In the early days of manual arts Uno Cygnaeus in Finland sought a means of extending the Kindergarten method into the upper grades in his creation of folk schools. How-to was clear in that Froebel's distinction between "gifts" and "occupations" should be informing us in the decisions we make about education today.
The gifts, including sets of blocks and other creative devises were used by the children then put back in their boxes unchanged. The idea of the gift was to change the understanding in the heart and mind of the child, to incite curiosity about learning, and observation of life.
Occupations were the materials that were changed and no longer available to the box from which they came. Woodworking and other crafts were the occupations Cygnaeus had in mind. We should adopt that same understanding of technology. Kids can learn from their devices, but if they don't do anything tangible as a result of learning, then their learning is what educators once called, "one-sided". What goes in, must come out, and not only through testing but through the making of beautiful and useful things.
The occupations were to give children creative, transforming power through which they, too, were transformed. The distinction between Froebel's gifts and occupations was based on the recognition that education was not just what went into the child in the form of lessons and information, but must also be balanced by what comes out of the child in the form of tangible expression, in which each child discovered ways in which they could participate directly in community life.
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