--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Similarly, computer literacy courses tend…" description: "\"Similarly, computer literacy courses tend to produce computer people who know a lot about computers or a piece of software but they don't help people b..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ff7/seymour-papert-12175_computer_similarly-computer-literacy-courses-tend_314132.png" --- # Similarly, computer literacy courses tend to produce… ![“Similarly, computer literacy courses tend to produce computer people who know a lot about computers or a piece of software but they don't help people become fluent with the machine.” quote by Seymour Papert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ff7/seymour-papert-12175_computer_similarly-computer-literacy-courses-tend_314132.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ff7/seymour-papert-12175_computer_similarly-computer-literacy-courses-tend_314132.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ff7/seymour-papert-12175_computer_similarly-computer-literacy-courses-tend_314132.png) > “Similarly, computer literacy courses tend to produce computer people who know a lot about computers or a piece of software but they don't help people become fluent with the machine.” [Seymour Papert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seymour-papert/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Computer literacy often teaches facts without fostering true fluency, leaving users dependent on interfaces rather than understanding underlying processes. **In simple terms:** Teaching facts without fluency. Key Takeaway Focus on deep understanding, not just tool usage. Themes education technology fluency skill development Mood reflective inquisitive Type educational philosophical When to use this quote - classroom teaching - self‑directed learning - software training - digital inclusion Key Concepts constructivism cognitive load metacognition Questions to Reflect On - How can curricula balance knowledge and fluency? - What practices build genuine comfort with technology? A Different Perspective Fluency requires time, practice, and conceptual grounding, not just exposure. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Computer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/computer/) [Computer literacy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/computer-literacy-36011/) [Computer People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/computer-people-2975399/) [Computers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/computers/) [Courses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/courses/) [Fluent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fluent/) [Help people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/help-people/) [Helping](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/helping/) [Knows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knows/) [Literacy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literacy/) [Literacy Courses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literacy-courses-2975400/) [Machines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/machines/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [People Fluent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-fluent-2975401/) [Pieces](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pieces/) [Produce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/produce/) [Programming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/programming/) [Software](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/software/) ## Related quotes > [Computer literacy is a contact with the activity of computing deep enough to make the computational equivalent of reading and writing fluent and enjoyable.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-kay/computer-literacy-is-a-contact-with-the-activity-of-computing-deep/) [Alan Kay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-kay/) > [Video games provide an easy lead-in to computer literacy. 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But having said that, I will tell my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luis-fortuno/i-am-making-sure-as-the-governor-of-a-territory-that-our-kids-speak/) [Luis Fortuno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luis-fortuno/) > [The creation of George Smiley, the retired spy recalled to hunt for just such a high-ranking mole in 'Tinker, Tailor,' was extremely personal. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-le-carre/the-creation-of-george-smiley-the-retired-spy-recalled-to-hunt-for/) [John le Carre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-le-carre/) ## More by Seymour Papert > [We imagine a school in which students and teachers excitedly and joyfully stretch themselves to their limits in pursuit of projects built on their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seymour-papert/we-imagine-a-school-in-which-students-and-teachers-excitedly-and/) [Seymour Papert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seymour-papert/) > [It's not what you know about the computer that's important, but your ability to do things with it. 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So we make them stop learning in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seymour-papert/we-often-treat-children-as-if-they-re-not-very-competent-to-do/) [Seymour Papert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seymour-papert/) > [I think Disney is a very interesting company, and it does have an extremely powerful means for projecting a certain way of thinking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seymour-papert/i-think-disney-is-a-very-interesting-company-and-it-does-have-an/) [Seymour Papert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seymour-papert/) > [One might say the computer is being used to program the child. In my vision, the child programs the computer, and in doing so,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seymour-papert/one-might-say-the-computer-is-being-used-to-program-the-child-in-my/) [Seymour Papert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seymour-papert/) > [The goal is to teach in such a way as to produce the most learning from the least teaching.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seymour-papert/the-goal-is-to-teach-in-such-a-way-as-to-produce-the-most-learning/) [Seymour Papert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seymour-papert/) > [Our goal in education should be to foster the ability to use the computer in everything you do, even if you don't have a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seymour-papert/our-goal-in-education-should-be-to-foster-the-ability-to-use-the/) [Seymour Papert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seymour-papert/) > [This frenzy about cyberporn indicates some deeper fear of adults as they see kids become more independent and learn things they never learned. 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Nevertheless, it's a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seymour-papert/i-don-t-like-mtv-and-i-don-t-like-the-culture-that-goes-with-it-it-s/) [Seymour Papert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seymour-papert/) [Explore all 56 Seymour Papert quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seymour-papert/) ## More Computer quotes > [Issac:"I dislike living in a world without Augustus Waters." Computer: "I don't understand-" Issac: "Me neither. Pause](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/issac-i-dislike-living-in-a-world-without-augustus-waters-computer-i/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [If you stood me in a costume next to a computer graphic of the same-looking character, I think there would be a difference. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warwick-davis/if-you-stood-me-in-a-costume-next-to-a-computer-graphic-of-the-same/) [Warwick Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warwick-davis/) > [The display is the computer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jen-hsun-huang/the-display-is-the-computer/) [Jen-Hsun Huang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jen-hsun-huang/) > [It's interesting that the greatest minds of computer science, the founding fathers, like Alan Turing and Claude Shannon and Norbert Wiener, they all looked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-kasparov/it-s-interesting-that-the-greatest-minds-of-computer-science-the/) [Garry Kasparov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-kasparov/) > [One of our big goals in search is to make search that really understands exactly what you want, understands everything in the world. As…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-page/one-of-our-big-goals-in-search-is-to-make-search-that-really/) [Larry Page](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-page/) > [We are beginning to see intimations of this in the implantation of computer devices into the human body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-kurzweil/we-are-beginning-to-see-intimations-of-this-in-the-implantation-of/) [Ray Kurzweil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-kurzweil/) > [I'm from the South, so I'm very old-fashioned and I'm not very computer savvy at all, but I'm getting it. 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Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [In nine months, a group of children left alone with a computer in any language will reach the same standard as an office secretary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sugata-mitra/in-nine-months-a-group-of-children-left-alone-with-a-computer-in-any/) [Sugata Mitra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sugata-mitra/) > [Why do you do what you do? Why do you dress the way you dress?Why do you do what you do with your time?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-conway/why-do-you-do-what-you-do-why-do-you-dress-the-way-you-dress-why-do/) [Tim Conway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-conway/) > [Yeah, I'm a geek. I read sci-fi and I watch sci-fi films. I love my computer and I love to fix it. I'm a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amber-benson/yeah-i-m-a-geek-i-read-sci-fi-and-i-watch-sci-fi-films-i-love-my/) [Amber Benson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amber-benson/) [Browse all 3,924 Computer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/computer/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Similarly, computer literacy courses tend to produce computer people who know a lot about computers or a piece of software but they don't help people become fluent with the machine.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Seymour Papert" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seymour-papert/similarly-computer-literacy-courses-tend-to-produce-computer-people/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Computer" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seymour-papert/similarly-computer-literacy-courses-tend-to-produce-computer-people/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ff7/seymour-papert-12175_computer_similarly-computer-literacy-courses-tend_314132.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ff7/seymour-papert-12175_computer_similarly-computer-literacy-courses-tend_314132.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ff7/seymour-papert-12175_computer_similarly-computer-literacy-courses-tend_314132.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Similarly, computer literacy courses tend to produce computer people who know a lot about computers or a…” — Seymour Papert", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Seymour Papert", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seymour-papert/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Similarly, computer literacy courses tend to...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seymour-papert/similarly-computer-literacy-courses-tend-to-produce-computer-people/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seymour-papert/similarly-computer-literacy-courses-tend-to-produce-computer-people/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```