Reviews

“The Maker Movement in schools now has a bible.” – Larry Magid, Technology Columnist, Huffington Post

“I love this book” – Betsy Corcoran, EdSurge founder & CEO

“Learning is often confused with education. Martinez and Stager clearly describe ‘learning learning’ through engagement, design and building. The best way to understand circles is to reinvent the wheel.”

 Nicholas Negroponte, Founder MIT Media Lab & One Laptop Per Child

Invent to Learn is a persuasive, powerful, and useful reconceptualization of progressive education for digital times.” (full review)

 Herbert Kohl, Legendary educator and author of more than 40 books

“Educators will be hard pressed to find a more essential, important book for making sense of not just the exciting, game-changing “maker” technologies that are currently exploding around us, but of the absolutely powerful learning opportunities they present for our students as well. Sylvia Martinez and Gary Stager are a teacher’s perfect guides into this fast growing, innovative world of creative problem solving and construction using an array of new, innovative computing devices, many of which fit in our pockets. Even more, Invent To Learn creates a required new context for modern learning, and it offers an accessible roadmap for re-imagining schools, classrooms, and personal practice. It’s a must read for those wanting to remain relevant in their student’s learning lives.”

– Will Richardson, Author of Why School? How Education Must Change When Learning and Information Are Everywhere

“Invent to Learn: Making, Tinkering and Engineering is the most important book of the 21st century for anyone interested in children and learning. The title says it all. Children learn best by making things whether physical or virtual. The authors highlight antecedents to this burgeoning new movement. Martinez and Stager describe making and tinkering as part of a long intellectual tradition and mention contributions of diverse luminaries such as Leonardo, Piaget, and Papert. This guidebook offers insights and suggestions as to how to bring making, tinkering, and engineering into learners’ lives through classroom and out-of-school settings. Ideas and resources for implementing the ideas are clearly articulated. This beautifully written book opens up an exciting and stimulating educational adventure.”  

– Cynthia Solomon, Ed.D. Co-inventor of the Logo programming language and author of Computer Environments for Children: A Reflection on Theories of Learning and Education

vicki davis blurb

“Invent to Learn not only advocates for maker learning experiences in schools, but makes a case for what is needed to build a culture where maker teaching and learning can happen.”

Agency by Design

“Sylvia and Gary have created a dynamic masterwork that engages readers from the opening sentence to the last.  The craft of making things becomes a philosophical cornerstone to a true education, as this book makes abundantly clear.  Rather than rant against the status quo, this book shows both why the transformation of education is essential, and presents specific strategies to make these changes.  In many parts of the world, education has lost its way, and this book provides a map back to the educational experiences that are both tremendously effective and a great deal of fun as well.”

– David Thornburg, Ph.D., Director, Thornburg Center

“Rarely does an education book come along that provides a cogent philosophical basis and an understanding of learning, thinking and teaching, as well as providing practical guidance for setting up effective digital-age learning and “making” environments. Sylvia Martinez and Gary Stager’s Invent To Learn: Making, Tinkering, and Engineering in the Classroom provides both the background and a path for educators to create engaging learning opportunities to help students not only develop skills and strategies that will prepare them for a complex world, but empower them to use their creativity to solve problems, ask questions and continually learn. This book articulates what we know in our hearts is best for our students – to allow them to play, experiment and invent as they learn. I encourage you to immerse yourself in this book, share it with you colleagues and together start experimenting with creating “maker” learning environments and watch the magic happen! “

– Holly Jobe, President, International Society for Technology in Education

“Sylvia Martinez and Gary Stager have been passionate advocates for the need for children to learn by doing, making and building for over twenty-five years. With the explosion of the “Maker Movement,” there is finally a movement built around their ideas. “Invent to Learn” is a must-read for any teacher, parent or student who wants to define their learning as more than just answers on a test. The ideas and resources in this book will inspire anyone to start making powerful artifacts of their learning.”

– Chris Lehmann, Principal, Science Leadership Academy – Philadelphia

“Invent to Learn is filled with inspiration and practical ideas that I cannot wait to share with colleagues. Gary and Sylvia have provided not only the rational and history, but also practical how-tos in a thoughtful book perfect for teachers, parents and administrators. I expect the number of maker spaces to grow as this book makes them feel much more accessible to all teachers and schools. You will finish the book inspired to make programming, invention and making a reality.”

– Shelly Luke-Willie, Elementary School Principal, Chadwick International School – Songdo, South Korea.

“Thank you Gary and Sylvia. Your fresh, lively and fascinating book can help us to reinvent schooling by making it relevant. Too many educators are closing student minds, chasing scores, following prescriptive curriculum. There is another way and this book will help all who want to see engaged students, support for creativity and ‘making’ and even a historical and philosophical context for thinking differently.”

– David Loader OAM, Author of The Inner Principal, Associate Professor and Principal Fellow – Melbourne Graduate School of Education, Melbourne University.

“A lucid guide to create and shape new and exciting learning environments for all, where digital devices are the learners’ technology, the constructing tools to make, to invent, to understand… The maker movement flows gracefully to the classroom.”

– Leda Milena Muñoz García, Ph.D., Director of Fundación Omar Dengo (Costa Rica’s Computers in Schools NGO)

“Here is a book that encourages everyone to be a learner, doer and maker of things that intrigue them. A challenge is now put to everyone, but especially teachers, to make learning a personal journey for each of their students. The challenge is to trust in children, and allow them to create, fail, share, succeed and understand in a manner that will endure.”

– Stephen Costa, Deputy Head of Junior School, Methodist Ladies’ College – Melbourne, Australia

“We desperately need to ignite an invention revolution in our schools to engage learners in solving the complex problems facing our world. Invent to Learn takes you through an enlightening journey to understand the history behind the ideas that support this approach, and will get you ready to bring 3D printing and Arduino programming into your classroom! Are you ready to turn your students into Makers? They’ll remember you forever for the wonder you’re about to bring into their lives… read this book!”

– Michael Furdyk and Jennifer Corriero Co-founders, TakingITGlobal.org

“I’m so excited to share Invent to Learn with my colleagues. Sylvia and Gary have written a very important book about how and why the maker movement can save our kids and their education system. Schools need more learning by doing, making, and inventing. This book serves as an incredibly informative, entertaining, and practical guide to the exciting world of making, tinkering, and engineering in the classroom.”

– Jaymes Dec, Teacher and Innovation Specialist at the Marymount School – New York City

“Having grown up inspired by the spirit of invention and DIY by Thomas  Edison and the Wright brothers, and more recently by Elon Musk and Limor  Fried, I am thrilled to see this excellent, comprehensive and in-depth  resource. An enormous amount of research and explanation is evident in this book. It’s a must-have for the many young people and their mentors who want to be part of the new generation of makers who are inventing the future!”

– Roger Wagner, Creator of HyperStudio, Author of 1st Book on Assembly Programming for the Apple II, Educational Technology Innovator 

“Sylvia Martinez and Gary Stager bring more than a half century of experience to this must read for educators wanting to break free from the grip of today’s education “reform”. Sylvia and Gary don’t just study and summarize others’ work. The thoughts in this book come from working with hundreds of teachers, students, and schools throughout the world. I have had the pleasure of working with both authors and have seen first hand how the principles in this book have helped teachers and students learn to invent their lives.”

– Dennis Harper, Ph.D., Founder and CEO of Generation YES

“The scope of the book is broad, but even better it is a great read for  those interested in a chance to really think about education. Provocative,  stirring, enlightening and opens the fun of education, where relationships  between people who want to learn get together get to play in creative  activity. The book has at its educational heart what some will see as  educational anarchy, but that it simply because they want to control learning rather than allow it to grow though the discovery of solutions to  things that we think about. An essential book for conservatives who have  the answers yet still seem to be reluctant to learn through thinking about how we learn.”

– Peter Crawley, Head of School, St Hilda’s School – Gold Coast, Australia

“Transforming education is a long overdue promise, that we have not been able to fulfill. This may be because our intentions went one way, our beliefs another and tools and resources, the opposite. With Invent To Learn – Making, Tinkering and Engineering in the ClassroomSylvia Martínez and Gary Stager, offer a profound and very engaging book about bringing innovation to the classroom and show us a path towards reinventing education. They have aligned theory, practice and tools to place in our hands, minds and hearts an integrated vision and a powerful vehicle to finally refresh our educational systems. I have renewed hopes that this time, along with Sylvia and Gary, we can make it happen.”

– Eleonora Badilla-Saxe, Ed.D. University of Costa Rica.

“To learn is to reinvent ourselves. In Invent to Learn, Gary & Sylvia have crafted a pragmatic title that describes what it looks like for learners and educators to think, know and do in the modern world.   At a time when endless testing and test preparation is the norm, Invent to Learn is a necessary support for educators to develop compelling arguments for more powerful ways of learning.”

– Brian C. Smith, ICT Facilitator at Hong Kong International School

“Ready or not, the maker movement is coming your way. In this timely book, authors Sylvia Martinez and Gary Stager help us understand why making-to-learn makes such good sense for today’s students. They build their case on a strong foundation of learning theory (with some Renaissance history included for good measure). Then it’s off on a guided tour of the maker landscape. There’s no talking down to the non-technical as we learn about everything from 3D printers to Raspberry Pi. Best of all, the authors offer a wealth ideas and prompts for incorporating the maker movement into projects that will yield meaningful, memorable, beautiful work. Let the messiness begin.”

– Suzie Boss, author of Bringing Innovation to School: Empowering Students to Thrive in a Changing World

Invent To Learn is essential reading for those of us who are bringing the making and tinkering philosophies into our classrooms. This book gives context to the Maker Movement that is so popular today by including a history that the path of education, learning, and making has taken. It stresses the importance and relevance of allowing for the time and space for children to explore and tinker with physical and electronic objects. It is packed with ideas and resources for all models of learning environments.”

– Tracy Rudzitis – Digital Media Teacher @ The Computer School NYC

“I have often been asked what the 21st century classroom should look like, and my response remains the same, like the classrooms of the Renaissance or if that is too far back, how about your kindergarten class? This book evokes the critical relationship of equating the notion of education to creating an environment where persistent revelations and discoveries are made everyday in the classroom. Both Gary and Sylvia understand that for teachers to teach in the way they aspire to teach, it will take the insights of this book, and plenty of courage. Gary and Sylvia give the readers the chance to realize this potential. I love books that are full on the pragmatics of effective teaching and learning! Well done!”

– Ron Canuel, President and Chief Executive Officer, Canadian Education Association

Invent To Learn is a book long overdue, as it will serve to refocus so much of the distracting triviality that has overtaken much of our use of computers in schools in recent times. This a game-changing book through which Gary Stager and Sylvia Martinez will reshape the conversation around our expectations of what computers truly make possible for young people. They have grasped the essence of what really matters and what our students should really be doing with computers. They have taken some of the best ideas of people like Piaget and Papert and turned them into practical, tangible opportunities for young people to be inspired learners. I believe Invent to Learn will become a foundation textbook in undergraduate teaching courses in Colleges around the world, and should be a core reference for any teacher who sees computing as way of creating hard fun with their students.”

– Bruce Dixon, President of the Anywhere Anytime Learning Foundation

“A new book, Invent to Learn: Making, Tinkering, and Engineering in the Classroom, by Sylvia Martinez and Gary Stager helps educators, students and parents make learning by making infinitely more accessible…”

Anne Collier, NetFamilyNews.org

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