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Leo
Burd, PhD MIT
Media Laboratory leoburd
<* at *> media.mit.edu |
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I direct the Lemann Creative Learning Program at the MIT Media Lab, an initiative that helps Brazilian public schools, afterschool centers, and families engage in learning practices that are more hands-on and centered on students' interests and ideas. In my research, I am very interested in the design of technologies for creative learning and social empowerment. Projects that I have worked on in education include Scratch and App Inventor. In the civic media realm, I have created the VoIP Drupal open source toolkit and applications of it for neighborhood communication, local tourism, open governance, and community engagement. I am particularly excited about initiatives that empower children in underserved regions. To that end, I helped start the Young Activists Network, the Department of Play and, more recently, the Duct Tape Network. Outside of MIT, I have
worked for groups such as the World Bank, Microsoft, and the Brazilian
government. I have also coordinated a non-profit organization that
built "computer and citizenship" schools in Sao Paulo slums, and was a
key contributor to several international initiatives that use digital
tools to improve quality of life. I currently direct Terravoz and do strategic
consulting. Born and raised in
Brazil, I have a BSc in Computer Science from the Technological
Institute of Aeronautics (ITA), a MSc from the State University of
Campinas (UNICAMP) on the design of software for
educational activities, and a PhD from the MIT Media Lab on
the development of technological
initiatives for social empowerment.
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