Digital Media, Teaching, Children and Schools — May 2011


 

May 20-21, 2011
DoubleTree Guest Suites
Santa Monica, CA

Program description:

Join us in Southern California as we explore the many ways digital media is changing the way young people learn. What are the stories journalists should be telling?Top experts will help us examine the disconnect between schools and young people, who spend more time online than ever before. We’ll address possibilities for student engagement and assessment, the role of the teacher in a digital world, new rules of the road in cyberspace and how to cover them. We’ll explore how entrepreneurs are responding to the growth in student use of digital media. Are new gaming platforms being developed to support learning? What online tools promote learning?

Questions we’ll try to answer:

  • How much learning are kids doing during all those hours they spend online?
  • How is a good video-game designer like a good teacher?
  • How can video games motivate children to learn and develop critical-thinking skills?
  • Are kids reading and writing less – or maybe more – in the digital age? How is writing different in the digital age?
  • How do minority students use digital media and technology? Is the digital gap evolving into what many educators fear is a growing participation gap?
  • How can journalists find the best research on the impact that digital media are having on the schools they cover?

For more information, contact Liz Willen at willen@tc.columbia.edu.

Note: The Hechinger Institute will cover the cost of a roundtrip, economy-class airfare and one night at the seminar hotel.

Follow the seminar on Twitter with the tag #tcdigital.

Seminar Binder [pdf]