{"id":3842,"date":"2016-06-27T15:23:27","date_gmt":"2016-06-27T20:23:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stager.tv\/?p=3842"},"modified":"2016-12-22T12:56:12","modified_gmt":"2016-12-22T17:56:12","slug":"obviously-irrelevant-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stager.tv\/?p=3842","title":{"rendered":"Obviously Irrelevant"},"content":{"rendered":"

This week, I will speak at my 29th\u00a0ISTE Conference<\/a>\u00a0(International Society for Technology in Education, previously NECC) in Denver, Colorado. I have made at least one presentation every year since 1987. I signed the charter that created ISTE, organized one of its SIGs, and edited an ISTE journal for a few years. I was a keynote\u00a0speaker at the final\u00a0NECC Conference in 2009 before the conference was rebranded as ISTE. Despite my well-publicized concerns about the direction of the organization (see bottom of post), I attend the conference each year because educational computing is my life’s work and I refuse to abandon the field, no matter how tempting.<\/p>\n

In the past, I have expressed my concerns over the quality, relevance, and too-often corporate nature of the ISTE keynote speakers. I have demonstrated the flaws and lack of objectivity in the session selection process and lamented the celebration of corporate interests.<\/p>\n

These concerns have often been dismissed as sour grapes. My public statements\u00a0certainly have not been beneficial to my career or my visibility on the conference program. Despite the popularity of my sessions, the 2013 conference organizers put me\u00a0in a tiny room and turned away hundreds of educators lined up for my presentation.<\/p>\n

For this year’s conference, I proposed two presentations. One,\u00a0Programming: The New Liberal Art — Why and How to Teach It<\/a>\u00a0was accepted.<\/p>\n

29<\/strong>\u00a0other accepted ISTE 2016 sessions cite my work or collaborations with\u00a0Sylvia Martinez<\/a>\u00a0in their proposals.<\/p>\n

The following\u00a0proposal was rejected – obviously irrelevant<\/em><\/h3>\n

Mindstorms at 35: Examining the State of Children, Computers and Powerful Ideas<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

The most important book ever written about technology and education, Seymour Papert’s “[easyazon_link identifier=”0465046746″ locale=”US” tag=”neweasyazon-20″]Mindstorms[\/easyazon_link]” is 35 years old. This session led by Dr. Papert’s longtime colleague will review the book’s big ideas and engage the audience in an evaluation of the current state of education in light of Papert’s work.<\/span><\/p>\n

Longer Description<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

[easyazon_image align=”right” height=”160″ identifier=”0465046746″ locale=”US” src=”http:\/\/stager.tv\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/516HdDm2C0L.SL160.jpg” tag=”neweasyazon-20″ width=”100″]Nearly 50 years ago, Dr. Papert began calling for 1:1 computing. He invented the first programming language and robotics engineering system for children. In 1970, Papert predicted the maker movement and his entire career was dedicated to creating contexts in which children could encounter and engage with powerful ideas.<\/span><\/p>\n

[easyazon_link identifier=”0465046746″ locale=”US” tag=”neweasyazon-20″]Mindstorms: Children, Computers, and Powerful Ideas[\/easyazon_link] is arguably the most important book ever written in the field ISTE represents. This presentation will introduce Papert’s ideas to newcomers and ask veterans to candidly evaluate his predictions in light of the current state-of-practice.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The presenter will also share video clips and textual excerpts from recently unearthed and overlooked work by Dr. Papert over five decades.<\/span><\/p>\n

Objectives<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n