“Learning by Making: An Introduction to Constructionism.” YouTube, uploaded by Educator Innovator, 4 May 2015, www.youtube.com/watch?v=DCSMvGB-sVA. Accessed 15 Oct. 2017.

This webinar features an hour-long discussion with four panelists of educational researchers and practitioners giving insights into Papert’s learning/education theory of constructionism. The following topics are covered: What is Constructionism?, Emotional Attachment to Things Made, Constructionism vs. Constructivism, Personal Levels of Making & Tinkering, Students Engaging in the Social while Making, Papert’s Learning Communities, How the Panelists Got started with Constructionism, Constructionism in Educator Professional Development, The Design of Learning Spaces, and What Does Constructionism Say about High-Tech Endeavors in Makerspaces?

The webinar was produced by Educator Innovator, an online resource for educators that promotes open, creative learning. The panelists are experienced educators that exemplify Papert’s constructionism in their work with youth and learning. Dr. Kylie Peppler is a prolific author/researcher and Associate Professor of Learning Sciences at Indiana University. Aileen Owens is Director of Technology and Innovation at South Fayette Township School District near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Christa Flores is a STEM literacy specialist, author, and Senior Stanford FabLearn Fellow studying constructionism. Naomi Thompson is a doctoral student of Learning Sciences at Indiana University.

The topics covered in this video give a modern perspective of constructionism with real-world examples that show how relevant Papert’s ideas are today. Resources are offered to the viewer for further explorations of Seymour Papert and constructionism. Those that are interested in discovering what constructionism is, what it looks like, and how to apply it to a teaching mindset will benefit greatly from this video.

Resnick, Mitchel. “Rethinking Learning.” Thinking about Thinking about Seymour, by Thomas Greene, MIT Media Lab, 26 Jan. 2017, 00:43:29-01:03:35, www.media.mit.edu/videos/seymour-2017-01-26/. Web. Accessed 28 Nov. 2017.

“Rethinking Learning” is a twenty-minute presentation by Resnick reflecting on the constructionist ideas of Seymour Papert. Resnick discusses four key ideas to help keep his work aligned with Seymour’s vision for learning: Projects, Passion, Peers, and Play. The presentation includes short video excerpts from the first LEGO-Logo project in 1985 and concludes with a short video of Papert himself discussing learning.

Mitchel Resnick worked with Seymour Papert throughout the 1980s and 1990s and is currently LEGO Papert Professor of Learning at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dr. Resnick directs the Lifelong Kindergarten research group at the MIT Media Lab which continues to develop the Scratch programming language and collaborates with the LEGO Company in developing new educational products. (Overview)

Resnick’s presentation offers a then-and-now perspective on constructionist learning from someone that worked closely with Papert for years. Filmed at the MIT Media Lab in January of 2017, this segment is part of a five-hour video featuring presentations by Papert’s former colleagues in celebration of Seymour’s life, works, and influence.

“Technology in Education: Witnesses Testified on Technological Advances in Education.” C-SPAN, 12 Oct. 1995, 00:07:38-02:21:00, www.c-span.org/video/?67583-1/technology-education. Web. Accessed 8 Dec. 2017.

This two-hour video segment features the testimony of Seymour Papert at the House Science and Educational Opportunities Committees Hearing in 1995. The testimonies of Papert and other technology education professionals provide expertise and recommendations for educational reform to the United States government. Papert publicly presents his ideas of constructionist learning with parables and analogies to skeptics and supporters.

C-SPAN (Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Netowrk) is a public television service created in 1979 and typically airs U.S. political events, congressional hearings, and other proceedings of the United States federal government. The first panel of witnesses giving testimony at this hearing are Dr. Seymour Papert, MIT professor; Chris Dede, professor at George Mason University Schools of Information Technology, Engineering, and Education; Alan Kay, Apple Computer & Apple Fellow Learning Concepts; and David Shaw, D.E. Shaw Investment Company CEO.

This video represents constructionism pleading to the U.S. government to rethink and reform its then current education system. It provides an historical perspective about how the issues and challenges faced in the U.S. education system at that time still exist today, in 2017. The testimonies and discussions at this hearing evoke thoughts and ideas for how constructionism can help to improve learning in education today.

“Thinking about Thinking about Seymour — a Celebration of the Ideas and Visions of Seymour Papert.” Vimeo, uploaded by LEGO Foundation, 27 Jan. 2017, www.vimeo.com/199805464. Web. Accessed 1 Dec. 2017.

This is a five-minute video highlighting the projects and ideas of Seymour Papert in his own words with edited clips, as well as commentary by the former CEO of the LEGO Group, Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen. Kristiansen discusses meeting Papert for the first time and the partnership they formed between LEGO and MIT with the LEGO-Logo project in 1985; which would lead to the creation of programmable bricks in the late 1990’s with LEGO Mindstorms. Kristiansen endorses Papert’s concept of constructionism and stresses the importance of children learning through experimentation and play.

Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen was President and CEO of the LEGO Group from 1979-2004 and is currently Deputy Chairman of the Board of the LEGO Foundation. Kristiansen named Papert the LEGO Professor of Learning Research in 1989 by establishing a faculty endowment at the MIT Media Lab. The LEGO Foundation recently announced a new endowment for the LEGO Papert Fellowship program at the MIT Media Lab in 2017 to support the research of select graduate students that build upon the ideas of Seymour Papert (MIT LEGO).

This video is a great introduction to the constructionist ideas and influential works of Seymour Papert. Notable highlights include excerpts of Papert’s speech in 1989 at a ceremony naming him as LEGO Professor of Learning Research as well as film footage from “Talking Turtle” in 1984 and clips from “The MIT Media Laboratory Interactive Videodisc” in 1986.

WORKS CITED

MIT Media Lab. "LEGO Foundation Endows Media Lab Fellowships in Honor of Seymour Papert." MIT News, 26 Jan. 2017, www.news.mit.edu/2017/lego-foundation-endows-media-lab-fellowships-honoring-seymour-papert-0126. Web. Accessed 8 Dec. 2017.

"Overview: Mitchel Resnick." MIT Media Lab, 2017, www.media.mit.edu/people/mres/overview/. Web. Accessed 8 Dec. 2017.