A good kindergarten fosters the spirit of learning by giving children materials, time and control over what they make. Some educators and media researchers are working to replicate this spirit of curiosity-driven tinkering in all classrooms, allowing students of diverse ages to explore and invent. The notion is that technological contraptions should be the material objects that replace finger paints and modeling clay in a logical but playful progression from kindergarten to university. This notion was on display at "Mindfest," a recent conference on learning technologies held at MIT's Media Laboratory.

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