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Mid-Summer Musings and an Ask Me Anything That Will Amaze You!
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Hello Reader, Hope you are enjoying a peaceful and refreshing summer. Whether you are still chillaxing or kicking off another school year, we wish you and your students all the best! Right on the heels of our institute in Reggio Emilia, we embarked on six weeks of 24/7 extreme grandparenting, and would not have it any other way. Bravissimo Reggio!Our second Language of Computation - Constructing Modern Knowledge in Reggio Emilia institute was a triumph. Over four days, educators from across the globe learned, laughed, and ate together while being immersed in the "city of children” and engaging with our brilliant Italian colleagues. The wisdom, generosity, and love shared by the atelieristas and pedagogistas will challenge our thinking and will long redound to the benefit of our students. We hope to be able to announce a 2027 Reggio Emilia institute in September. Stay tuned!
October 16th Computational Making Workshop in ChicagoGary Stager is bringing a new project-based hands-on workshop, Computational Making & Learning, to Chicago on October 16th. 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. This workshop's playful and practical experiences will help any educator shape the learning environment to support computational making and help students learn and do in ways unimaginable before. This approach offers an optimistic learner-centered vision of artificial intelligence that amplifies human potential grounded in timeless progressive traditions. The workshop is designed for educators from PK-12, curriculum leaders, administrators, and tech directors. Registration includes: Continental breakfast, delicious family-style lunch, snacks, beverages, educational materials, and a copy of Ken Kahn’s fantastic book, The Learner’s Apprentice - AI and the Amplification of Human Creativity. Learn more and register at https://constructingmodernknowledge.com/chicago Papert Passion Project 2.0Many of you know that Gary had the great opportunity to work with the father of educational computing and one of the wisest educational thinkers of the past century, Seymour Papert, for decades. In honor of his singular genius, Gary has been building an online archive of text, as well as multimedia, by Papert at a site called The Daily Papert. The availability of AI chatbots has made it possible for Gary to learn a lot about data curation, LLM training, and programming a robust suite of Wordpress tools to help the world explore Papert’s powerful ideas. Now, it is possible for you to search the Papert artifacts and even engage with them in a casual or scholarly conversation via a custom chatbot trained with Papert’s vast body of work. There is a lot behind the scenes too that allows Gary to expand, manage, and sustain the archives over time. AI has made it possible to preserve this important work and share in a way unimaginable a few years ago - all without a staff or institutional support. Learn more and give the new features a spin here.
History Needs You!The assault on facts and attempts to erase history marches on. The US government seeks to install signs outside of the Smithsonian warning that the museum warning visitors that there is “inaccurate information” inside. This climate makes our latest book, History in Their Hands: Teaching Inquiry-Based United States History Through the Lens of Black Agency, by Beth Krasemann mission critical in schools. This timely and incredibly practical guide for educators features dozens of inquiry units that present students with primary source materials and then asks them to read, watch, investigate, discuss, the artifacts in order to construct a personal and deeper knowledge of U.S. History. Please check out the book and consider buying a copy for the social studies teachers in your life! Read more about this book at CMK Press or go straight to Amazon! Thanks for subscribing to our email newsletter. We will have another new book announcement in a few weeks for tinkering fans, so stay tuned! Sylvia Martinez and 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...