Mitchel Resnick (born June 12, 1956) is an American computer scientist. He is the

LEGO Lego ( , ; stylized as LEGO) is a line of plastic construction toys that are manufactured by The Lego Group, a privately held company based in Billund, Denmark. The company's flagship product, Lego, consists of variously colored interlocking ...

Papert Professor of Learning Research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Media Lab. , Resnick serves as head of the Media Arts and Sciences academic program, which grants master's degrees and Ph.D.s at the MIT Media Lab. Resnick's research group has developed a variety of educational tools that engage people in new types of design activities and learning experiences, including the ''Programmable Bricks'' that were the basis for the award-winning Lego Mindstorms and StarLogo software. He cofounded the

Computer Clubhouse The Clubhouse Network, often shortened to "The Clubhouse," is an American nonprofit organization that provides a free out-of-school learning program where children (ages 10–19) from lower income communities can work with adult mentors to explo ...

, an award-winning network of learning centers for youth from under-served communities. Resnick is also a cofounder and a co-principal investigator of the

Center for Civic Media The MIT Center for Civic Media (formerly the Center for Future Civic Media) was a research and practical center that developed and implemented tools that supported political action and "the information needs of iviccommunities". Its mission read i ...

at MIT. Resnick's group has developed a new computer programming language, named Scratch, that makes it easier for children to create animated stories, video games, and interactive art. Resnick is also involved in the next generation of Programmable Bricks, and the One Laptop per Child project which designed the OLPC XO ($100 laptop).

Education

Resnick, a graduate of Haverford High School, earned a B.A. in physics at Princeton University (1978), and

M.S. A Master of Science ( la, Magisterii Scientiae; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree in the field of science awarded by universities in many countries or a person holding such a degree. In contrast to ...

and Ph.D. degrees in computer science at MIT (1988, 1992).

Career

He worked for five years as a science–technology journalist for

Business Week ''Bloomberg Businessweek'', previously known as ''BusinessWeek'', is an American weekly business magazine published fifty times a year. Since 2009, the magazine is owned by New York City-based Bloomberg L.P. The magazine debuted in New York City ...

magazine, and he has consulted widely on the uses of computers in education. Resnick was awarded a National Science Foundation Young Investigator Award in 1993. He has collaborated extensively with researchers such as

Natalie Rusk Natalie Rusk is a research scientist in the Lifelong Kindergarten (LLK) group, part of the MIT Media Lab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Education Rusk was educated at Brown University where she graduated with a Bachelor of Art ...

Brian Silverman Brian Silverman is a Canadian computer scientist, the creator of many programming environments for children,Yasmin Kafai.

Awards

Resnick is a winner of the 2011 Harold W. McGraw, Jr. Prize in Education. He has been listed as one of the 100 most creative people in Business 2011 by Fast Company.

Published books

* * * *

References

External links