ABSTRACT
In our roles as teacher trainers, we are often asked by trainees, ‘What is the point of LOGO, and what exactly does it do? In an already overcrowded curriculum, and especially a maths curriculum, why should we bother with it?’ Quite apart from the fact that it is one of the few specific applications that is mentioned in the National Curriculum ICT document (DfEE/QCA, 1999), the purpose of this chapter is to answer these important questions. The previous two chapters have suggested how LOGO can be delivered across the primary phase through the use of screen and floor turtles, and control technology. This chapter discusses and then summarises the overall contribution that the use of LOGO tools can bring to the primary curriculum, both in terms of mathematics and the wider, generic primary school learning skills. It will also attempt to discuss the role of the teacher in ensuring that the children come to ‘think LOGO’ in an appropriate way.
