Comments on: Alan Kay on learning and technology http://www.mcgeesmusings.net/2007/02/21/alan-kay-on-learning-and-technology/ "The cure for boredom is curiosity. There is no cure for curiosity." - Dorothy Parker Thu, 20 Nov 2008 10:31:18 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.2 By: Matthew Cornell http://www.mcgeesmusings.net/2007/02/21/alan-kay-on-learning-and-technology/#comment-47055 Matthew Cornell Sat, 10 Mar 2007 00:38:09 +0000 http://www.mcgeesmusings.net/2007/02/21/alan-kay-on-learning-and-technology/#comment-47055 Thanks for the pointer. I'm a fan of Kay's, and got to see him talk at a very small event when he worked for Apple's (now defunct) Advanced Technology Group. (I was a research assistant funded by them for Intelligent Tutoring work.) This was when the Palm first came out, and he railed against Graffitti (IIRC). He also talked about how their lab at PARC had done so much, but so little had changed since then. I agree - the WIMP interface still reigns! Thanks for the pointer. I’m a fan of Kay’s, and got to see him talk at a very small event when he worked for Apple’s (now defunct) Advanced Technology Group. (I was a research assistant funded by them for Intelligent Tutoring work.) This was when the Palm first came out, and he railed against Graffitti (IIRC). He also talked about how their lab at PARC had done so much, but so little had changed since then. I agree - the WIMP interface still reigns!

]]> By: Jon Husband http://www.mcgeesmusings.net/2007/02/21/alan-kay-on-learning-and-technology/#comment-25802 Jon Husband Fri, 23 Feb 2007 07:57:02 +0000 http://www.mcgeesmusings.net/2007/02/21/alan-kay-on-learning-and-technology/#comment-25802 I think your last para is critical. As a generality, Knowledge workers in large organizations will have learned what using a keyborad and screens mean with email, Word, Excel, Powerpoint, the org's intranet, and the org's one or few large integrated systems, where they will have been trained on whoch sections of which reports to complete. Many or most knowledge workers will not (unless they are curious or like to play with techy stuff) not have gone any further with any software ... with the probable exception of younger workers who will be coming into an organization familiar with MySpace or Facebook, and commenting, sending text messages, tags, mashups, etc. When we place the above against a backdrop in which it is clear that personal and social processes are deeply involved with knowledge sharing, knowledge construction, knowledge application, innovation ... and that personal content management and KM are driven by horizontal and socially-facilitated dynamics . .. the points you state in your last paragraph swim into a clear focus. I think your last para is critical.

As a generality, Knowledge workers in large organizations will have learned what using a keyborad and screens mean with email, Word, Excel, Powerpoint, the org’s intranet, and the org’s one or few large integrated systems, where they will have been trained on whoch sections of which reports to complete.

Many or most knowledge workers will not (unless they are curious or like to play with techy stuff) not have gone any further with any software … with the probable exception of younger workers who will be coming into an organization familiar with MySpace or Facebook, and commenting, sending text messages, tags, mashups, etc.

When we place the above against a backdrop in which it is clear that personal and social processes are deeply involved with knowledge sharing, knowledge construction, knowledge application, innovation … and that personal content management and KM are driven by horizontal and socially-facilitated dynamics . .. the points you state in your last paragraph swim into a clear focus.

]]>