Massive Resources: Trasing the Dynabook

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Table of Contents

Abstract
Introduction
Alan Kay’s Educational Vision
Critical Reflections
Conclusion
References

Abstract

Alan Kay’s educational vision stands behind the origin of personal computer and the other similar digital tools. It appears that the conception of “personal dynamic media” which can be easily operated by children, created by Alan Kay in 1968, stands behind the idea of desk top computing. This is contrary to beliefs by many people who suppose that multimedia and desktop computing were first developed for media professionals or business workers. While his work at Xerox’ Palo Alto Research Center Alan Kay became convinced that a communications revolution should take place and it should be inspired by children and in the hands of children. Kay’s project on development of the “Dynabook” established a ground for a large-scale conception of applying computers in the educational process and for people’s personal needs. One of his major achievements is the development of the powerful Smalltalk programming language which presented the user with an important opportunity to cultivate one’s creative spirit.

Introduction

Alan Kay created his famous “Dynabook” conception in 1968. It amounted to producing a special device, namely a sort of a lap top computer or a tablet personal computer, especially dedicated to the children audience to provide them with an opportunity to access varied digital media in order to achieve significant results in the area of education. Nowadays, Alan Kay still believes that the “Dynabok” device was not discovered yet; however, he admits that Microsoft’s Tablet PC is “the first Dynabook-like computer good enough to criticize” (Levy 2001). The conception of the “Dynabook” developed by Alan Kay is both a set of actual technological solutions in the area of computer programming and IT technology, and an idealized and sublimated vision of technological matters.

Alan Kay’s Educational Vision

Alan Kay is famous all around the world as a successful computer scientist who succeeded to invent his pioneering windowing graphical user interface, Smalltalk programming language and numerous important solutions in the area of object-oriented programming. Alan Kay’s educational vision is considered to be a basis for the origin of personal computer and similar devices. The conception of “personal dynamic media” which can be easily accessed and operated by children was created by Alan Kay in 1968 (Kay 1997). This conception seems to stand behind the very idea of desk top computing. Alan Kay came to this conception while analyzing the need to create a special device which will offer the children audience the opportunity to access media and the other files which can be useful in the area of acquiring knowledge and learning about the outward things. This served as a basis for production of modern personal computers, lap tops and similar digital devices. It is interesting, however, that numerous people believe that initially personal computers were created for adult people and those of them who worked in the area of business and media production, in particular (Kay 2000). Kay comments about initial stages of his “Dynabook” project:

I gave a paper to the National Council of Teachers of English on the Dynabook and its potential as a learning and thinking amplifier—the paper was an extensive rotogravure of “20 things to do with a Dynabook” … we were the “lunatic fringe” (so-called by the other computer scientists), were planning to go out to the schools, and needed to share our ideas (and programs) with our colleagues (1996).

During his work at Xerox’ Palo Alto Research Center in 1970s Alan Kay became convinced that a communications revolution should take place and it should be in the hands of children. Kay’s project on development of the “Dynabook” established a ground for a large-scale conception of applying computers in the educational process and for people’s personal needs. In particular, this idea can be seen in the following expression of his:

One would compute with a handheld “Dynabook” in a way that would not be possible on a shared main-frame; millions of potential users meant that the user interface would have to become a learning environment along the lines of Montessori and Bruner; and needs for large scope, reduction in complexity, and end-user literacy would require that data and control structures be done away with in favor of a more biological scheme of protected universal cells interacting only through messages that could mimic any desired behaviour. (Kay 1996)

This outstanding computer scientist’s achievement in connection to the “Dynabook” technology is considered to be the Smalltalk programming language (Kay 2000). His colleague Adele Goldberg comments on the importance of this device:

The Smalltalk-76 system was created primarily as a basis for implementing and studying various user-interface concepts. It gave the users, mostly adult researchers, further ability in refining existing classes through the use of subclassing. This meant that the programmer could now modify a running model without creating a change to already existing examples of that model. Programming-by-refinement, then, became a key idea in our ability to motivate our users. (Goldberg 1981).

Accordingly, what Alan Kay was able to implement in his “Dynabook” technology is the opportunity for the user to practice and develop one’s creative vision of the world. This creative spirit is one of the most important engines for educational progress.

However, it happened that Alan Kay’s conception of personal computing based on educational needs had been blundered away on the reason of developing of the abundance of other approaches to the Web and e-learning. Still, the review of Kay’s approach to this considerable educational project and its careful historical analyzes suggest the idea that his findings were much greater than any other approach which had been developed by far.

According to Maxwell, “the effective history of the Dynabook, its various incarnations, and its continuing re-emergence and re-articulation mean that the relevance of this story is an ongoing question which needs to be recognized and addressed by educators, technologists, and learners today (2006). Alan Key’s conception is based on his vast piece of knowledge on educational theory. This is the very characteristic which makes the results of his researches outstanding in addressing the most important civil issues connected to cultural expression of our time.

Critical Reflections

The value of the “Dynabook” conception by Alan Kay can hardly be underestimated. “The Dynabook is a candidate for what 21st-century literacy might look like in a liberal, individualist, decentralized, and democratic key” (Maxwell 2006). Speaking about Alan Kay’s approach, I would first of all center my attention on that part of his “Dynabook” conception which can be described as an idealized vision of technological process. The area of IT technology and computer programming requires specific data and strictly defined strategies. That is why I believe it is highly important to work under the areas of the “Dnabook” conception which need technological specification in order to develop a conception which can be fully implemented into practice. From what I learned while this reading experience, it became evident for me that Alan Kay along with his team developed ingenious programming technology which is the Smalltalk programming language. However, it has no special digital device to be fully and appropriately implemented in. For this reason, the hardware for this ingenious software should be produced. Reflecting on the other characteristics of the “Dynabook” conception in line with its educational value, I believe Alan Kay’s approach is the greatest idea in the area of educational IT technology developed by far.

Conclusion

As a final point, it is evident that the conception of the “Dynabook” formulated by Alan Kay has numerous important characteristics which prove its significance for the process of technological development. Reasoning on numerous successful programming solutions invented by Alan Kay, it becomes evident how significant is the use of technological devices based on the idea of the “Dynabook” technology in the educational process. I believe the process of developing the device fully corresponding to the ideas of Alan Kay’s conception of the “Dynabook” will only continue in the future helping humanity to get to unlimited horizons of progress. From what I learned, the Dynabook conception is partly a real technological conception featuring a series of actual technologies and partly an idealized and sublimated vision of technological matters. My position as to the controversies that surround the above mentioned fact can be described as understanding the need to continue to work on the “Dynabook” conseption to fully unbind it from any sublimated characteristics and bring it into reality.

References

Goldberg, A. & Ross, J. (1981). Is the Smalltalk-80 System for Children? BYTE 6 (8), 348–368.

Kay, A. C. (1996). Revealing the Elephant: The Use and Misuse of Computers in Education. Educom Review, 31(4).

Kay, A. C. (1997). Technology and Powerful Ideas: The real value of computers is in helping us understand the powerful ideas that force us to change our ways of thinking. American SchoolBoard Journal, 97, 16–19.

Kay, A. C. (2000). Dynabooks: Past, Present, and Future. Library Quarterly, 70(3), 385-395. Web.

Levy, S. (2001). Bill Gates Says, Take This Tablet. Newsweek Magazine. Web.

Maxwell, J. (2006). Tracing the Dynabook : a Study of Technocultural Transformations. (Doctoral Dissertation). Web.

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