Benefit featuring tech ed experts, honoring visionary Seymour Papert to be held Dec 4, in Kendall Square, Cambridge

Learning to Change the World© &
Honoring the Legacy of Seymour Papert
December 4, 2013
6 – 9 PM
Cambridge Innovation Center 5th Floor
1 Broadway Street, Cambridge, MA

Small Solutions, Big Ideas (SSBI) and One Planet Education Network (OPEN) will hold a panel discussion, demos, celebration, and fundraiser will be held at the Cambridge Innovation Center December 4th 6-9 PM 5th floor, featuring leading education experts and technology and education: innovators Brian Silverman, Artemis Papert, Gary Stager, Mitch Resnick, Walter Bender, Cynthia Solomon and others.

They’ll share their experiences and insights about the latest developments in educational games and other related technology-based learning programs.

The panel discussion will be followed by nibbles, networking and demos of the latest learning software and games by the Small Solutions, Big Ideas and One Planet Education Network. (Scroll down to view program)

The event will also honor constructivism pioneer and MIT Professor Seymour Papert for his contributions to education, including his promotion of technology use in classrooms.

The program will benefit OPEN, a leading provider of online multiplayer adventure learning games that engage and inspire kids to develop critical thinking and problem solving skills. OPEN’s mission is to transform teaching and learning by combining the power of 3D virtual video games with educationally rich storylines that challenge children and inspire a 24×7 passion for learning.

More Information: http://smallsolutionsbigideas.wordpress.comRegistration Links: http://bit.ly/19h8kOQ

Small Solutions (www.smallsolutionsbigideas.org) and OPEN (www.oneplaneteducationnetwork.com)

Panel Topics & Presenters

Legacy of Seymour Papert

Speakers: Cynthiia, Solomon: Brian Silverman, Artemis Papert, Gary Stager.
Presentation of a Tribute to Seymour Papert to Alan and Artemis Papert

Learning to Change to World

Claudia Urrea and Walter Bender, OLPC movement, its impact and lessons

The Changing World of Learning

Evolving Learning : Gary Stager, Mitch Resnick and Meredith Hamilton

The Role of Games andOnline Communities

George Newman, Danny Fain and Johnny Ronelus (One Planet Education Network) and Sandra Thaxter (Small Solutions Big Ideas)

Demos & Break Out Meetings

Small Solutions Education Program in Kenya: Sandra Thaxter and Alan Papert
One Planet Education Network Game Demos: George Newman, Danny Fain and Johnny Ronelus
BumpBump Books: Meredith Hamilton

–Anita Harris

New Cambridge Observer is a publication of the Harris Communications Group–an award-winning PR and marketing firm specializing in media relations, content marketing for clients in health, science, biotechnology, technology, education and energy, worldwide.

Climbing the walls–literally–at CIC Party in Somerville

Felt very cool in joining 500 of my closest friends at the all-CIC (Cambridge Innovation Center) Party held at Brooklyn Boulder indoor climbing center, in Somerville, on Friday night. During the day, CIC is a vibrant workplace for 500 companies and 1700 people on nine floors of two high-rise buildings in Kendall Square, Cambridge. At the party, all of that energy 2013-07-12_20-17-49_347

and many of those people were unleashed in one huge horizontal space–literally climbing the walls, doing yoga, taking photos, who knows what else. We were given the choice of drinking or climbing…

2013-07-12_20-17-37_80 Friends Tom, R, Michael, Kathryn….heck, almost everyone I knew– chose the former, making us, perhaps, a bit less cool?

—Anita Harris

New Cambridge Observer is a publication of the Harris Communications Group, an award-winning public relations and marketing agency located in Cambridge, MA.

New zoning law to expand commercial and residential development in Cambridge’s Kendall Square

Kendall Square 4-17-13

Despite a historically strong anti-development bias in Cambridge, the City Council last week approved a new zoning law that will allow further transformation of the already growing Kendall Square. The new law, passed on April 8, approves plans for a new gateway to MIT facing the Kendall Square MBTA Station, the construction of some 1.1M square feet of new commercial space around the T stop, and hundreds of new housing units. (More details at HarrisCom Blog: http://wp.me/p1Hocg-Wy ).

According to Tim Rowe, president of the Kendall Square Association and a founder of the Cambridge Innovation Center, while, at last week’s meeting, many Cantabridgians questioned the desirability of new buildings that could create traffic noise, “construction hassle and the like”, others emphasized the importance of innovation and entrepreneurship

“They spoke about how these endeavors are critical to our prosperity in these days of intense competition with other regions, how they bring jobs to residents all across the state, and how the fruits of the labors of our innovators and entrepreneurs are solutions to important problems facing the planet,” Rowe said. “What is super exciting to me is that our political leaders, by their vote, accepted these arguments. This is a major win for innovation.”

In a blog posted to clients of the Cambridge Innovation Center–including me–Rowe emphasized that the Kendall Square community concerned about sustainability–as evidenced that “despite millions of square feet of new buildings being built here” during the past decade, traffic in Kendall Square has actually dropped.

Rowe emphasized the need for additional state funding to ensure that the Red Line can keep up with demand in Kendall Square and urged his readers to tell their state senators and representatives to support Governor Deval Patrick’s proposal to invest heavily in updating the Commonwealth’s transportation infrastructure.

Having worked in the Cambridge Innovation Center for nearly three years, I can attest to the vibrancy and vitality of this growing area.

–Anita M. Harris

New Cambridge Observer is a publication of the Harris Communications Group, an award-winning public relations and digital marketing agency located in Kendall Square.

“Elevator pitching is like dating,” CIC’s Tim Rowe tells HarrisCom Workshop

Tim Rowe, CEO of the Cambridge Innovation Center in Kendall Square, gave a great talk at HarrisCom Group’s recent Pitching for Business Workshop on Feb. 23. Among his main points: “Elevator pitching is like dating:” the goal is to find out if it’s worth spending more time with the person you’re speaking to. Tim is also a venture capitalist and president of the Kendall Square Association in Cambridge, MA.

Here are links to the video and to the blog I wrote on the HarrisCom Web site.

Link to video
Link to blog

–Anita M. Harris
Anita M. Harris is president of the Harris Communications Group of Cambridge, MA, an award-winining public relations 3.0 firm specializing in strategic integrated marketing communications and thought leadership for clients in health, science, energy, technology and education, worldwide.