Spotlight on Digital Media And Learning

7.5.07 | In a keynote address on June 24th, Renee Hobbs reflects on the progress made by researchers studying media literacy education over 25 years. She offers her own reflections on the dynamic relationship between research and practice and considers how research on outcomes and learning processes can help improve the work of practitioners.

MacArthur Foundation President Jonathan Fanton says research is revealing that young people today are developing a new kind of literacy that extends beyond reading and writing. In an op-ed by Fanton that appeared in the St. Louis Post Dispatch (6/19) and The Philadelphia Inquirer (6/26), he argues that we must find ways to help our educational institutions meet this new challenge.

In his conference keynote on June 25th, Henry Jenkins argues that Wikipedia can teach us a lot about how to prepare educators and young people for new media literacies.  Jenkins’ comments are posted on his blog in two parts: here (part one) and here (part two).  Jenkins writes that educators need to help foster the skills young people need to critically engage with the sites they are turning to for information and be able to offer meaningful guidance.