The NECC session you should not miss!

Hi all,
Just wanted to post about a spotlight session at NECC called,

Papert Matters - Thinking About Children, Computers and Powerful Ideas
Gary Stager, Pepperdine University 3:30-4:30 PM Tuesday, June 26
Seymour Papert’s work has defined the frontiers of education for 40+ years. Gary will share what Papert’s ideas mean for the future of learning.

Seymour Papert is "the father of educational technology". Alan Kay invented the personal computer after seeing Papert's work with children. Everything we do with computers and kids in school stems from his research and work with real kids and real schools. He is not an ivory tower academic. I'm totally not making this up or exagerating, his work from the past 40 years is informative, accessible, and incredibly relevant to what all of us do every day.

Today, he is still recovering nearly a year after a very serious accident where he was hit by a motorcycle in Vietnam and suffered major brain injuries. He was there (at 80 years old) working on the One Laptop per Child initiative (OLPC). OLPC owes its philosophy, child-centered design, and trust in "Kid Power" directly to Seymour.

NECC is giving Gary this time to talk about the legacy of Papert and to help put all this technology into context. Gary worked with Dr. Papert on Maine laptop initiative and building an alternative educational environment in the Maine Youth Center (prison), so he knows Papert both personally and professionally.

If you are interested in computers, constructivism, learning and teaching with technology this is a must see session.

Any other "can't miss" sessions? Feel free to add them here...

Sylvia

PS I've attached a handout from Creative Educator magazine with NECC sessions of interest to educators who use project-based technology in their classes. It's got sessions on multimedia, Web 2.0, programming, game making, authentic tech literacy, and more.