November 14, 2006
This week’s theme: race and ethnicity in digital media: Spotlighting voices drawn from the MacArthur Series online dialogs on race and ethnicity conducted earlier this month.
Category: Digital Divide

November 13, 2006
Anna Everett: considering race and ethnicity in digital media: This brief overview of the topic hits on the changing role of visual imagery, identity politics, and how an alternative to censorship might be the deployment of media literacy skills.
Category: Identity, Digital DivideMichael Chui, Dedria A. Humphries, A. Guimarin,

November 13, 2006
Mimi Ito: Digital Youth are a Diverse Lot: It’s often tempting to make general claims about how “kids these days” are different because of new technology. But if you look closely at kids in different neighborhoods and homes, you will be amazed at…
Category: Comments: Elaine Young,

November 10, 2006
Release of Game Dialogue Transcript: “Everywhere Now: Kids, Games, and Learning”: Sixty experts, three weeks of dialogues, led by “Ecology of Games” MacSeries editor Katie Salen, on the future of kids, games and learning.  Check it out…
Category: GamesDr. DJ Chandler,

November 9, 2006
Amit Pitaru: Videogames and Special-Needs Children: I have seen the transformation of children with special-needs before and after they gained access to digital-games, and it is a profound quality-of-life change. If for nothing else-they can participate in their most coveted play…
Category: Gamesmcewen, A. Pitaru, mcewen, larry,

November 8, 2006
Katie Salen: Respect the Game! (introducing this week’s Spotlight theme): This week, the editor of the MacArthur Series volume on the “ecology of games” introduces three voices from the upcoming volume…
Category: GamesMark K., Janna Anderson,

November 8, 2006
Craig Watkins: Shut Out of Play: What Happens when Kids Don’t Have Access?: Many of us are familiar with the popular rise of the “digital divide” debate a few years ago or, more basically, the creation of a world of “technology haves” and “technology have nots.” As I…
Category: Games

November 8, 2006
Justin Hall: What Can We Hope for in a Gaming Future?: Before I went to grad school, I reported on the “Christian Computer Game Developers Conference.” Nearly all of the Christian game industry was there; under 100 people.
Category: Games

November 6, 2006
Katie Salen: Learning to “read” a Game System (includes a podcast interview!): Three “gaming literacies” are presented: modding, world-building, gaming etiquette and more…
Category: GamesTom Hoffman, Sandra Dickinson,

November 2, 2006
Eric Zimmerman: Forget Serious Games: All too often, those who investigate and create serious games operate from a limited notion of what games can be.
Category: GamesEliane Alhadeff, e. holmes,

November 2, 2006
Henry Jenkins: Building a library of documentaries about media makers: MIT’s Project NML is building a library of short documentaries showcasing the ethical and craft choices media makers face in creating and distributing their work.
Category: Comments: John Kuner,

October 31, 2006
Connie Yowell: Media Literacy as week’s Spotlight, plus some Great Launch Coverage: After a launch recap, this week’s featured guests are introduced, including Nichole Pinkard, Henry Jenkins and Eric Zimmerman—all gathered under the banner of media literacy.
Category:

October 31, 2006
Nichole Pinkard: Developing Opportunities for Urban Youth to become Digital: The University of Chicago is developing an Afterschool Digital Media Program to provide opportunities for urban youth to develop digital media fluency.
Category:

October 31, 2006
Eric Zimmerman: Let them make games! - the Game Designer project: Game Designer, a MacArthur-funded collaboration between Gamelab and the GAPPS lab at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, teaches literacy through game design and creation.
Category: GamesTom Hoffman, E. Zimmerman, Tom Hoffman,

October 31, 2006
Henry Jenkins: Transmedia Improv encourages learning by remixing media: Artists have long built upon each others’ work. Shouldn’t schools be helping to think about the ethics and poetics of remixing?
Category:

October 29, 2006
Cathy Davidson: Relearning How to Learn: I hope MacArthur supports some risky projects where the learning potential is enormous even if the possibility of failure is high, and puts its clout and impeccable reputation behind the visionary.
Category: Comments: kevin mccluskey,

October 26, 2006
Mimi Ito: Kids and Commercial Culture: What does “consumerism” mean in an era of Tivo, Internet distribution, niche media markets, and DIY media culture?
Category: Comments: Anastasia Goodstein,

October 25, 2006
(Part II)—James Paul Gee: Good Games are Good for Good Learning, **But**...: Video games hold out great promise as a way to enhance learning, but we need to go beyond the game as a piece of software to really speak to the conditions necessary for deep learning…
Category: Games

October 25, 2006
Barry Joseph: How do you bring a youth development model on global issues into a virtual world?: Global Kids shares best practices from their global education programs run for teens in Second Life.
Category: Comments: James L. Smith,

October 24, 2006
James Paul Gee: Good Games are Good for Good Learning (part I): Good video games are good for learning.  When we compare how they recruit learning, I believe we see ways in which learning can be enhanced in and out of school, with or without using games.…
Category: GamesMatt,