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Thursday 20th August 2009 7:15 am

Brainstorming on How to Bridge Digital Media and Learning

A recent meeting of key players in digital media and learning spurred lively discussion about the potential for public-private partnerships to develop and distribute digital content with a focus on learning. 

In July, the MacArthur, Mitchell Kapor, and the Carnegie foundations sponsored a meeting of educators, content developers, companies with Web 2.0 technology platforms, policymakers, and venture capitalists. Participants included Ethan Beard from Facebook, Nina Zolt from ePals, Larry Rosenstock from High Tech High, Alex Chisholm from Learning Games Network, and Akili Lee from iRemix.

Participants, for example, discussed the difficulties of integrating digital content into the classroom. “I don’t think the teachers are the roadblock here,” says Chisholm in one of the five taped interviews, available here. “We need to demonstrate to teachers is that their role is not being eliminated. The reason they go into teaching—mentoring, guiding kids—games help to enable that.”

“Once adults see this as a way to extend what they are already doing with students,” says Lee, “I think you’ll get a lot of uptake from that.” Lee points to his work with YouMedia at the Chicago Public Library and the Digital Youth Network as examples of how social networking is already being used for learning.  “Seeing how these results play out in different contexts is going to really be key to creating a value proposition for educators, policymakers and the school district folk to allow these tools to come into the school. ... I think you’re going to see an opportunity for growth and I think that growth will be rapid once it does start to open up.”

To hear more from Facebook’s Ethan Beard on new social platforms that can bring teachers, parents, and students together click here. Also hear from ePals’ Nina Zolt on how to create dynamic and rigorous curriculum units that harness the global reach of online communities; or from Larry Rosenstock from High Tech High describe how his organization of integrated public charter schools can be models for reframing public education for the new century.

According to the organizers, since the initial meeting, participants have continued to discuss and brainstorm, adding insights and momentum to the collaboration.

This gathering was part of a series of conversations about emerging lessons in digital media and learning being supported by the MacArthur Foundation.  For more on the digital media and learning convenings being hosted by the Carnegie Foundation, go here.

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