In research about the Internet, too much attention is paid to its ability to provide access to information. This thesis argues that the Internet can be used not just as a conduit for information, but as a context for learning through community-supported collaborative construction. A "constructionist" approach to use of the Internet makes particularly good use of its educational potential. The Internet provides opportunities to move beyond the creation of constructionist tools and activities to the creation of "constructionist cultures." These issues are explored through a specific example: MOOSE Crossing, a text-based virtual world (or "MUD") designed to be a constructionist learning environment for children ages 8 to 13. On MOOSE Crossing, children have constructed a virtual world together, making new places, objects, and creatures. Kids have made baby penguins that respond differently to five kinds of food, fortune tellers who predict the future, and the place at the end of the rainbow--- answer a riddle, and you get the pot of gold. This thesis discusses the design principles underlying a new programming language (MOOSE) and client interface (MacMOOSE) designed to make it easier for children to learn to program on MOOSE Crossing. It presents a detailed analysis, using an ethnographic methodology, of children's activities and learning experiences on MOOSE Crossing, with special focus on seven children who participated in a weekly after-school program from October 1995 through February 1997. In its analysis of children's activities, this thesis explores the relationship between construction and community. It describes how the MOOSE Crossing children motivated and supported one another's learning experiences: community provided support for learning through design and...

this paper, I establish the theory of sociocultural constructionism - a synthesis of the theories of social constructionism (Shaw, 1995) and cultural constructionism (Hooper, 1998), that is rooted in the theory of constructionism (Papert, 1993). Sociocultural constructionism is a theory about individual and community development that can inform efforts to engage populations traditionally underserved by technology. To explicate a 2

We live in a society where concepts of self, community and "what is right and wrong " are constantly changing. This makes it particularly challenging for young people to construct a sense of self and to identify their most cherished values. Therefore, there is an amounting pressure in schools and society to create learning environments to explore these issues. Two research questions are at the heart of the work presented in this paper: What kind of learning environment will afford opportunities for young people to naturally engage in reflection and discussion about issues of identity, in particular personal and moral values? And, how can technologies have an impact on character and moral education? I propose identity construction environments as technological tools purposefully designed with the goal of supporting young people in the exploration of these issues. I first describe the design principles that distinguish these environments from other learning technologies. I also specify the learning experiences they do afford _ namely the understanding of identity as a complex construction composed by different elements, including personal and moral values. Then I present the conceptual foundations and implementation of the Zora identity

Nearly forty years ago, Kevin Lynch (1960) described the environmental image in terms of five structural features: districts, edges, paths, nodes, and landmarks. Though the work has been much criticized, even by Lynch himself, it may provide a basis for a computational tool useful both in design and in research on spatial cognition. This paper revisits Lynch's responses to criticisms as a means of ascertaining the potential merit of the prototypical tool, called "WayMaker." In addressing Lynch's concerns about his own method and results, we see that WayMaker and tools like it may support Lynch's value of participatory design, while enabling extension of his efforts to understand how people think about the spaces they inhabit. The paper includes discussion of methods for research in spatial cognition and potential use of WayMaker within graphical environments supporting virtual communities.

WayMaker" is a tool enabling non-professionals to create digital layouts for large-scale graphical virtual environments. The design tool is based on "elements of the city image" as described by the urban planner, Kevin Lynch (1960). Ultimately, WayMaker should be situated within a virtual environment so that output from the tool is transformed as extensions to the virtual world. Here we describe an initial prototype that simulates a virtual domain through a series of composited frames. Our work with users informs continued development of the tool. We also plan usage studies conducted from a cognitive science perspective, examining issues of constructive learning and spatial cognition. This work may not be copied or reproduced in whole or in part for any commercial purpose. Permission to copy in whole or in part without payment of fee is granted for nonprofit educational and research purposes provided that all such whole or partial copies include the following: a notice that such copying is by permission of MERL - A Mitsubishi Electric Research Laboratory, of Cambridge, Massachusetts; an acknowledgment of the authors and individual contributions to the work; and all applicable portions of the copyright notice. Copying, reproduction, or republishing for any other purpose shall require a license with payment of fee to MERL - A Mitsubishi Electric Research Laboratory. All rights reserved. Copyright MERL - A Mitsubishi Electric Research Laboratory, 1998 201 Broadway, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139 2 Long ago the urban theorist Kevin Lynch pointed out the fundamental relationship between human cognition and urban form --- the importance of the learned mental maps that knowledgeable locals carry about inside their skulls. These mental maps, together with the landmarks and ed...

This paper describes a developmental systems approach to applied developmental sciences (ADS) which provides a framework to design and evaluate technology-rich programs that promote positive development by emphasizing the strengths and assets of people, instead of focusing on diminishing or preventing risk-taking behaviors. Up to now, most of the psycho educational programs conceived within the ADS model have not focused on the role of new technologies in young people's lives. This absence is particularly striking given that, in today’s world, new technologies play an important role in different areas of the lives of young people, such as education, entertainment, socialization and communication. This article presents the concept of Identity Construction Environments (ICE), an interdisciplinary model that proposes guidelines to design and study new technologies purposefully created to promote positive youth development (PYD). Two types of ICE have been developed: one focusing on stand-alone technologies for learning, such as the Zora virtual city; and the other focusing on an approach for developing technologically-rich learning contexts, such as the Project Inter-Actions robotics workshops. This paper presents both examples of ICE and describes how their design fosters the

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We live in a society where concepts of self, community and what is right and wrong are constantly changing. This makes it particularly challenging for young people to construct a sense of self and to identify and develop their most cherished personal and moral values. It also puts pressure on schools and society to help them do so. This thesis explores how new technologies can be used to create environments explicitly designed to help young people explore their inner worlds. I coined the term identity construction environments (ICE) to refer to computational tools purposefully designed with the goal of helping young people explore different aspects of the self, in particular personal and moral values. My contribution in this thesis involves three dimensions: theory, design and empirical research. At the theoretical level, I propose a framework through which people can think and learn about identity as a complex entity embracing multiple and contradictory values. At the design level, I describe an evolutionary process of building and investigating the use of three identity

ildren are listed in order of increasing age. The children's objects are listed in the order in which they were created. This means that the programs they have written are not listed in the order in which they were written. For example, Mouse has written a number of programs on her own character object. Your character is the first object you own, so these are listed first. However, these programs are actually relatively advanced programs that she wrote at a much later date. Her first program is on the next object she created, Charlie the caterpillar. 188 Goofy Age: 7 Gender: Female Participating from: Media Lab after-school program; no home access Joined in: October 1996 Total commands typed: 153 I never anticipated that MOOSE Crossing would be used by kids as young as seven. It's a very different activity for young children who are just learning to read. Goofy is the youngest of four siblings who all participated in the Media Lab's after-school progra