Mitchel Resnick

Professor of Learning Research at the MIT Media Lab

Mitchel Resnick, Professor of Learning Research at the MIT Media Lab, develops new technologies and activities to engage people (especially children) in creative learning experiences, helping them learn to think creatively, reason systematically, and work collaboratively. His Lifelong Kindergarten research group developed ideas and technologies underlying the LEGO Mindstorms robotics kits and the Scratch programming environment and online community, used by millions of young people around the world. He also co-founded the Computer Clubhouse project, an international network of more than 100 after-school learning centers where youth from low-income communities learn to express themselves creatively with new technologies.

Resnick earned a BS in physics from Princeton, and an MS and PhD in computer science from MIT. He worked for five years as a science and technology journalist, and he has consulted around the world on innovative uses of new technologies in education. In 2010, he was awarded the Kids@Play prize as the top “Digital Pioneer for Kids”, and he was named one of the 30 “most influential people affecting the advancement of technology in education” by Tech & Learning magazine.