Clark Aldrich (born 3 January 1967) is an American author and a practitioner in the field of educational simulations. In 1999, Aldrich began writing about alternative approaches to traditional education, focusing on interactive learning and the potential of computer game-based simulations. He proposed new types of computer games that could be developed to serve both educational and entertainment purposes. His work on educational simulations led to several publications, including five books.

Background

Childhood and education

Aldrich grew up in

Concord, Massachusetts Concord () is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. In the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the town population was 18,491. The United States Census Bureau considers Concord part of Greater Boston. The town center is n ...

, graduating from The Fenn School and Lawrence Academy. He later studied cognitive science at

Brown University Brown University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. It is the List of colonial colleges, seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the US, founded in 1764 as the ' ...

Providence, Rhode Island Providence () is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Rhode Island, most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. The county seat of Providence County, Rhode Island, Providence County, it is o ...

, where he earned his

Bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

Cognitive Science Cognitive science is the interdisciplinary, scientific study of the mind and its processes. It examines the nature, the tasks, and the functions of cognition (in a broad sense). Mental faculties of concern to cognitive scientists include percep ...

in 1989.

Career

Aldrich worked at

Xerox Xerox Holdings Corporation (, ) is an American corporation that sells print and electronic document, digital document products and services in more than 160 countries. Xerox was the pioneer of the photocopier market, beginning with the introduc ...

as the speechwriter for Executive Vice President Wayland Hicks. Aldrich became the Governor’s appointee to the Joint Committee on Educational Technology and served in this role from 1996 to 2000 while at

. He then moved to

Gartner Gartner, Inc. is an American research and advisory firm focusing on business and technology topics. Gartner provides its products and services through research reports, conferences, and consulting. Its clients include large corporations, gover ...

, where he launched their

e-learning Educational technology (commonly abbreviated as edutech, or edtech) is the combined use of computer hardware, software, and educational theory and practice to facilitate learning and teaching. When referred to with its abbreviation, "EdTech" ...

coverage, and began formal writing and analysis of education. Later, he left Gartner to begin hands-on work in designing and building simulations himself, where he also increased his external writing about the industry through books, columns, and articles. Aldrich later founded SimuLearn, which develops training simulations for use in corporate learning environments. The first product that was released by the company was ''Virtual Leader.'' It required the user to conduct a series of business meetings while balancing professional interactions within a simulated environment.

Books

* * * * * *

References

External links