Seymour Papert is a fascinating figure in the history of interactive learning. He was a collaborator with Jean Piaget, the pioneering Child Psychologist that developed the Constructivism learning theory and the four development stages of the mind of a child. He is also a Mathematician, professor at MIT and a significant contributor to the field of A.I.

He is one of the pioneers of using computers as learning aids, and was the inventor of the Logo programming language (also known as Turtle Graphics). The Logo language allows simple navigation commands to be entered, upon which a simple agent (Turtle) will execute these commands and leave a trail behind to mark these movements. The very low barrier to entry and immediate results encourage experimentation and play in order to gain understanding of numerous aspects of geometry and computation such as angles, recursion, distance, speed, etc (very much true to constructivism principles) . It was my first exposure to graphical programming and certainly made a big impression on me. I remember how much I enjoyed the ability to generate such complex shapes so easily - it felt like a cross between a paintbrush, toolbox and calculator. It was certainly hugely innovative at the time, and can be seen as a precursor to John Maeda’s Design by Numbers and Fry and Reas’ Processing. The language has evolved into multi-agent systems such as Starlogo and the unusual looking StarLogo TNG.

Papert also worked on a consultant on the Lego Mindstorms project (which was named after his book “Mindstorms: Children, Computers, and Powerful Ideas”), a series of electronics-infused evolution of Lego Technics sets, providing the ability for children to design and build their own robots, cranes and numerous additional types of machine. These creations can be programmed in order to add responsiveness and interactivity via a series of sensors and motors and its another great example of learning through experimentation and creation.

Papert’s passion for power of the computer as an educational tool is clearly not limited to the development of new technologies. He is also involved in the One Laptop Per Child initiative to dramatically increase the access to computers for children of the developing world.

Gesundheit! is a wonderfully charming action-puzzler from Illustrator Matt Hammill. Simple, but engaging and fun, it takes select elements from a number of classic action-puzzle games and wraps them in a adorable aesthetic package, with enchanting music and illustration. Its a game that is CRYING out for a DS release. In his own words:

Help an allergic pig save a city from snot-eating monsters! Featuring handmade scratchboard graphics and a toy instrument soundtrack, the Gesundheit! demo contains twelve levels and a tutorial to teach you how to sneeze. It was made using AGS and requires Windows to run.

Grab the game from Underwater Base. Via TIGsource.

If I’m in danger of appearing Will Wright obsessed, then so bit… I hold my hands up. For me, he represents the ultimate designer/scientist/programmer - fascinated by the world, reverse engineering natural and social phenomena for entertainment as well as to simply satisfy his own curiosity.

His speech covers some familiar ground, such as the value of doing rather than listening:

I studied Montessori’s philosophy and methods. She basically wanted kids to explore the world themselves using toys and objects, learning the meaning of things… and I want to build a game where a player is going to come across the Copernican Principle, say, and you walk away thinking of the meaning of life. Or what the future might take.

It also delves more extensively into story and the tension between interactivity and narrative. But theres no point me paraphrasing. His (one-armed) speech at SXSW is transcribed by the ever faithful fingers of Alice.

Maywa Denki are a pair of unusual Artist/Musician/Engineer brothers hailing from Tokyo. Their self-stated philosophy is “nonsense” although that hasn’t stopped them venturing into commercial territory with the Knockman. Most of their work revolves around small electromagnetically controlled drumming rods, but their imagination and humour allow their creations to transcend most other Chindogu.

via Muttpop.

As presented at GDC yesterday, LittleBigPlanet from Media Molecule (many ex-Lionhead folks, also responsible for Rag Doll Kung Fu) is a PS3 game to get excited about. What charming, beautiful art direction! LittleBigPlanet places a huge emphasis on user generated content, the ability to create communally within the game’s physics sandbox and share these levels online.