Digital Media and Learning Center, the MacArthur Foundation

The Digital Media and Learning Center is a MacArthur foundation initiative to explore the uses and implications of digital media in the classroom. The website is a great place to access ongoing research and resources pertaining to technology in the classroom in all disciplines.

The YouMedia center at the Chicago Public Library, one of the projects funded by the MacArthur foundation, is a youth oriented digital media space designed to get kids to hang out, mess around and geek out on computers. Research has shown that kids often become tech savvy when they participate with technology in passive and casual ways. This particular media center is great because it exists in a public space for kids who might not have computers at home.

Places like this remind me why I believe it is so important to create public spaces with accessible technology. By providing the opportunity to surf and explore computers in a casual, non-academic setting, students learn that new media can be a fun and meaningful part of everyday life. By giving students the chance to learn through playing, the YouMedia center's philosophy reflects my own views.



Learn more about the Digital Media and Learning Center here, and also at MacFund's spotlight blog.
Learn more about YouMedia here.