Thursday 28th August 2008 8:00 am
Bosco & Krueger: Responding to the Digital Disconnect at School
The CEO of the Consortium for School Networking and a Professor Emeritus at Western Michigan University discuss a new initiative designed to assess how school leaders are affecting the use of Web 2.0 applications in schools.
By James Bosco and Keith Krueger
It comes as little surprise to even casual observers that digital media is central to the life of most American youth. IM’ing, gaming, virtual worlds, and social networking are only a few of the ways that digital media play an increasingly larger role in the lives of kids. Yet, these resources which are key elements in what Henry Jenkins has termed as “participatory culture,” are seen by many educators more often as liabilities than assets in the school environment.
The negative orientation of many school leaders toward Web 2.0 applications is particularly pernicious since many of these applications hold considerable opportunity for improved learning, particularly the ability to foster collaboration, creativity and critical thinking - skills that are particularly critical now and in the future. It would be a sad irony if the increased knowledge and capability which has been developed about digital media and learning - much of which has come as a result of MacArthur sponsored projects—would remain on the other side of the classroom door.
The Consortium for School Networking (CoSN) with support from the MacArthur Foundation, has begun an initiative to close the gap by focusing on leadership and policies that enable/inhibit adoption of these new digital tools in education. We will gather detailed information to assess the current perspectives, policies, and practices of school leaders which impact on Web 2.0 applications particularly within the context of participatory culture within schools. The nature of information and analyses which we accomplish will be specifically germane to the formation and implementation of an action plan to promote school policies and practices to close the gap.
Eric Hopfer wrote, “In times of change, learners inherit the Earth; while the learned find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists.” We cannot afford schools that prepare kids for a world that no longer exists. Now is the time for policymakers and educators to define 21st century learning environments and bridge the home/school digital gap.
Category: Civic-Engagement, Credibility, Ecology-of-Games, Identity, Race-Ethnicity, Unexpected
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