“It is coding that has opened up new worlds to us, whether within actual programs or through translatability into conceptual worlds, such as those envisioned by Chomsky’s universal grammar, the genetic codes of DNA, or the computational models of the brain sciences. All of these are seen as essentially computational processes. Furthermore, the concept of “effective procedure” or “algorithm” brings a new level of explicitness to biological and psychological accounts of behavior, including the account of children’s learning. An effective procedure is a program that can achieve a specified goal by means of a limited set of precise instructions. Learning to think in computational terms, then, is a new way of thinking that can be applied not only to computers but to any practical or theoretical task. It is achieved by breaking down a task into its components and devising a program that can arrange these task components into a workable program. The model for knowledge becomes more like a recipe than a set of logical propositions. This does not render propositions obsolete, of course, but computationalism offers a new way of thinking about and approaching a problem, as well as offering a new conception of explanation. To oral and written language and mathematics needs to be added computing—learning how to create programs and use existing programs for a variety of social and personal ends.”
Olson, D. R. (2015). Literacy and the technologies of knowing. In R. Spiro, M. DeSchryver, M. Hagerman, P. Morsink, & P. Thompson (Eds.), Reading at a crossroads? Disjunctures and continuities in current conceptions and practices (pp. 21-25). New York: Routledge.
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