Idit Harel Caperton

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Idit Harel Caperton : biography

September 18, 1958 –

Interviews

  • , March 12, 2013
  • , February 6, 2013
  • , Interview by Paul Glader of WiredAcademic, December 14, 2011
  • , Interview by Monica Larson of Shephard University, October 21, 2009
  • Interview by Bray Cary of Decision Makers, May 15, 2009
  • , January 27, 2008

Category:1958 births Category:Living people Category:American people of Israeli descent Category:Israeli emigrants to the United States Category:Massachusetts Institute of Technology alumni Category:Harvard Graduate School of Education alumni Category:Educational psychologists Category:Educational technology Category:American computer businesspeople

Recent scholastic pursuits

Clickerati

Much of Harel Caperton’s recent work in the past decade has focused on what she calls the development of the "Clickerati Generation" (a play on the term Literati) – the new generation of young people who were born—or will be born—between 1991 and 2010. She advances the notion that children born during this time will grow up immersed in new media, and will not be able to imagine a world without Internet technology. Therefore, she contends that there is a need for a radical, global paradigm shift relating to education and acculturation of this generation in comparison to the methods used with the youth of bygone eras. In other words, where people of the past worked with print-based literature, current and future generations will click their way through technologically-based mediums of digital information and communication — and will need to be prepared adequately with digital literacy skills for their successful development, citizenship, and leadership within such physical-digital blended environments.

Non-profit work

Harel Caperton has been active with consultation work for several non-profit educational entities. She has spent a great deal of time and effort with the Aspen Institute’s FOCAS and Info-Tech policy programs and is a member of the board of directors for the ATLAS Institute. She has long served as an Advisor to , a youth-led, technology-empowered charity based in Toronto, Canada. operates as the online largest community of globally aware youth by providing inspiration, information and involvement opportunities. In 2006 TakingITGlobal launched its educational platform, called , with inspiration from Harel Caperton.

In 2004, she reunited with former colleagues Negroponte and Papert for One Laptop Per Child, the organization responsible for the oversight of MIT’s controversial $100 laptop project. OLPC seeks to ensure that every child in the world has access to education through inexpensive computers and networks that can operate in areas with little or no existing infrastructure.

Other recent endeavors

Her primary focus during 2005–2006 has been the establishment of educational links between the United States and the rapidly growing technological infrastructure of China by working with individuals, corporations, and educational organizations (like Saybot, ECNU, BNU, and OLPC). In doing so, she has been a featured speaker and lecturer at numerous universities in Beijing and Shanghai. During the fall 2005 academic term, Caperton and her youngest daughter lived in Shanghai while she was a visiting professor and consultant at the Software Engineering Institute at East China Normal University, where she developed and modeled a student-centered, project-based curriculum for their graduate schools.

Honors

  • 2011: Named “Digital Leader and Luminary” by Digital Learning Now!
  • 2010: Jessie McCanse Award for Individual Contribution to Media Literacy, by the National Telemedia Council.
  • 2005: Named Beijing Normal University Honorary Professor.
  • 2002: The Network of Educators in Science and Technology and MIT honored Dr. Idit Harel Caperton their “Award for devotion, innovation, and imagination in science and technology on behalf of children and youth around the world.”
  • 1991: Outstanding Book Award for Children Designers, by the American Education Research Association (AERA).
  • 1989: Journal of Mathematical Behavior – Special Annual Issue on Outstanding Dissertation: Interdisciplinary Constructions of Learning and Knowing Mathematics in a Computer-Rich School.