Please read the following information carefully and feel free to ask questions!

Constructing Modern Knowledge is not a conference. The majority of time will be spent working alone or collaboratively on projects with your computer, high tech gizmos and traditional materials. We ask you to take off your educator hat and put on your learner hat for a few days. The experience will be richer if you do. Since knowledge is a consequence of experience, shaking off the burdens of teaching (temporarily) allows you to reignite the learner inside.

There will be plenty of informal time for talking about your job and teaching over meals and at the end of the institute when we reflect upon the implications of your experience for your future practice. Once a day, we will take time from our project work to engage in conversation with our amazing guest speakers.

The CMK 2013 learning environment features various robotics construction kits, art supplies, a library, electronics, lots of LEGO, toys, junk food and a jungle of electrical cords. I actively encourage you to find comfortable space for learning on tables, the floor, in the hallway, etc… The space, time and program of CMK 2013 are casual, flexible and designed to maximize your experience.

Have a question? Ask a fellow participant or member of our expert faculty. Need to learn a specific set of skills or understand a concept better, we’ll organize an impromptu mini-tutorial for you.

Reservations and tickets

Speaking of the Radisson Hotel, that is the site of Constructing Modern Knowledge 2013, and discount rooms are available for attendees as supplies last. Click here for booking information. If the hotel sells out, the Manchester Hilton Garden Inn is quite lovely and a few minute walk from the Radisson.

Meals

CMK 2013 provides one meal as part of your institute registration, Wednesday night’s institute dinner. We walk five minutes to a Brazillian Churascuria restaurant where you will enjoy all-you-can eat salad and Brazilian barbeque. (Vegetarians are well catered for.) There will also be snacks at Tuesday night’s MIT Media Lab reception. All other meals are on your own.

Manchester is a small New England city with dozens of places to eat within walking distance of the CMK hotel. Make a friend and go out for lunch or dinner. The flexibility keeps costs low and affords participants with opportunities to select food they crave while breaking bread with fellow learners. Latenight runs to the Red Arrow Diner for homemade moon pies or “twinkies” are the stuff of legend. Tuesday night is known for its post-dinner top-secret run to a bizarre local ice cream emporium. Manchester offers a plethora of healthy sandwich shops, British pubs, margarita joints, Hungarian bakeries, pizza, Thai food and more are just a few steps away from CMK. You can even have fried fish and homemade ice cream for lunch!

Getting to and from CMK

Manchester, NH has a great airport featuring most major airlines, a free hotel shuttle and affordability. Call the Radisson Hotel at 1-603-206-4109 when you land for a free 15-minute ride to the hotel.

Driving directions may be found here.

CMK 2013 ends at 4 PM on Friday, July 12th. The airport is less than 15 mintes away and check-in is a breeze. If you must leave a bit early, we understand, but most post 5 PM flights are easily made. CMK 2012 ends with the sharing of participant projects and a bit of reflection.

Dress code

The dress code during the institute is casual. You should be comfortable. You might wish to dress business casual for the Big Night Out in Boston and MIT Media Lab reception Tuesday night.

What to bring

• Laptop computer with a modern operating system AND administrative access if at all possible.
• Laptop power cord.
• CD/DVD drive if possible so you may install software. Other means of installation will be available if necessary
• Digital camera and/or digital video camera with cables, memory card(s) and charger
• A notebook if you prefer to write by hand
• Any peripherals, software or digital toys you have wanted to “mess about” with

You will be given a suite of creativity software tools that you may use during and after the institute within the terms of each software license.

Wireless Internet access will be limited in our learning space, but is freely available in hotel rooms and public areas of the hotel. If you need better net access, you are free to get up and move to it.

Construction Modern Knowledge 2013
July 9-12, 2013
Schedule

CMK is all about flexibility and taking the time to learn. The schedule will undoubtedly change.

Tuesday

•      8:30 AM             Registration
•      9:00 AM             Constructing Modern Knowledge 2011 commences
•      9 – 11 AM           Introductions and project brainstorming
•      11:00 AM           Project development begins
•      12:00 – 1:00      Lunch
•      1:00 – 3 PM       Project development
•      3:30 PM             Board bus for Big Night Out in Boston
•      5:00 PM             Reception at the MIT Media Lab hosted by Tod Machover
•      7 PM – 11 PM    Explore Boston
•      11:00 PM            Meet the bus at the Park Street T Station on Boston Common for  ride  back to
  Manchester for midnight arrival at the Radisson Hotel

Wednesday

•      9 AM – Noon         Project development
•      12 – 1 PM                Lunch
•      1:00 PM                  Guest Speaker: TBA
•      2:30 – 5 PM           Project development
•      5 PM                        Reflection
•      7:00 PM                  Institute Dinner (Gauchos Churrascaria, Brazilian Steak House.

Thursday

•      9:00 AM                  Project development
•      10:30 AM                Guest Speaker: Dale Dougherty
•      12 – 1 PM                Lunch
•      1 PM – 3:30 PM     Project development
•      3:30 – 5:00  PM     Guest Speakers: Eleanor Duckworth & Deborah Meier
•      5:00 PM                  Reflection

Friday

•      9 AM – 1 PM          Project development
•      1:00 -  3:30 PM     Project sharing
•      3:30 PM                 Reflection and wrap-up with Dr. Gary Stager
•      4:00 PM                 CMK 2013 ends

The media has portrayed Facebook COO, Sheryl Sandberg, as the model of modern feminism and propelled her book, “Lean In: Women, Work and the Will to Lead,” to the top of the bestseller lists. A former colleague takes a very different position in this extremely thoughtful review from Dissent Magazine. Feminism’s Tipping Point: Who Wins from Leaning In?

There are numerous well-intentioned attempts to “get girls into S.T.E.M.” Yet, there is too little action to be found beyond conference presentations or blog posts on the topic. One place we might start in increasing “women in technology” is by honoring more true pioneers.

Cynthia teaches a 7th grader to program at Muzzey Jr. High in 1968-69

I would like to nominate my friend and colleague, Dr. Cynthia Solomon for any Women in Technology awards that exist or could be created to recognize her remarkable contributions to the world of technology and education.

In the early 1960s, Cynthia Solomon graduated from Radcliffe with a history degree. She was extremely interested in computer programming, but that was not something women did back then. A friend of Cynthia’s helped her land a job as a secretary to MIT professor and artificial intelligence pioneer, Marvin Minsky. During that job, Cynthia taught herself to program in LISP. In 1968, Cynthia, along with Seymour Papert, Wally Feurzig and others, invented the Logo programming language for children.

Dr. Cynthia Solomon

If Seymour Papert is the Father of Educational Computing, then Cynthia Soiomon is the Mother of Educational Computing! Not only did Cynthia help create the first programming language for children, but she developed many of the pedagogical approaches and activities we still use to teach children to use computers. Forty five years later, Logo is still in use by millions of children around the world in the form of Scratch, MicroWorlds, Snap! and other dialects. The Twenty Things to Do with a Computer paper written by Solomon and Papert in 1970 or ’71 remains provocative today and lays the foundation for the maker movement sweeping the globe.

 

The school computer should have a large number of output ports to allow the computer to switch lights on and off, start tape recorders, actuate slide projectors and start and stop all manner of little machines. There should also be input ports to allow signals to be sent to the computer.

In our image of a school computation laboratory, an important role is played by numerous “controller ports” which allow any student to plug any device into the computer… The laboratory will have a supply of motors, solenoids, relays, sense devices of various kids, etc. Using them, the students will be able to invent and build an endless variety of cybernetic systems. (Papert & Solomon, 1971)

In the same paper, Solomon and Papert made a plea for 1:1 computing nearly twenty years before the first school in the world provided a personal computer for every student.

…Only inertia and prejudice, not economics or lack of good educational ideas stand in the way of providing every child in the world with the kinds of experience of which we have tried to give you some glimpses. If every child were to be given access to a computer, computers would be cheap enough for every child to be given access to a computer.

Cynthia teaching programming to 1st graders in 1972

Cynthia Solomon was involved in many of the foundational research studies of computers in education in the 1960s and 70s. She then went on to be one of the founders of Logo Computer Systems, Inc. an educational software company still in existence after 30+ years and where she was involved in creating Apple Logo. Cynthia then went on to become Director of the Atari Cambridge Research Laboratory from 1982-84. In 1095, Cynthia, Margaret Minsky and Brian Harvey published LogoWorks: Challenging Programs in Logo. That book demonstrated the sorts of sophisticated computer science projects kids could engage in. It remains the gold standard in many ways.

Cynthia Solomon’s doctoral thesis became the seminal book on computers in education, Computer Environments for Children: A Reflection on Theories of Learning and Education. That book remains required reading today. Cynthia worked in schools throughout the 1990s and co-authored Designing Multimedia Environments for Children with Allison Druin. Most recently, Dr. Solomon worked with the One Laptop Per Child Foundation.

Since day one, Dr. Solomon has been an indispensable member of the Constructing Modern Knowledge faculty. Learn with her this July 9-12, 2013 at the 6th Annual Constructing Modern Knowledge institute.

Cynthia Solomon teaching at Constructing Modern Knowledge 2012

Please take the time to consider the remarkable historical artifacts (videos, photos, papers and projects) on Dr. Solomon’s web site. She is a remarkable woman who has made substantial contributions to the use of computers in education and is a true pioneer in the high-tech industry. Cynthia Solomon deserves much wider recognition and our thanks!

Classroom Wind Tube

A great idea classroom inquiry  is a wind machine with which children may mess-about with aerodynamic, motion, gravity and engineering. Best of all, your classroom wind machine is made of a common household fan, embroidery hoops and sheet of plastic! Students use junk, art supplies and recycled materials (berry baskets, paper, string, pipe cleaners, plastic bags, cups, etc…) to create flying machines for testing in the wind machine. It’s safe, inexpensive, educational and fun!

The web site for San Francisco’s phenomenal Exploratorium features an educational rationale for the wind machine, examples and a fantastic PDF complete with building instructions and classroom ideas. This classroom science center has extended play value. Kids will play with it forever.

Check out the Wind Tube web site

Download the Wind Tube PDF

Pegboard Marble Maze

One of my favorite ideas for a classroom inquiry center is a marble maze made of a simple pegboard, scraps of molding, tubes and other recycled materials.

The web site for San Francisco’s phenomenal Exploratorium features an educational rationale for the marble maze, examples and a fantastic PDF complete with building instructions and classroom ideas. One can imagine kids spending lost in the flow of constructing the “perfect” marble maze.

The maze in the photo (right) is free-standing and two-sided. I’d love to make an entire classroom wall out of pegboard.

Check out the Marble Maze web site

Download the Marble Maze PDF

In addition to creating Constructing Modern Knowledge and leading it into its 6th institute, July 9-12, 2013, Dr. Stager is one of the world’s leading authorities on 1:1 computing in schools. Join him, amazing guest speakers and a world-class faculty for the professional learning event of the year!

Brian has had a hand in countless programming environments designed for children including: the first commercially available floor turtles, Apple Logo, IBM Logo, LogoWriter, LEGO TC Logo, Picocrickets and Scratch. As an undergraduate Brian built the Tinkertoy computer with Danny Hillis.

Here is a video of a recent conversation with Brian Silverman, Mitchel Resnick and inventor of the personal computer, Alan Kay talking about powerful ideas. It’s part of Resnick’s MIT MOOC Learning Creative Learning.

Brian has been invited once again to be a member of the Constructing Modern Knowledge 2013 faculty!

Steve costa with student

I have no qualms whatsoever with stating that Steve Costa is the most important educator of the last twenty-five years, anywhere in the world. In addition to his exceptional teaching ability, effortless rapport with students and admiration of his peers, Steve put his hand up in 1989 to be the first teacher on earth to teach in a classroom where every single student had a personal computer 24/7 for learning at home and school. For more than twenty-three years, Mr. Costa has taught in a 1:1 setting with 5th or 6th grade girls. His pioneering efforts have been chronicled in Bob Johnstone’s history of 1:1 computing, “Never Mind the Laptops – Kids, Computers and the Transformation of Learning” Since Steve and his colleagues made education history in 1990, thousands of educators from across Australia have visited his classroom and been inspired by his example. A generation of children and teachers he mentored are part of his legacy.

Simply put, when it comes to personal computing (1:1) in schools, Steve Costa is patient zero. No one precedes him and no one has more experience. Few, if any other adults, have taught more girls how to program computers. Without Steve Costa’s courage, talent and quiet grace there may not be 1:1 computing in schools, or the current state-of-affairs might be even less learner-centered.

I continue to marvel at Steve’s ability to evaluate, reject or adopt new technology while remaining committed to the constructionist spirit that inspired the adoption of laptops at his school so many years ago. He continues to learn and grow. Most importantly, students love his curiosity, compassion and sense of humor.

The chance to learn with Steve Costa is yet another reason why Constructing Modern Knowledge is the best professional learning event anywhere in the world.

See also:

• Steve Costa’s 1993 article, “Junior School Computing Curriculum,” from Reflections of a Learning Community – Views on the Introduction of Laptops at MLC.”
• Gary Stager’s tribute to Steve Costa, The Most Important Computer-Using Educator in the World.

Click here to register for Constructing Modern Knowledge 2013 today!

Casey Neistat speaks at CMK 2012

YouTube Filmmaker Casey Neistat delivered a terrific and inspirational presentation at Constructing Modern Knowledge 2012. Video of that fantastic session will be uploaded here in the near future. Subscribe here to be alerted when that video becomes available.

In the meantime, enjoy a recent TEDx Talk by Casey.

Super Awesome Sylvia speaks at CMK 2012!

Educators who attended Constructing Modern Knowledge 2012 got to spend four days with Super Awesome Sylvia.

Below is video of her super awesome 2012 TEDx Redmond Talk.