It has been 30 years since MIT's Seymour Papert first asked: "Should the computer program the kid or should the kid program the computer?" Until recently, the toy industry has taken the former approach, churning out high-tech toys that do little to enlist children's native creativity. Technology, says Henry Jenkins, director of MIT's Comparative Media Studies program, has mostly been used to create dolls that simply "say something other than 'Mommy.'" A welcome change seems to be in the works, though. Starting last year with the Lego Mindstorms construction kits, toy makers are—tentatively—introducing products that offer kids the opportunity to program, create and invent.
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