Sunday Keynote: Dr. Gary Stager

[Jack Hardcastle]

Dr. Gary Stager,  an  internationally  recognized  educator,  speaker, and  consultant, is  the Executive  Director of The  Constructivist  Consortium.  Since 1982,  Gary has helped learners of all   ages on six continents embrace the  power of computers as intellectual  laboratories and vehicles for selfexpression.   Gary led professional development  in the world's first laptop schools in  1990, has designed online graduate  school programs since the mid-90s,  was a collaborator in the MIT  Media Lab's Future of Learning  Group, and a member of the One  Laptop Per Child Foundation's  Learning Team.   When Jean Piaget wanted to better  understand how children learn  mathematics, he hired Seymour  Papert. When Dr. Papert wanted to  create a high-tech alternative  learning environment for  incarcerated at-risk teens, he hired  Gary Stager. This work was the  basis for Gary's doctoral  dissertation and documented  Papert's most recent institutional  research project.  Dr. Stager's recent work has  included teaching and mentoring  some of Australia's "most troubled"  public schools, launching 1:1  computing in a Korean  International School beginning in  the first grade, media appearances  in Peru, and serving as a school  S.T.E.M. Director. He was a  Visiting Professor at Pepperdine  University and Senior Editor  of District Administration  Magazine. His advocacy on behalf  of creativity, computing, and  children led to the creation of  the Constructivist Consortium and  the Constructing Modern  Knowledge Summer Institute.  In 1999, Converge Magazine named  Gary a "shaper of our future and  inventor of our destiny." The  National School Boards Association  recognized Dr. Stager with the  distinction of "20 Leaders to Watch"  in 2007. The June 2010 issue  of Tech & Learning Magazine  named Gary Stager as "one of  today's leaders who are changing  the landscape of edtech through  innovation and leadership." A  popular speaker, Dr. Stager was  a keynote speaker at the 2009  National Educational Computing  Conference and at major  conferences around the world. He  has twice been a Visiting Scholar at  the University of Melbourne's  Trinity College.  Gary was the new media producer  for The Brian Lynch/Eddie Palmieri  Project - Simpatíco, 2007 Grammy  Award Winner for Best Latin Jazz  Album of the Year. Dr. Stager is  also a contributor to The Huffington  Post and a Senior S.T.E.M. and  Education Consultant to leading  school architecture firm, Fielding  Nair International.

[Jack Hardcastle]

http://www.stager.org/handout/