Education, as we know it, has changed relatively little over the last several decades. Learning, which by nature is an inherent act, seems to be stifled in the school setting of today. Papert believes that, "The institution of school, with its daily lesson plans, fixed curriculum, standardized tests, and other such paraphernalia, constantly reduces learning to a series of technical acts." The computer offers unprecedented opportunities to create an environment in which "children could pursue the informal learning of the unschooled toddler or the exceptional child."

Papert believes that we could create a "Knowledge Machine" whereby children could have a wealth of information at their fingertips by using speech, touch, or gestures. This sort of machine would allow children to explore a world significantly richer than that which is currently offered through printed books.

Educators have long believed that reading is the child's main avenue to acquire knowledge. The educational development of a child is usually seen as dependent on learning to read. But by using a Knowledge Machine, the importance of reading may take a back seat to learning strategies by which students could procure knowledge. Written language is not likely to be abandoned, but its position in the educational realm may be reconsidered.

According to Papert, literacy generally means the ability to read and write; but it is really more than that. It is the ability to think differently than one did before, seeing the world in a different way. The Knowledge Machine would offer children a chance to do that, even those who may be considered educationally "illiterate".

Children have established a true and unshakeable love for the computer, and schools should take advantage of this excitement. While real change may seem almost impossible, a new methodology for learning must evolve, with new ways of thinking about what is to be learned and how to learn it. The Knowledge Machine could provide that methodology. As Papert reflects, "What can be seen today is certainly an intimation of what will come, but only in the way the Wright "Flyer" prefigured jet transportation." The coming together of children and the Knowledge Machine can only take place by performing the hard work of projecting the present into the future.

Many educators discuss how difficult it is to motivate students to learn. Perhaps if we use Papert's notions to reconsider our educational system and incorporate a Knowledge Machine that all students could use, learning will no longer be confined to the stagnant constraints of a traditional classroom. Perhaps then children will begin to be truly literate.