Hi all, I just left Vienna after the very successful Constructionism 2014 conference. There were a few hundred educators and researchers from around the world talking about Constructionism, programming, and making. Up until a few years ago, the conference had been called the Eurologo conference, but they changed it to reflect a wider range of… Read more »

Hi all, Paulo gave me the tile of “Social Media Director” for the FabLearn conference this year, so, dear Fellows – you are all on the team too! Let’s make sure every maker-educator, researcher, and maker proponent know about this fabulous conference. Here’s some suggestions below. I’ll remind you a few times this month and… Read more »

I always struggle with devising effective groundrules for our making learning communities. There are obvious safety rules, but the “how to make and be with others in the makerspace” guidelines are tougher Each year, we have the youth devise their own “We the People” set of expectations which we put on a big poster and… Read more »

In my diverse and mostly low income urban community, parents of our youth teachers are sometimes fearful about having their children engage with technology.  This is because often the only technologies that they are familiar with are ones that they associate with risks and danger for their children:  facebook, video games, texting and the like…. Read more »

I really enjoyed this youtube video by Mitch Resnick and especially how it applies to our reading of Mindstorms by Seymour Papert.

Digging out of the happy chaos at the end of a maker program is always a challenge! I’m finishing up the last payrolls, trying to put the lab back in order after 34 youth teachers produced socially conscious inventions and hundreds of children bounced through making small projects that introduced them to the creative possibilities… Read more »

Background Many argue that grades, especially those based on standardized tests, are limited in the information they provide about a student as a learner. Due to their “snapshot” nature, grades fail to represent a student’s growth over time. In addition, grades tend to be given by a teacher, excluding a student from the assessment process… Read more »

I am still reflecting on the many wonderful exeperinces at CMK, but I thought I would post a photo: 6 of us in the same room!  

The Rapid Growth of “Maker Education” Programs According to Google Trends (see photo), a new term came into existence and quickly became synonymous with progressive education and a resurgence of STEAM education in America. That term is maker education, or makered for short, and can be seen in the graph as “born” according to google… Read more »

To an educator, summer brings much needed time for slowing down, reflection, and professional development. I had the opportunity to travel to NH to attend a most unusual, “minds-on” institute where you hang out with interesting maker educators and take the time to explore your ideas. Constructing Modern Knowledge began with a preview of the… Read more »