by  Subscribe to be kept up-to-date on CMK 2016 news & speakers |
My latest book, “Invent To Learn – Making, Tinkering, and Engineering in the Classroom.”
Bio
“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 the Special Assistant to The Head of School for Innovation at the Willows Community School in Culver City, California.
Dr. Stager’s best-selling book, Invent To Learn – Making, Tinkering, and Engineering in the Classroom was published in May 2013 by Constructing Modern Knowledge Press.
Contact Gary Stager
Speaking, consulting & professional development and mentoring services by Gary Stager
Keynote and workshop options
Reviews of Gary Stager’s recent work
Please subscribe to my very occasional newsletter!
Gary’s Web Sites
- Gary’s blog
- Constructing Modern Knowledge
- The Daily Papert
- Gary’s three TED Talks
- Gary’s web site
- Gary’s articles on The Huffington Post
- Gary’s most recent newsletter
Popular Resources
- Tinkering resources compiled by Gary Stager and Sylvia Martinez
- Super cool book and gift ideas for makers & tinkerers
- Invent to Learn Workshop Kit and Poster (free)
- Articles and papers by Dr. Stager
- 1:1 Computing resources
- Recommended books for creative educators and parents
- Robotics in education resources
- “Digital Reggio” resources
- Logo resources
- Planet Papert, a web site dedicated to the powerful ideas of Seymour Papert
- Five articles on effective project-based learning (PDF)
- A Constructionism Primer (2011)
- The Gary Stager Video Collection (presentation videos)
Gary Stager has authored hundreds of articles, scholarly papers, and book chapters over three decades. Here is a selection of those publications.
Video
Gary’s three TEDx Talks
Gary Stager “This is Our Moment “ – Conferencia Anual 2014 Fundación Omar Dengo (Costa Rica)
Gary Stager – Questions and Answers Section – Annual Lecture 2014 (Costa Rica)
Choosing Hope Over Fear from the 2004 Chicago Education Festival
Assorted keynote addresses, public presentations, and conversations on video
Handouts
Intel’s Guide to Creating and Inventing with Technology in the Classroom (2015) 
Five articles by Gary Stager about effective project-based learning from The Creative Educator (PDF)
Invent To Learn Workshop Handout Kit and TMI Robot Poster
Books
(foreword) The Invent To Learn Guide to 3D Printing in the Classroom: Recipes for Success by David Thornburg, Norma Thornburg, and Sara Armstrong. 2014
(coauthor) Invent To Learn – Making, Tinkering, and Engineering in the Classroom(with Sylvia Martinez) 2013
(contributor) The Muses Go to School: Inspiring Stories About the Importance of Arts in Education by Herbert R. Kohl and Tom Oppenheim 2012
(contributor) The Case for Computing A chapter from the book, Snapshots! Educational Insights from the Thornburg Center (2004)
Computers for Kids, Not Schools (1993) from the book, Reflections of a Learning Community – Views on the Introduction of Laptops at MLC.
Articles by Gary in The Huffington Post
Gary Stager’s personal blog
Recent Conference Papers & Salient Articles
“The Best Makerspace is Between Your Ears” published by the National School Boards Association. (June 2015)
Outside the Skinner Box: Can Educational Technology Make a Course Correction? from the Winter 2015 issue of Indepentend School Magazine.
Constructionism 2014 Paper (Vienna, Austria) August 19-23, 2014.
This is Our Moment (with video of plenary presentation)
Gary Stager’s Full ASCD Interview About Making (2014)
Educatiom Week interview with Sylvia Martinez and Gary Stager (2014)
Popular ‘Maker Movement’ Incompatible With Common Core, Authors Contend
Making vs. Schooling (2014)
My Interview in California School Business Magazine (2014)
Final issue of ISTE’s Learning and Leading with Technology cover story (2014)
The Maker Movement – A Learning Revolution (co-authored with Sylvia Martinez)
Scholastic Administrator magazine (2014)
What’s the Maker Movement and Why Should I Care?
Tech & Learning Magazine cover story on 3D Printing in the Classroom (2014)
American School and University magazine (2014)
Making Room for Maker’s Space
Wasted Intensity (2014)
And Then? 2014
Technology is not Neutral (2013)
Education Week
Scholastic Administrator magazine (2013)
For the Love of Laptops
A Constructionism Primer (2011)
Do The Real Thing Less talking “about and more doing! (2013)
What is CMK About? (2013)
Curriculum Not Required Hugo’s learning story (2012)
Gary Raises Serious Questions About the Flipped Classroom (2012)
Breaking Bread (2012)
Dumbing Down (Computer Literacy) (2012)
Mission Accomplished (rethinking Accelerated Reader) (2012)
Choice, Duh! An article detailing the critical elements for successful project-based learning (2011)
Where is the List of Tech Skills? by Gary Stager
My response to the quest for measurement of student “tech skills.”
BYOD – Worst Idea of the 21st Century? (2011)
The Computer Lab as Learning Hub (2011)
Super-Awesome Sylvia in the Not So Awesome Land of Schooling (2011)
Curriculum Not Included (how to create problem solving classrooms) (2012)
Wanna be a School Reformer? You Better do Your Homework! (2010)
The Worst Book of the 21st Century (an updated review of A Whole New Mind by Dan Pink (2009)
Cover Story (GOOD Magazine) – Fall 2008
School Wars
An important monograph written in 1996
Computing and the Internet in Schools: An International Perspective on Developments and Directions
Constructionism 2012 Paper (Athens, Greece)
Friends of Papertian Constructionism
2008 Australian Conference on Educational Computing (Canberra)
A New Paradigm for Evaluating the Learning Potential of an EdTech Activity
Learning Adventures: A new approach for transforming real and virtual classroom environments
2007 EuroLogo XI (Bratislava, Slovak Republic)
Towards the Construction of a Language for Describing the Potential of Educational Computing Activities
2006 Australian Conference on Educational Computing (Cairns, Australia)
Has Educational Computing Jumped the Shark?
2005 National Educational Computing Conference (Philadelphia)
Constructiive Technology as the Key to Entering the Community of Learners
2005 World Conference on Computers in Education (Stellenbosch, South Africa)
- Towards a Pedagogy of Online Constructionist Learning
- The High Cost of Incrementalism in Educational Computing Implementation
2005 EuroLogo X (Warsaw, Poland)
Papertian Constructionism & the Design of Productive Contexts for Learning
2004 International Conference on Learning Sciences (Santa Monica, California)
Climbing to Understanding: Lessons from an Experimental Learning Environment for Adjudicated Youth co-authored with Seymour Papert and David Cavallo
2003 Proceedings of the 3.1 and 3.3 working groups conference on International federation for information processing: ICT and the teacher of the future – Volume 23 (Melbourne, Australia)
Online Constructionism and the Future of Teacher Education co-authored with Terrence Cannings
Girls and Technology: Overcoming Myths and Malpractice (2002)
Thoughts presented as a keynote address at a Melbourne, Australia conference on girls and technology.
Computationally-Rich Constructionism and At-risk Learners (2001)
A paper presented at the 2001 World Conference on Computers in Education. Copenhagen, Denmark.
Constructionism as a High-tech Intervention Strategy for At-Risk Learners (2001)
Paper presented at the National Educational Computing Conference. Chicago, Illinois.
1998 NECC ’98: Proceedings of the National Educating Computing Conference (19th, San Diego, CA, June 22-24, 1998)
- Online Communities as a Vehicle for Developing Secondary Mathematics Educators co-authored with Terrence Cannings
- Computationally-Rich Activities for the Construction of Mathematical Knowledge – No Squares Allowed co-authored with Terrence Cannings
School is More than a Place – Laptops in Teacher Education (1997-98)
Kids with Laptops – The Antidote to Educational Computing (1997)
A Commentary by Gary S. Stager written in 1997 for Computelec Australia.
Laptops, Logo and Learning (1997)
Educational Leadership (October 1995)
Laptop Schools Lead the Way in Professional Development
Inventing the Future Yesterday – One School’s Attempt to Make Learning Personal (1994)
Do The Real Thing Less talking “about and more doing! (2013)
What is CMK About? (2013)
Curriculum Not Required Hugo’s learning story (2012)
Gary Raises Serious Questions About the Flipped Classroom (2012)
Breaking Bread (2012)
Technology is Not Neutral (2012)
This is What Learning Looks Like A collection of learning stories and resources (2011)
The Best Education Books in recent memory Three must-read books and some other suggestions (2011)
Dumbing Down (Computer Literacy) (2012)
Mission Accomplished (rethinking Accelerated Reader) (2012)
Choice, Duh! An article detailing the critical elements for successful project-based learning (2011)
My 1:1 Toolbox (2011)
Creativity software I recommend for student laptops.
Where is the List of Tech Skills? by Gary Stager
My response to the quest for measurement of student “tech skills.”
BYOD – Worst Idea of the 21st Century? (2011)
The Computer Lab as Learning Hub (2011)
Super-Awesome Sylvia in the Not So Awesome Land of Schooling (2011)
Curriculum Not Included (how to create problem solving classrooms) (2012)
Sites of kids mentioned during keynotes:
- Super-Awesome Sylvia’s Super-Awesome Maker Show
- Caine’s Arcade
- Look What Joey’s Making
- Why I Love My 3D Printer by Schuyler St. Leger
More articles:
Passport to The Best Educational Ideas in the World (2010)
Radical Reformer, my 2005 interview with Dennis Littky
Award-winning radio broadcasts by an at-risk student
Wanna Be a School Reformer? You Better Do Your Homework First (recommended books)
Seymour Papert’s Eight Big Ideas Behind Constructionism
The five TED Talks I would share with children
My provocative article about interactive white boards
Huffington Post article, Who Elected Bill Gates?
The Year of the Laptop (new article 10/10)
The truth about India’s “$35 Laptop”
Assessing Technology Literacy: The Case for an Authentic, Project-Based Learning Approach (PDF)
Seymour Papert’s long-lost 1990 speech (transcript) on school transformation, Perestroika and Epistemological Pluralism
The Original Twenty Things to Do With a Computer (1971) by Seymour Papert
Teaching Children Thinking (1971) by Seymour Papert
A New Paradigm for Evaluating the Learning Potential of an EdTech Activity by Gary Stager
Gary’s Latest Newsletter (including summer reading suggestions)
Archive of previous newsletters
The 1996 Whitepaper by Gary Stager mentioned during his presentation.
The Book Every Educator Should Read (2/28/2010)
Books for Combatting Current Education Policies
Want to know who is trying to takeover public education? Read Gary Stager’s cover story, School Wars, from GOOD Magazine
Gary Stager’s recent spotlight presentation from the National Educational Computing Conference (high-quality video) – Learning Adventures: Transforming Real and Virtual Learning Environments
Gary Stager’s keynote debate from NECC 2009 – Recipe for a Disruptive Keynote
My manifesto for excellent teachers and principals
Computing and the Internet in Schools: An International Perspective on Developments and Directions
From the archives, a monograph written by Gary S. Stager, Ph.D. in 1996
Learning Adventures: A new approach for transforming real and virtual classroom environments
– Paper for ACEC 2008
Daniel Pink’s book, “A Whole New Mind,” Worst book of the 21st Century (review by Gary Stager)
high school student discussions of the book with Gary Stager, period 4 and period 5
Laptop Woes
Bungling the world’s easiest sale
An abridged version appears in the October 2005 issue of District Administration
Why Thomas Friedman Does Not Compute
Gary’s critical review of The World is Flat and the education community’s knee-jerk reaction to it.
Published in the December 2005 issue of District Administration
A Schoolmaster of the Great City: A Progressive Education Pioneer’s Vision for Urban Schools (book from 1917) by Angelo Patri
Gary Stager’s role in the history of classroom-based “laptop learning” is documented in the book, Never Mind the Laptops: Kids, Computers and the Transformation of Learning, by Bob Johnstone.
Gary Stager’s article about Australian Deputy PM Julia Gillard’s education adviser, Educators can learn nothing from Chancellor Klein’s visit (from Crikey)
Books Discussed in Some Presentations
- After you read Dennis Littky’s book, The Big Picture: Education is Everybody’s Businesss, you MUST read Doc: The Story Of Dennis Littky And His Fight For A Better School. This recently republished book by Susan Kammeraad-Campbell may be the first education thriller ever published. Anyone who wants to understand anything about education should read these two books.
- Radical Reformer
Dennis Littky drew on his 30 years of education innovation to create a new school model. Now he won’t be satisfied until he replicates it throughout the country. (An extensive interview with Gary Stager)
- Radical Reformer
- Will Richardson has written perhaps the best “how-to” book for computer-using educators since Dan Watt’s Learning with Logo in the 1980s. Will’s book, Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms
is a must have for every educator or citizen interested in understanding Web 2.0!
- MySpace Unraveled: What it is and how to use it safely by Larry Magid and Anne Collier
- Macarthur Genius and school principal, Deborah Meier’s book In Schools We Trust: Creating Communities of Learning in an Era of Testing and Standardization is an incredibly important read for all school leaders.
- Perhaps the two best books ever written about Learning:
- The Book of Learning and Forgetting by Frank Smith
- What Do YOU Mean by Learning? by Seymour Sarason
- Excited about the possibility of emailing a bicycle? You must read Fab: The Coming Revolution on Your Desktop–From Personal Computers to Personal Fabrication by Neil Gershenfeld.
- Learn about “micronations” and think of creative curricular connections. Lonely Planet has just published a tour book for those of you interested in traveling to some of the world’s micronations. Unfortunately, Talossa is no longer accepting reservations. Read Lonely Planet Micronations.
- Bridging Differences – a semi-weekly critical writing on school policy issues – a must read!
Veteran educator Gary Stager, Ph.D. is the author of Twenty Things to Do with a Computer – Forward 50, co-author of Invent To Learn — Making, Tinkering, and Engineering in the Classroom, publisher at Constructing Modern Knowledge Press, and the founder of the Constructing Modern Knowledge summer institute. He led professional development in the world’s first 1:1 laptop schools thirty years ago and designed one of the oldest online graduate school programs. Gary is also the curator of The Seymour Papert archives at DailyPapert.com. Learn more about Gary here.