Great to read comments on the digital native series coming from the folks of "putting people first". Their Experientia Blog is a gift to anyone interested in children, design, new media, learning. Check it out.

Here goes the latest in a series of playful exploration at the exploratorium. More and better images will soon appear on PIE website. Meanwhile, enjoy a few pics!



Related posts: PIE: Playful inventions and explorations , and wind-powered wonders

In 2002, LEGO (Learning Institute) commissioned me to write a report on children's development. And so I did with the help of my colleague and friend Aaron Falbel. Two years later, 2004, I handed in a 237 pages manuscript entitled "The whole child development guide," which LEGO turned into a cool-looking printed ring-book (and a CD) to be used as a "bible" for designers. Problem: the document was internal and thus could not be circulated which, as an author — and academic — is on the tough side. I do like to bring public ideas to the commons to be shared :)





Well, here goes the good news. Four years later, 2008, i am kindly invited out of the closet, and a "reduced" version of the guide now appears on the official LEGO website, under the heading: parents / child development / archive. I soon even may be able to hand the integral version to friends and put its contents on my blog. Meanwhile, if you wish to take a peek, visit the website You will find samplers in the section "archive" and a Q&A with the author.


Enjoy!

The interdisciplinary ShareIT project, funded by the UK's EPSRC (2007-2010), is investigating how a new generation of shareable technologies, that are designed specifically for more than one person to use at a time, can enable groups to collaborate more effectively - be it learning maths, planning seating allocation, conducting financial forecasting, or socializing. The technologies include gesture-based wall displays, multi-touch tabletops and interactive tangibles.

image was taken from Andy Polaine' cool playpen link

I was invited to give a keynote in one of the Share IT Project's upcoming events, to be held in Sussex, on September 11-12. For more information on what looks like a worthwhile workshop, see the website

The PIE Institute grew out of educational research led by the Lifelong Kindergarten group at the MIT Media Lab. In 2000, a core group of dedicated researchers and practitioners from MIT, The Exploratorium, The Minneapolis Science Museum, and other museums around the country formed the PIE Network To this day, the PIE Institute continues to create playful and inventive activities combining science, art, and technology in ways that capture our imagination. PIE inspires and engages learners, educators, artists, and designers in museums and other informal learning environments.



For more information on PIE work, explore the PIE website . To learn about people, places, and things that inspire and inform PIE activities, visit the idea gallerie Among my own favorite recent public events: Wind-powered-wonders; Digital Bling and second Skin; Light Play and Pulley Table; and the latest: light distractions. Check them out.

As part of my Osher Fellowship, I was able to take part in the latest of a long series of cool events: light distractions (August, 2008). And the best part: I will enjoy many more occasions to play, invent, and explore during the coming year :)

"Imagination is at work in a creative mathematician no less than it is in an inventive poet." (Jean-Baptiste Le Rond D'Alembert). Technorama, the Swiss Science Center is said to be a close cousin of the Exploratorium in San Francisco. In the context of my Osher Fellowship at the Exploratorium, I plan to visit the Swiss cousin who, incidentally, happens to be located in Winterthur, my place of birth. Nice coincidence



For more information on Technorama and Mathemagics exhibit and more visit the website

Extraordinary times with marianthi, aggelina, and kostis in thessaloniki, july 2008.



I created an album with a few pics taken before, during, and after the celebration(s): Enjoy!

Discovering Sicily was a delight that calls for more. Meanwhile, let the images talk for themselves.

What's better than a good conference in a gorgeous location? I cannot think of a better place to achieve this than the Ettore Majorana Center in Erice, Sicily. Add to this a great brochette of thinkers and practitioners, good wine, and you get the picture.



The third IMBES Summer Institute, held in Erice (July 14 – 16, 2008), was sponsored by the Italian Ministry of Education and Scientific Research, the Sicilian Regional Government, and IMBES (International Mind, Brain, and Education Society). This year, the institute's focus was on "Neuroeducation: New perspectives on teaching and learning." Its goals: strengthen the dialogue and exchange between psychologists, neuro- scientists, engineers, and educational researchers; enhance regional interests in the learning sciences; and improve the status of research in the field of MBE.

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