Spotlight on Digital Media And Learning

How Teachers Make Cell Phones Work in the Classroom

In our final post in a series on mobile learning, MindShift’s Tina Barseghian visits classrooms in San Francisco to find out what it looks like when mobile devices enter the classroom—when it works, whether it’s worthwhile, and how some educators are leveraging the technology to teach students what it means to be learners and citizens in a digital world.

Games Even a Bureaucracy Could Love: The Future of Testing and Data-Driven Learning

With testing and Common Core Standards gaining steam in school reform circles, some educators are asking how to ensure that digital tools like computer-based “stealth assessments” will change classrooms for the better.

Online Classes Invite Students to Join the Ivy League, Kind Of

Academic titans Harvard and MIT advance the MOOC movement, offering free online courses offered by both universities. But these courses still beg the question: How can we take advantage of technology to reimagine learning, online and beyond?

PLAYBACK: Making Media, Engaging in Democracy, and Working Toward the Future

“Great quotes” about learning and change; Pew survey on teens and videos; S. Craig Watkins on critical design literacy and pathways to youth participation; digital media literacy and civic engagement in Oakland schools—and how it all adds up to future work skills.

Teaching With YouTube Just Got Easier Thanks to TED-Ed

Ever wanted to make a lesson plan out of a YouTube video? Now you can, thanks to TED-Ed, a new platform developed by TED, best known for its videos of innovative people with “ideas worth spreading.”

Watching Children Grow Up in Public Spaces: “Lotte Time Lapse” in the Age of Sharing

Nearly 5 million of us have watched Lotte Hofmeester grow up, literally before our eyes, giving rise to the question: At what age should kids be able to decide for themselves whether they want their past, or their present, shared with the world?

PLAYBACK: Hacking Education, MIT Students to the (STEM) Rescue, Teaching Media Literacy and More

This week’s Playback looks at issues of digital access and how education is being re-thought and re-taught in the United States and around the world.

Jamming the System: Standardized Tests, Automated Grading and the Future of Writing

Standardized testing—and now, standardized grading—are the bane of teachers and thoughtful administrators. So how can we harness the positive side of digital media and learning?

Finding “Unedited Moments” in the Digital World: Listening to Sherry Turkle and Her Critics

Psychologist Sherry Turkle argues that the frequency with which we dive into our own devices while in the presence of others has led to “a new way of being ‘alone together.’” We sacrifice conversation for mere connection. But critics say there’s more to the story.

PLAYBACK: Digital Divides and Bridges: Badges, Apps for the Wage Gap and Teaching Poetry Online

Pew Internet looks at differences in internet access and usage; high school provides cell phones for texting; flattening school walls in Oregon; massive online classes move from teaching code to inspiring poetry—and more in this week’s Playback.

The Magic of Going Mobile: Augmented Reality, Design Thinking and the Power of Place

How a new augmented reality platform for the iPhone is helping educators explore the possibilities of mobile for learning, and the value of putting students in the driver’s seat.

Wikipedia Works to Improve Its Academic Image

Is Wikipedia a credible academic source? The Wikipedia Education Program aims to improve the tool’s reputation among professors and students. But some educators don’t need any convincing.