Dr. Gary Stager’s invited talk: Thinking About Thinking About Robotics
In these turbulent times, we are blessed with the availability incredibly powerful, affordable, and accessible technology sadly accompanied by an absence of vision for its educational use. This paradox may be caused by an absence of metaphors for thinking about thinking with robotics materials. Dr. Stager will share an expansive view of robotics to serve a diverse population of learners, discuss contexts for using robotics as a vehicle for knowledge construction, and share models for inspiring teachers to embrace the potential of robotics as an expressive medium and incubator of powerful ideas.
Short bio
Gary Stager, Ph.D. is one of the world’s leading experts and advocates for computer programming, robotics and learning-by-doing in classrooms. In 1990, Dr. Stager led professional development in the world’s first laptop schools and played a major role in the early days of online education. In addition to being a popular keynote speaker at some of the world’s most prestigious education conferences, Gary has enjoyed an eclectic career as a teacher educator, journalist, consultant, author, software developer, and school administrator. He is the co-author of the influential book, Invent To Learn – Making, Tinkering, and Engineering in the Classroom, which has been called the bible of the maker movement in schools. Gary worked closely with Seymour Papert, earned a Ph.D. in science and mathematics education, and collaborated on a project that won a Grammy Award. Most importantly, Gary is madly in love with Italy.
