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Are We Wasting Children's Time With Technology?
New White Paper - Computation and the Reggio Emilia ApproachGary Stager's new white paper, Computation and the Reggio Emilia Approach, makes the case that computation is a powerful medium for children's expression and knowledge construction — one that deepens and extends the values already at the heart of Reggio practice. Not all technology meets this goal. There is a distinction that matters enormously in practice: digital projects use computers to produce documents, images, and presentations, while computational projects require children to actually direct the behavior of a system — programming a robot ballerina to dance, or building a shoe that summons a taxi. One is a representation of an idea; the other is the idea made real. And when a child's project makes their thinking visible, that is documentation in the Reggio sense — not a record produced for a grade, but a trace of how a child worked their way toward understanding. This white paper celebrates the connections between computational technology projects and the Reggio Emilia Approach — widely regarded as the most thoughtful, child-centered educational philosophy in the world. Read it, download it free, and share it widely. [Read and download here]Join us in Reggio this June!If you want to explore these ideas in the place where the Reggio Emilia Approach was born, there's still time to join us in Italy this June at "The Language of Computation: Constructing Modern Knowledge in Reggio Emilia. Register today! Big Bulk Book Discount for Summer ReadingYes - we got the reminder from some folks that they were on spring break! But if you are back now, there's still time to take advantage of our 40% volume discount on orders of 20 or more CMK Press books. If you’re planning ahead — for PD, summer book studies, or classroom sets — this is the best deal we offer. Many schools and districts have used Invent To Learn, 20 Things to Do with a Computer: Forward 50, and The Learner’s Apprentice – AI and the Amplification of Human Creativity as their school-wide faculty summer reading text. Leadership teams may also be inspired by The Inner Principal: Reflections on Educational Leadership. But wait there's more! 😉 How it works:
👉 [Download the order form] This offer is available for a limited time through May 31, 2026. If you have questions or want help choosing titles, just reply to this email. Sylvia Martinez & Gary Stager |
Constructing Modern Knowledge
Join us for news, resources, and events for creative, progressive educators
Computational Making & Learning Workshops in California On the heels of his Chicago event, Gary Stager is bringing his Computational Making & Learning Workshop to Los Angeles and San Francisco in December. Computational making recognizes that the future is computational. Making things with code expands the creative canvas, supercharges mathematical thinking, and positions learners to explore the frontiers of nearly any discipline. While the maker movement gave us the ability to make things...
Hello Reader, New from CMK Press: Tinkering Time Buy on Amazon Young children are natural tinkerers. Give them interesting materials, a good question and room to experiment, and watch what happens. We're delighted to announce Tinkering Time: 30 Creative Classroom Projects for Young Engineers, Artists, and Inventors by Alice Baggett, a joyful, practical guide to bringing hands-on tinkering into preschool and PreK classrooms. Alice has taught young children for more than three decades and is...
Happy Back-to-School, Reader! Back-to-School is an exhausting, exciting time of year filled with possibility, renewed energy, and for some, perhaps even a little dread. We salute all you do each day the make the world a better place for kids. Rest assured that we have your back. While we can’t “clear your list,” we decided to share some thoughts that may “clear your mind” and perhaps, even inspire you to lean into your courage and creativity. Here are some of words of wisdom and witty tales...