MIT Media Lab’s Mitchel Resnick speaks with us about the development of his Lifelong Kindergarten research group and their efforts to affect the educational landscape through creative technological activities. Throughout the conversation, we describe the shifts in academic environments, starting from the free-form, highly imaginative kindergarten rooms to the stricter halls of higher learning. Mitch relates these changes to different uses of technology within the classroom setting and the differences in learning methods. He emphasizes that participatory uses of technology, such as remixing media or sharing projects, invite creativity and community for students. We compare Mitch’s practices to those used by fandom and liken them to building LEGO masterpieces without instructions; both emphasize the sharing of information and building communities. This conversation with Mitch is filled with the hope that curiosity and creativity will keep people as lifelong learners.
Here are some of the references from this episode, for those who want to dig a little deeper:
Academic/Educational readings and resources:
Lifelong Kindergarten
MIT Media Lab
Mindstorms (book)
Scratch platform
OctoStudio
A New Guide for Building Neurodiversity Oases for Connected Learning through Role Playing Games, FabLabs, Minecraft, BTS Fandom, and More (article)
Pointing at the Wrong Villain: Cass Sunstein and Echo Chambers (article)
#Republic: Divided Democracy in the Age of Social Media (book)
Start with Questions: The Classroom as Design Studio (book)
People & Places:
Stewart Brand
Natalie Rusk
Seymour Papert Henry writes about Papert’s “Samba Schools”
Jean Piaget
Tod Machover
Mizuko Ito
West Coast Computer Faire
Samba school
Reggio Schools
David Weinberger
Cass R. Sunstein
Karen Brennan
James Paul Gee
Media:
LEGO
LEGO Mindstorm Kits [history, shop link]
The Hundred Languages of Children (poem)
The Sims [videogame franchise]
SimCity
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