Anybody who likes building robots with a LEGO MindStorms kit can thank Mitchel Resnick. The LEGO Papert Professor of Learning Research and head of the Lifelong Kindergarten group at the MIT Media Laboratory investigates how new technologies can help people create. One offshoot of that research has been the development of a “programmable brick” that formed the basis of the LEGO MindStorms robotics kit. Another is Scratch, an online community where children can program and share interactive stories, games, and animations. He cofounded the Computer Clubhouse, a global network of after-school centers where disadvantaged youth use new technologies to express themselves creatively.
