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Short biography
Gary S. Stager, Ph.D.
Executive Director: The Constructivist Consortium

"Some people think outside of the box. Gary is unaware of the box's existence." - Futurist, Dr. David Thornburg

Gary Stager, an internationally recognized educator, speaker and consultant, is the Executive Director of The Constructivist Consortium. Since 1982, Gary has helped learners of all ages on six continents embrace the power of computers as intellectual laboratories and vehicles for self-expression. He led professional development in the world's first laptop schools (1990), has designed online graduate school programs since the mid-90s, was a collaborator in the MIT Media Lab's Future of Learning Group and a member of the One Laptop Per Child Foundation's Learning Team. 

When Jean Piaget wanted to better understand how children learn mathematics, he hired Seymour Papert. When Dr. Papert wanted to create a high-tech alternative learning environment for incarcerated at-risk teens, he hired Gary Stager. This work was the basis for Gary's doctoral dissertation and documented Papert's most-recent institutional research project.

Gary's recent work has included teaching and mentoring some of Australia's "most troubled" public schools, launching 1:1 computing in a Korean International School beginning in the first grade, media appearances in Peru and serving as a school S.T.E.M. Director. He was a Visiting Professor at Pepperdine University and Senior Editor of District Administration Magazine. His advocacy on behalf of creativity, computing and children led to the creation of the Constructivist Consortium and the Constructing Modern Knowledge summer institute.

In 1999, Converge Magazine named Gary a "shaper of our future and inventor of our destiny." The National School Boards Association recognized Dr. Stager with the distinction of "20 Leaders to Watch" in 2007. The June 2010 issue of Tech & Learning Magazine named Gary Stager as "one of today's leaders who are changing the landscape of edtech through innovation and leadership." CUE presented Gary with its 2012 Technology in Learning Leadership Award. A popular speaker, Dr. Stager was a keynote speaker at the 2009 National Educational Computing Conference and at major conferences around the world. He has been a Visiting Scholar at the University of Melbourne's Trinity College on several occasions.

Gary was the new media producer for The Brian Lynch/Eddie Palmieri Project - Simpatíco, 2007 Grammy Award Winner for Best Latin Jazz Album of the Year. Dr. Stager is also a contributor to The Huffington Post and a Senior S.T.E.M. and Education Consultant to leading school architecture firm, Fielding Nair International. Gary also works with teachers and students as S.T.E.M. Director at The Oaks School in Hollywood, California.

Dr. Stager's latest book, Invent To Learn - Making, Tinkering, and Engineering in the Classroom was published in May 2013 by Constructing Modern Knowledge Press.


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Longer biography

Gary S. Stager, Ph.D.
Executive Director: The Constructivist Consortium
Teacher educator, author and consultant, Dr. Gary Stager, has spent the past twenty-nine years helping teachers on six continents make sense of their roles in the digital age. In 1990 he led development efforts at the world's first two "laptop schools" in Australia. Since then, Gary has worked with countless laptop schools from Maine to Melbourne to Mumbai. Stager was a Visiting Professor at Pepperdine University’s Graduate School of Education and Psychology where he has taught from 1993 to 2010 and in 1998 helped create its groundbreaking Online Master of Arts in Educational Technology degree program. In 1982, Gary created one of the nation’s first computer camp programs and was the Director of Professional Development for NJ’s Network for Action in Microcomputer Educator from 1983-93.

Gary was Senior Editor for District Administration Magazine, Editor of The Pulse: Education's Place for Debate and Editor of ISTE’s Logo Exchange. He is a frequent conference presenter, workshop leader and keynote speaker at conferences across the USA, Canada, China, Spain, Australia, New Zealand, Qatar, Brazil, Mexico, India, Switzerland, France, Bermuda, Costa Rica, Peru, South Korea, South Africa, The Slovak Republic and Venezuela. Dr. Stager is an Associate of Thornburg Center and worked with Seymour Papert to create the Constructionist Learning Laboratory at the Maine Youth Center. Gary’s work with incarcerated youth in Maine was the subject of his PhD. dissertation from the University of Melbourne. Dr. Stager is also a collaborator in the MIT Media Lab's Future of Learning Group and the Executive Director of The Constructivist Consortium.

Gary has a degree in elementary education and once studied to be a jazz musician. He has worked with public schools, private schools, gifted students, at-risk learners and homeschooling communities, Dr. Stager’s corporate clients have included: Disney, Microsoft, LEGO, Apple Computer, Compaq, Tom Snyder Productions, Universal Studios, Toshiba, Logo Computer Systems, Inc. and Claris. He was a finalist for best columnist in the 2006 Association of Education Publishers Distinguished Achievement Awards

In 1999, Converge Magazine named Gary a "shaper of our future and inventor of our destiny." The National School Boards Association recognized Dr. Stager with the distinction of "20 Leaders to Watch" in 2007. The June 2010 issue of Tech & Learning Magazine named Gary Stager as "one of today's leaders who are changing the landscape of edtech through innovation and leadership." CUE presented Gary with its 2012 Technology in Learning Leadership Award. A popular speaker, Dr. Stager was a keynote speaker at the 2009 National Educational Computing Conference and at major conferences around the world. He has been a Visiting Scholar at the University of Melbourne's Trinity College on several occasions.

Gary was the new media producer for The Brian Lynch/Eddie Palmieri Project - Simpatíco, 2007 Grammy Award Winner for Best Latin Jazz Album of the Year. Dr. Stager is also a contributor to The Huffington Post and a Senior S.T.E.M. and Education Consultant to leading school architecture firm, Fielding Nair International. Gary also works with teachers and students as S.T.E.M. Director at The Oaks School in Hollywood, California.

Dr. Stager's latest book, Invent To Learn - Making, Tinkering, and Engineering in the Classroom was published in May 2013 by Constructing Modern Knowledge Press.

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