Sylvia Libow Martinez facts for kids
Sylvia Libow Martinez is an American engineer and author. She is well-known for her book Invent To Learn: Making, Tinkering, and Engineering in the Classroom, which she wrote with Gary S. Stager. This book is often called the "bible" of the school Maker Movement. It has become very popular and is found in many libraries around the world.
Contents
Sylvia's Education and Early Career
Sylvia Martinez studied electrical engineering at UCLA, where she earned her first degree. Later, she received a master's degree in educational technology from Pepperdine University.
She started her career as an engineer at Magnavox Research Labs. There, she worked on creating systems that helped with navigation, like those used for GPS satellites. After working as an engineer for six years, Sylvia moved into developing software for education.
Designing Educational Software
For more than ten years, Sylvia Martinez led the design and creation of educational software. She worked at several companies that made learning programs, including Davidson & Associates, Knowledge Adventure, and Vivendi Universal. Her work helped shape how students learned with computers.
Championing Young People and the Maker Movement
After her time in educational software, Sylvia joined the non-profit world. She became the President of Generation YES. In this role, she worked to help young people use modern technology to improve education and their communities.
Her experiences in engineering, software, and non-profit work all led to her co-writing the important book Invent to Learn. This book is a guide for schools to start a "Maker Movement." The Maker Movement encourages students to learn by building, creating, and experimenting with their hands and minds. It's all about hands-on learning and problem-solving.
Sylvia's Current Work
Today, Sylvia Martinez spends her time promoting Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) and the Maker Movement. She gives talks and leads workshops to help educators and students embrace these ideas. She also runs two publishing companies: Constructing Modern Knowledge Press, which focuses on educational materials, and Cymbal Press, which publishes jazz music.
