This document focuses on the use of a computer and the LOGO programing language by an eight-year-old boy. The stepping of variables, which is the development and incrementally changing of one of several variables, is an idea that is followed in one child's mind as he effectively directs himself in a freely-chosen problem-solving situation. The specific case of this child is used to show how the power of the computer in education can go well beyond the "traditional" roles of drill-and-practice and game playing. (MP)