When people think about creativity, they often think about people like Mozart, Picasso, Curie, and Einstein, people who transformed their fields with radically new ideas and creations. But creativity is not only for the select few. In today’s fast-changing society, everyone needs the ability to come up with creative solutions to unexpected everyday problems. Our research group at the MIT Media Lab has been developing a family of educational technologies, including Scratch (scratch.mit.edu) and Crickets (www.picocricket.com), with the explicit goal of helping students develop as creative thinkers. In this presentation, I will discuss the ideas and strategies underlying these new technologies, and I will present case studies of how students are using these technologies to create, invent, experiment, explore – and become more creative thinkers.

Outline

In this session, I will:

* discuss why the ability to think creatively is increasingly important in today's society

* demonstrate several technologies (including Scratch and Crickets) designed to help children and teens develop as creative thinkers

* discuss the educational ideas and strategies underlying these technologies

* present case studies of how students are using these technologies to create, invent, experiment, explore – and become more creative thinkers

Supporting Research

http://web.media.mit.edu/~mres/papers/Learning-Leading-final.pdf
http://web.media.mit.edu/~mres/papers/kindergarten-learning-approach.pdf
http://web.media.mit.edu/~mres/papers/playlearn-handout.pdf

Presenter Background

Mitchel Resnick, Professor of Learning Research at the MIT Media Lab, explores how new technologies can engage children and teens in creative learning experiences. His Lifelong Kindergarten research group developed the "programmable bricks" that were the basis for the LEGO MindStorms and PicoCricket construction kits. The group also developed the Scratch programming language and online community, which enable children and teens to create interactive stories, animations, games -- and share their creations with one another on the web. Resnick co-founded the Computer Clubhouse project, an award-winning international network of after-school learning centers for youth from low-income communities (now with more than 100 center in 20 countries).

Resnick earned a BS in physics from Princeton, and an MS and PhD in computer science from MIT. He has consulted around the world on educational applications of new technologies. He is the author or co-author of several books, including Turtles, Termites, and Traffic Jams.