Spend four cool summer days in New England making puppets roar, robots dance, animations delight, movies move, simulations stimulate, photos sing and leave with memories to last a lifetime!

Popular and provocative author, Alfie Kohn, MacArthur Genius school reformer, Deborah Meie and awardwinning children's author, illustrator and animator, Peter H. Reynolds. are returning as guest speakers to Constructing Modern Knowledge 2010, July 12-15, 2010 in Manchester, NH!

Dr. James Loewen rounds-out the team of distinguished guest speakers that promises to make CMK 2010 one of the premiere professional learning event of the year!

James Loewen's gripping retelling of American history as it should, and could, be taught, Lies My Teacher Told Me, has sold more than 800,000 copies and continues to inspire K-16 teachers to get students to challenge, rather than memorize, their textbooks. Loewen's most recent book, Teaching What Really Happened: How to Avoid the Tyranny of Textbooks and Get Students Excited About Doing History, helps teachers learn to teach history more authentically based on inquiry and access to primary sources. He will challenge interested participants to do history while at CMK 2010.

Constructing Modern Knowledge is a four-day immersive minds-on institute during which educators from around the world gather to collaborate and create wondrous technology-rich projects. CMK offers a playful rich environment in which you can develop your technology skills, become reacquainted with your creative spark and spend time with some of the most powerful thinkers of our time.

The stellar CMK faculty includes: Brian Silverman, the man who helped create countless software learning environments including LogoWriter, MicroWorlds, programmable LEGO and Scratch; Logo co-inventor Cynthia Solomon; Gary Stager; Generation YES President, Sylvia Martinez and John Stetson.

Constructing Modern Knowledge is not an ordinary conference where you sit quietly and listen. CMK is about action and high-quality interaction with experts in an intimate setting.

Peter Reynolds will host a reception at the storied FableVision Studios to kickoff the "Big Night Out in Boston." Monday's festive conference dinner will be held at an all-you-can-eat Brazilian Churrascaria.

Each participant receives a free suite of open-ended creativity software from members of The Constructivist Consortium for use at Constructing Modern Knowledge and beyond.

Constructing Modern Knowledge respects the budgets of schools and educators by keeping registration costs affordable and by offering team discounts. The institute is appropriate for all K-12 educators, administrators and teacher educators.

Go to www.constructingmodernknowledge.com to register and for more information. Enrollment is limited and early-bird discounts expire soon.

I've written another article about teaching with computers for The Creative Educator magazine. The Genius of Print may be downloaded here (pdf) or you may download the entire issue of the magazine.

This past August/September I enjoyed the great honor (honour as they would say here) of being a "Visiting Scholar" at the "Oxford-style" Trinity College of The University of Melbourne. I was provided with a large old flat (at the top of the building pictured), complete with library and art collection in the college and will experience many of the traditions including the wearing of an academic gown to "high table" and leading "tutes" with students. I was a judge for the prestigious Wigram Allen Dialectical Society Essay Contest and led a fireside chat on the topic of "The Education Revolution?" (Aussies know what the title means in the current political climate here)

I can't wait to return! I enjoyed college life now more than ever before.

At the 11th hour I was invited to be part of the NECC 2009 keynote panel moderated by "voice of God" and NPR host, Robert Siegal for an audience of approximately 4,500 people.

The crowd's laughter and applause was exhilarating!

The debate was great fun and a great honor. Many thanks to my good friends at NECC/ISTE for their generosity and professionalism.

You might enjoy:

• the peculiar road leading to the keynote stage
• watch my performance (I was watching the clock - hence my regrettable lack of eye contact)
• read the transcript of my remarks

2010 marks an important anniversary for me. It represents twenty years of working in schools across Australia. I recently reflected on my the experience of leading professional development at the world's first two "laptop schools" Downunder in 1990, in Hard and Easy: Reflections on my ancient history in 1:1 computing. That early work was also documented in the book, Never Mind the Laptops...

In 1992, I delivered my first keynote address at the biennial Australian Computers in Education Conference in my beloved Melbourne. That's why it's so exciting to be a keynote speaker at this year's ACEC, April 6-9, 2010 in Melbourne, Australia! I will be presenting a brand new keynote designed specifically for the Australian audience entitled, "You Say You Want a Revolution?"

Sylvia Martinez and Alan November are two of the other keynote speakers.

I hope to see all of you there!

Plans are also shaping up for a Constructivist Celebration on April 6th. Watch the Constructivist Consortium web site for more information.

Almost two years ago, I was asked to be in a film about creativity, math, science, engineering and imagination. That new documentary , imagine it!² The Power of Imagination. is about connecting imagination and creativity with science and engineering in education. The 52-minute film inspires people to imagine a better world, unleash their creativity and take action to solve global challenges.

I'm always happy to share multimedia recordings of my presentations, but find it difficult to be my own film-crew while presenting at the same time. Podcasting always seems like a good idea as long as I don't have to do it.

Therefore, it's terrific when someone else captures my work. The NECC 2009 featured presentation was shot beautifully and my mouth worked well that morning.

Here are some recent performances you might enjoy!

• Video of my 2009 NECC featured presentation
• Video of a recent keynote addres at the uLearn 2009 Conference s in New Zealand
• Video excerpts fromt the 2009 NECC keynote debate
• December '09 Discovery Educator Network Webinar on project-based learning
• My appearance in a the Imagine It2 documentary about science, math technology and creativity

Subscribe to my blog for news when I publish other video, including videos of guest speakers from Constructing Modern Knowledge.

More than 350 educators attended Constructivist Celebrations in 2009. In addition to the annual Constructivist Celebration preceding NECC, we held highly successful celebrations of computing, creativity and collaboration in partnership with NCCE and NYSCATE.

A Constructivist Celebration is planned for the MACUL Conference in Grand Rapids, MI on March 11, 2010. Register here. Keep an eye on the Constructivist Consortium web site for information other upcoming Constructivist Celebrations:

• Melbourne, Australia - April 6th
• Denver, Colorado - June 27th

As a service to creative educators, The Constructivist Consortium has created an online bookstore for educators looking for the best books about learning and coolest items to use in the classroom.

Sections have been added to list the new education books I'm currently reading, 1:1 computing and books for resisting the scourge of standardized testing.

The Constructivist Consortium is a sponsor of Contructing Modern Knowledge this July.

Nobody does a better job of challenging conventional wisdom or killing education's most sacred cows than Alfie Kohn. In this $29 DVD you get two compelling one-hour lectures urging educators, administrators and parents to question the use of homework and grades.

There is no better way to heat up a teacher's lounge or PTA meeting than this terrific DVD.

Don't forget that Constructing Modern Knowledge attendees will enjoy the rare opportunity of interacting with Alfie Kohn in an intimate setting!

Educators advocating project-based learning could use some help articulating the rationale for such an approach. My new article, What Makes a Good Project?, describes the eight elements that make a project worthwhile.

Part II of the article, Raising Our Standards - Developing Projects that Endure, from The Creative Educator Magazine, explores evaluation issues related to effective project-based learning. Both articles may be downloaded as PDF files here.

Dr. Stager's upcoming schedule includes the following speaking, teaching and consulting engagements:

• January 14 - Orlando Florida Speaker A Vision of 1:1 Computing Worth Sustaining at Florida Educational Technology Conference
• January 29 - Atlantic City, FL Keynote speaker Ten Things to Do with a Laptop: Learning and Powerful Ideas at NJ Techspo (superintendents), along with Alan November
• January 30-31 - Philadelphia, NJ Speaker Stager Certified Educator Exective Program and Papert Matters: Thinking about Children, Computers & Powerful Ideas at Educon 2.2
• February 15-16 - Portland, OR Featured Speaker (multiple sessions) at ITSC
• February 25-26 - San Francisco, CA Visit me at the Constructivist Consortium booth at the National Association of Independent Schools Conference
• March 1- Washington D.C. Speaker The Best Ideas in the World: Tickets to Modern Knowledge at the COSN Conference (with David Thornburg)
• March 5 - Briarcliff Manor, NY Keynote Speaker Creativity 2.0: The Quest for Meaning, Beauty and Excellence at the LHRIC Tecnology Leadership Institute, along with Michael Horn
• March 6 - San Antonio, TX Speaker Powerful Ideas and 1:1 Computing - A Vision Worth Sustaining at the ASCD Annual Conference
• LATE MARCH - EARLY APRIL
  AVAILABLE FOR PD, CONSULTING AND SPEAKING IN AUSTRALIA/NEW ZEALAND/PACIFIC-RIM. Contact Gary to schedule services.
• March 26 - Doha, Qatar Professional development session, EdTech and Beyond at Qatar Academy
• March 27 - Doha, Qatar Keynote speaker, The Best Educational Ideas in the World: Tickets to Modern Knowledge, The 3rd Annual ICT in Education Conference
• April 6-9 - Melbourne, Australia Keynote Speaker & Breakfast Speaker at the Australian Conference on Computers in Education, along with Sylvia Martinez and Alan November
• April 12 - Chicago, IL Speaker at the National School Boards Association Conference
• April 22 - Philadelphia, PA Keynote Speaker, Ten Things to Do with a 'Laptop - Learning and Powerful Ideas, at Villanova Technology Expo 2010
• June 10 - Palo Alto, CA Full-day professional development session at Castilleja School
• June 27 - Denver, CO 4th Annual Constructivist Celebration @ NECC
• June 28-30 - Denver, CO Featured Speaker Creativity 2.0: The Quest for Meaning, Beauty and Excellence at ISTE 2010
• July 11-15 - Manchester, NH Organizer of Constructing Modern Knowledge 2010 - Register today!
• August 16-20 - Paris, France Presenter at Constructionism 2010 Conference

• LATE AUGUST - EARLY SEPTEMBER
  AVAILABLE FOR PD, CONSULTING AND SPEAKING IN AUSTRALIA/NEW ZEALAND/PACIFIC-RIM. Contact Gary to schedule services.
  
  
• September 6 - Adelaide, Australia Keynote Speaker at International Middle Years of Schooling Conference
• September 7&8 - Adelaide, Australia Workshops and consulting with South Australia Department of Education and Children's Services.
• October 18 - Hartford, CT Keynote Speaker at Connecticut Educators Computer Association Annual Conference

Hard to believe it, but Howard Gardner's Theory of Multiple Intelligences is 25 years-old. MI at 25: Assessing the impact and Future of Multiple Intelligences for Teaching and Learning is a collection of really thoughtful essays on the theory, its controversy and implementation. The essays by Howard Gardner and CMK 2010 Guest Speaker Deborah Meier are particularly notable. Even the contributions of people I think are nutjobs are well-written and reasonably well-reasoned. This book would be excellent for faculty discussions and education courses.

CMK 2010 Guest Speaker Dr, James Loewen's new book, Teaching What Really Happened: How to Avoid the Tyranny of Textbooks and Get Students Excited About Doing History, is a great new resource for K-12 teachers.

Herbert Kohl's stunning book, She Would Not Be Moved: How We Tell the Story of Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott, should also be read by any teachers of the humanities.

For the 3rd straight years I'll be "leading conversations" at Educon 2.2 in Philadelphia, January 29-31. One session is a bit more whimsical than the other. See if you can determine which one.

Stager Certified Educators Executive Program
Play your cards right and you can leave this intensive, immersive, engaging and transformative session a Stager Certified Educator, complete with I.D. card, certificate of awesomeness (suitable for framing) and web badge for use on your blog or web site. Some educators don't achieve this much over a lifetime, but you may in less than 90 minutes! You will also gain a greater sense of the issues, ideas and expertise a 21st Century educator needs in order to create more productive contexts for learning. Resources for post-certification learning will be shared.

Papert Matters: Thinking about Children, Computers & Powerful Ideas
Seymour Papert, often referred to as the "father of educational technology," is arguably one of the most important thinkers of the past half-century. However, too few educators are aware of his ideas and contributions to the field. Papert's work is too often dismissed for having the audacity to ask educators to do better. Papert's creation, Logo, was the catalyst for a vibrant community of educators committed to giving voice to powerful ideas in their classrooms. Yet his influence has been much greater. Through an exposition of Papert's lesser-known writing and speeches, this session demonstrates Papert's tangible impact on the creation of classroom robotics, laptops, HyperCard, Squeak, Scratch, 1:1 computing and creation of the MIT Media Lab.
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I will also discuss Papert's enormous influence on the fields of artificial intelligence, computer science, mathematics, educational computing, epistemology, learning and the politics of school reform. His prescience regarding the dominance of the information metaphor predicted the fallacies promoted by today's Web 2.0 community. This session explores just a few of Papert's most powerful ideas about children, computers and learning through his own words and rarely seen video. The presenter worked closely with Dr. Papert for years. Educators new to Papert's theories will be challenged to think deeper about learning. Others may be inspired to reinvigorate their practice and challenge the status quo.

I eagerly await video from my Educon 2.2 sessions to appear online. Stay tuned!

These three titles are likely to become the next hot books being schlepped around conferences and quoted in blogs.

1. Catching Up or Leading the Way: American Education in the Age of Globalization by Yong Zhao
   This book explains methodically how the standardization and testing craze sweeping America will make use less competitive globally, not more. People I respect are really fond of this book.
   
   
2. Rethinking Education in the Age of Technology: The Digital Revolution and Schooling in America by Allan Collins & Richard Halverson
   This book is particularly thoughtful when compared with most books on "edtech." It came highly respected by people I respect. Unfortunately, it emphasizes information access and communication over actual computing, but still recommended.
   
   
3. The World Is Open: How Web Technology Is Revolutionizing Education by Curtis Bonk
   This well-meaning book is long on clichés about constructivism, Web 2.0 and creativity, but short on substance or insight.

Just Released New Books

• The Death and Life of the Great American School System: How Testing and Choice Are Undermining Education by Diane Ravitch
• The Flat World and Education: How America's Commitment to Equity Will Determine Our Future by Linda Darling-Hammond

Recently, two giants of progressive education died within days of each other. Ted Sizer and Gerald Bracey's passing creates a courage and leadership vacuum that we will all have to work overtime to fill.

Gerald Bracey's most recent book, Education, is the quintessential analysis of these crazy days in public education.

The Final Bracey Report on the Condition of Public Education was published shortly after Dr. Bracey's death and is a must-read.

Follow me on Twitter!

Read Alfie Kohn's critical rebuke of the push for national education standards, Debunking the Case for National Standards.

Book excerpt: Hard and Easy: Reflections on my ancient history in 1:1 computing

I was quoted in Parade Magazine!

Are you Smarter than a Deputy Prime Minister?

Read a classic article I wrote in 1982, Integrated Learning Systems, the new Slavery. Unfortunately, the observations made back then seem timeless.

Gary Stager's articles in The Huffington Post

Halt the Testing Madness!

Sherry Turkle, one of the leading thinkers on how interaction with technology affects us as humans has published several new books over the past year. They are all recommended.

Submit a paper by the end of February and attend the Constructionism 2010 conference in Paris this August!

Bridging Differences is better than all other education blogs put together.

My favorite jazz CDs of 2009.

My two favorite non-education books of 2009 are Closing Time: A Memoir by Joe Queenan (a look at nuclear family poverty in America by a brilliant writer) and Thelonious Monk: The Life and Times of an American Original by Robin D. G. Kelley

The new iPod Nano can be a terrific learning tool in the hands of children.

I really like this music notation software for use with kids.

Enroll in Pepperdine University's Learning & Technology programs for an MA or EdD!

The international museum exhibit of learning and teaching in the preschools of Reggio Emilia, Italy, The Wonder of Learning, is coming to Santa Monica, CA between February and June. This spectacular exhibition is is not to be missed.

Interested in student tech literacy? I highly recommend TechYes!