Although my recent professional life has been in healthcare I.T. consulting, I have a passion for educational technology and kids’ programming education. I love STE(A)M, kids’ programming languages, and the intersection of the maker movement with education. I want to help encourage kids to see computers as tools of creation rather than consumption.
With my business parter Bob Gillig, I’ve created CSJumpstartr: project-based computer science for kids. CSJumpstartr is an online, web-based learning environment built around content-driven templates that allow a child to start creating fun, meaningful projects right away in the popular Scratch* graphical programming language.
I also run a variety of after-school and out-of-school-time STEAM classes and clubs, including the after-school Scratch Club at the Maria L. Baldwin School in Cambridge, MA. This has been a wonderful experience; I love sharing the kids excitement when they envision something and then succeed in creating it. I also offer private Scratch tutoring and workshops by request.
I’ve also written a few apps for my kids to play with. One of these, Grace’s Paint, is available for free on the iOS App Store.
* CSJumpstartr is developed independently of the MIT Scratch Team, which produces the Scratch programming language and online community. See http://scratch.mit.edu.