User:KayTi

KayTi aka Karen Smith

Background

I'm a learning designer, fascinated by the OLPC project. I have two laptops for my two children - ages 6 and 4. They think the laptops are the coolest thing EVER. For 6 and 4 that's saying something, as the laptops have to compete with the Wii. ;)

I have an undergraduate degree in Cognitive Science from Northwestern University, and an MS in Computer Science from NU as well, from the Institute for the Learning Sciences. I studied in a program that was run by Roger Schank at the time. He didn't call what they taught there constructivism, I don't think, but it sure sounds the same. Goal-based scenarios, learn-by-doing, people learn best when they are engaged in a realistic and motivating goal and in pursuit of the goal they pick up all kinds of useful information/skills. One of the things we talked a lot about was teaching people HOW to do something rather than just ABOUT.

I worked in corporate consulting for 10+ years building educational software for big kids. Teaching call center reps how to answer tricky calls, telephone installers and repairmen how to do their jobs even when there's crayon jammed into a phone jack in the basement, and retail merchandisers how to balance market and local conditions to make buying decisions.

I'm semi-retired now while the wee folk are wee. I'm looking forward to finding ways to contribute to the OLPC community, hopefully in ways that combine my love of learning and technology. If I can help you on a project of yours, please drop me a line (I'm still learning the wiki organization but I think you can choose to contact me/private message me through this wiki somehow...) In the meantime, you may find me collaborating with the crazy smart young folks at IMSA.