Spotlight on Digital Media And Learning

11.23.09 | President Obama today announced a new campaign to improve the participation and performance of America’s students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. The full text of his remarks is available at Whitehouse.gov.

The campaign, called Educate to Innovate, will focus on activities outside the classroom and include partnerships with leading companies, foundations and non-profits. It aims to encourage students to “learn deeply and think critically.”

“The different sectors are responding to the president’s call for all hands on deck,” John P. Holdren, the White House science adviser, told The New York Times.

Notable science leaders such as Sally Ride, the first American woman in space, and business leaders from Intel, Xerox and Kodak, have signed on to champion these programs.

Included in the campaign is the 2010 Digital Media and Learning Competition. Supported by the MacArthur Foundation and run by HASTAC, the $2 million annual open competition seeks proposals from designers, inventors, researchers and others interested in using digital media to transform learning (read the full press release here). The competition opens Dec. 14 and winners will be announced in Spring 2010.

This year one of the competition categories, 21st Century Learning Lab Designers, is connected with National Lab Day, a nationwide initiative to build local communities (or hubs) that foster ongoing collaborations among volunteers, students and educators.

The other category, Game Changers, also new this year, will provide awards for the creation of new game experiences using PlayStation’s popular video game, LittleBigPlanet. These games and game expansions should incorporate principles of science, technology, engineering and math.

More information is available at the competition’s website.

“Scientists and engineers ought to stand side by side with athletes and entertainers as role models,” Obama said, “and here at the White House we’re going to lead by example.  We’re going to show young people how cool science can be.”

Watch the president in this YouTube clip discuss hosting a national science fair to honor young inventors.