Engineering Play ─ A Cultural History of Children's Software

Today, computers are part of kids' everyday lives, used both for play and forlearning. We envy children's natural affinity for computers, the ease with which they click in andout of digital worlds. Thirty years ago, however, the computer belonged almost exclusively tobusiness, the military, and academia. In Engineering Play, Mizuko Ito describesthe transformation of the computer from a tool associated with adults and work to one linked tochildren, learning, and play. Ito gives an account of a pivotal period in the 1980s and 1990s, whichsaw the rise of a new category of consumer software designed specifically for elementaryschool--aged children. "Edutainment" software sought to blend various educationalphilosophies with interactive gaming and entertainment, and included such titles as NumberMunchers, Oregon Trail, KidPix, and Where in the World Is CarmenSandiego?.

The children's software boom (and the bust that followed),says Ito, can be seen as a microcosm of the negotiations surrounding new technology, children, andeducation. The story she tells is both a testimonial to the transformative power of innovation and acautionary tale about its limitations.

Mizuko Ito is a cultural anthropologist who studies new media use, particularly among young people, in Japan and the United States, and a Professor in Residence at the University of California Humanities Research Institute.