digital learning collaborative research

A new and comprehensive research report reviews the literature about young people in the digital environment in order to provide a framework for interacting with quality information. Information quality is important today because the traditional gatekeepers and intermediaries that provided mechanisms for quality content standards have been replaced by the internet and media convergence. The need to understand how young people interact with information and use it has never been more important because information access and online social communities affect their social and cognitive development.

research on information evaluation values and approaches by today's youth

Interesting in this 2006 essay on digital literacy that it assumes that all students are by definition digitally savvy as "digital natives". More recent insights such as reported in "Kids Closer Up: Playing, Learning, and Growing with Digital Media" by Lori Takeuchi, International Journal of Learning and Media, Spring 2011, Vol. 3, No. 2, Pages 37-59. point to more complex, multi-layed levels of student digital literacy.

"The following are excerpts from from "Kids Closer Up: Playing, Learning, and Growing with Digital Media" by Lori Takeuchi, International Journal of Learning and Media, Spring 2011, Vol. 3, No. 2, Pages 37-59. To protect the children's identities, all names are pseudonyms, and location details have been altered."

Learning principles * Interest-powered. * Peer-supported. * Academically oriented. Design principles * Shared purpose. * Production-centered. * Openly networked.

Connected Learning Principles

"This morning, Elon University and the Pew Internet and American Life Project released a report about the cognitive future of the millennial generation. Based on surveys with more than 1,000 thought leaders -- among them danah boyd, Clay Shirky, David Weinberger, and Alexandra Samuel -- the survey asked thinkers to consider how the Internet and its environment are changing, for better or worse, kids' cognitive capabilities. The survey found, overall, what many others already have: that neuroplasticity is, indeed, a thing; that multitasking is, indeed, the new norm; that hyperconnectivity may be leading to a lack of patience and concentration; and that an "always on" ethos may be encouraging a culture of expectation and instant gratification."

In a systemic and rigorous analysis of forty years of research into the use of technology and its impact on student achievement, researchers have reported that technology used to support instruction, on average, improves learning performance by 12%.

"active engagement is the key; Concordia study suggests technology helps students, but only moderately"

There are many ways of providing useful feedback to students in association with their assessments and assignments. However, new ways of providing feedback that can be more relevant and timely have emerged using technology. The research article reviewed this week explores a range of possibilities for providing student feedback on assignments and assessments in ways, such as audio and adaptive feedback, that can be more efficient for course leaders and also improve student learning.

"Epistemic games are computer games that are essentially about learning to think in innovative ways. They're designed to be pedagogical tools for the digital age where the player learns to think like professionals by playing a simulated game of such professions as management, engineering, journalism or urban planning."