Spotlight on Digital Media And Learning

PLAYBACK: Technology and Gender Edition

Girls get inventive in the new PBS series “SciGirls”; Harvard students discuss why women are less likely to pursue computer science degrees; Universities reach out to younger students to bridge the degree gap; More young girls are turning to online play—but are the virtual worlds preparing them to be active digital citizens? And Disney’s Pixie Hollow welcomes a male avatar ...

Beyond Shakespeare and Grammar: Engaging the Language of Technology

How can educators use social media tools to help students develop traditional and digital media literacies? Spotlight talks with professors at Huston-Tillotson University about their work engaging students with social media tools.

Self-Narration in Video Game Design Environments

How can Latino teenagers in Los Angeles re-invent Pac-Man? Katynka Martinez, an assistant professor of Raza studies at San Francisco State University, spoke recently at a forum on digital literacy about her research on how teaching game design to young people can help them challenge inaccurate representations of themselves and their communities in dominant media.

Digital Literacy in Networked Learning Environments

The United Negro College Fund and the MacArthur Foundation hosted a public forum on digital media and learning in multicultural contexts in March at Huston-Tillotson University in Austin. It was the second in a series of forums taking place around the country.

One-Third of U.S. Population Uses Public Library Internet; Social Networking, Education Most Popular

A new report reveals several surprising facts about how much Americans, and especially young and low-income Americans, rely on public libraries for internet access—and the educational (as well as socio-economic) benefits that come along with it.

PLAYBACK: A Look at the National Education Technology Plan and National Broadband Plan

Plus: Tips and tools from InspirED; Michiko Kakutani’s review of books on the influence of digital media; an interview with Eric Gordon of Participatory Chinatown—all in Spotlight’s news round-up on digital media and learning.

“The Digital World of Young Children: Emergent Literacy”

A new report from the Pearson Foundation examines how digital media is affecting early literacy around the globe.

Does Race Matter Online? Digital Media and Learning in Multicultural Contexts

“African American youth are just as likely to use social networking sites as any other young population in the United States,” says S. Craig Watkins, associate professor of media studies at the University of Texas at Austin. “The access gap more or less has been addressed, and now what researchers are turning their attention to is what we call the participation gap.”

Empowering Parents and Protecting Children in an Evolving Media Landscape

A new report from Harvard’s Youth and Media Policy Working Group at the Berkman Center for Internet and Society summarizes current research on kids and media safety, privacy and quality.