Paperback)

This book takes a unique view of documenting a classroom setting through the use of video. I found the interplay between the descriptions in the book and the web site videos an enlightening experience. Ms. Goldman-Segall takes you into the Hennigan school (among other places) and lets you feel what is happening in this experimental educational setting. Her observations of the MIT project give a new and different perspective to the roles of the students and teachers in these settings. This is a book that takes full advantage of the tools of technology that we would like students to be using. This will give teachers a better understanding of their role in implementing technology and how it can make them more effective educators.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Descriptive Anthropology, November 19, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Points of Viewing Children's Thinking (Paperback)

The author formulates a community in which you share the learning of two seperate and diverse schools. She invites you into the thinking of the children through digital media and takes you with her as you watch these children develop their understanding of the world around them. Watching this constructivist approach captures the inquiry of the reader and brings out the importance and significance of this type of learning in education.