by In 2013, Sylvia Martinez and I wrote/published Invent To Learn: Making, Tinkering, and Engineering in the Classroom. That book, called the “bible of the maker movement in schools,” is arguably one of the most influential education books of the past dozen years. Invent To Learn led to the creation of Constructing Modern Knowledge Press, publisher of 20 books by progressive educators for creative educators and Cymbal Press, publisher of seven acclaimed books by leading jazz musicians and writers.
Now, thanks to our friends Marius Narvilas and Valentina Dagiene and their colleagues, Invent To Learn has been translated into Lithuanian. Not only does this publication mark the 10th language for Invent To Learn, but Lithuania is very special to me. Not only is it a beautiful, resilient, wise, and playful country I love, but I have ancestral roots in Vilnius as well.
On the occasion of the publication of our book in Lithuanian, I authored a brief foreword to that edition specifically for Lithuanian readers. That foreword includes a bit of history and reflection on learning-by-making since the original publication of Invent To Learn.
I hope you enjoy reading this short essay as much as I enjoyed writing it. The Lithuanian version should be available for sale shortly. Link to follow!
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.