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Learn with Extraordinary Experts
Constructing Modern Knowledge 2023 is committed to making connections between child-centered learning theories and the creative construction of knowledge with computers. In addition to providing a rich sandbox where educators enjoy the luxury of time to work on personally rewarding projects, there are opportunities to interact with some of the greatest educational minds of our time.
We want CMK participants to return home able to say, “I spent time with one of my heroes,” or “My favorite education author helped with my project,” rather than “I heard X speak.”
CMK 2023 Guest Speakers
Charlie Rosen
Grammy and Tony Award-Winning Musician
Charlie Rosen is an American musician, composer, arranger, orchestrator, musical director, and producer. At only 32 years of age, he is already the recipient of a Tony, Grammy, and Obie Award. In addition to his work performing in the pit of countless musicals, Charlie Rosen is the orchestrator or co-orchestrator for recent Broadway productions, including Be More Chill, Moulin Rouge, A Strange Loop, and the current hit, Some Like it Hot. His film compositions include Billy Crystal’s Here Today and the HBO documentary, Listening to Kenny G.
Charlie’s YouTube videos featuring the 8-Bit Big Band, one-man ensembles, and other assorted projects have enjoyed tens of millions of views. The New York Times profiled Charlie Rosen in the article, The Modern Music Man: He Plays Every Instrument. Almost.
Gareth Stockdale
CEO: micro:bit Educational Foundation
Gareth has worked for almost 20 years exploring and implementing technology and content that can help children and students learn. As Head of Operations for BBC Education, Gareth was the joint project lead for the micro:bit project and led the process which culminated in the formation of the Micro:bit Educational Foundation. He has been a board director since 2016 and was appointed CEO at the Micro:bit Educational Foundation in January 2018. There have been over 7.5 million micro:bits manufactured and they are being used in over 60 countries with major projects in over 30 of those; The Foundation estimates that approximately 40 million students have learned coding and digital creativity with the micro:bit.
Educational Pioneers
Cynthia Solomon, Molly Watt, Dan Watt, John Stetson, Gary Stager
This inflection point for education seems ripe for a frank conversation about where we’ve been over the past half century and where we should focus our energies for the future. Each of these longtime CMK faculty members have made remarkable contributions to educational computing, progressive education, and constructionism. Join them and other invited guests in an intimate setting to help make sense of the future.
Learn more about these legends…
Howard Gardner
Educational Psychologist & Father of Multiple Intelligences Theory
Howard Gardner is the John H. and Elisabeth A. Hobbs Research Professor of Cognition and Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. He is also an adjunct professor of psychology at Harvard University and senior director of Harvard Project Zero. Among numerous honors, Gardner received a MacArthur Prize Fellowship and a Fellowship from the John S. Guggenheim Memorial Foundation in 1981 and 2000, respectively.
Learn more about Howard Gardner…
Gary S. Stager, Ph.D.
Founder & Host: Constructing Modern Knowledge
Gary Stager is one of the world’s leading experts and advocates for computer programming, robotics and learning-by-doing in classrooms. In 1990, Dr. Stager led professional development in the world’s first laptop schools and played a major role in the early days of online education.
In addition to being a popular keynote speaker at some of the world’s most prestigious education conferences, Gary is a journalist, teacher educator, consultant, professor, software developer, publisher, and school STEM. Director. An elementary teacher by training, he has taught students from preschool through doctoral studies. Gary is the founder of the Constructing Modern Knowledge summer institute for educators.
Dr. Stager is co-author of Invent To Learn – Making, Tinkering, and Engineering in the Classroom, called the “bible of the maker movement in schools,” by Larry Magid of CBS and The San Jose Mercury News. Invent To Learn has been translated into nine languages. Dr. Stager’s most recent book is Twenty Things to Do with a Computer Forward 50: Future Visions of Education Inspired by Seymour Papert and Cynthia Solomon’s Seminal Work.
He earned a Ph.D. in Science and Mathematics Education and was part of a project that won a Grammy Award. Recently, Gary has been invited to speak and teach in Reggio Emilia, Italy by Fondazione Reggio Children.
Gary is also on the advisory board of the NSF-funded project, BJC4NYC: Bringing a Rigorous Computer Science Principles Course to the Largest School System in the US.
Read bios of previous guest speakers