Free e-book: Hanging Out, Messing Around, Geeking Out| Tame The Web

Posted on August 7, 2013 by infophile

Free e-book: Hanging Out, Messing Around, Geeking Out | Tame The Web

Full title: Hanging Out, Messing Around, Geeking Out: Kids Living and Learning New Media.

From the series forward: This book series is founded upon the working hypothesis that those immersed in new digital tools and networks are engaged in an unprecedented exploration of language, games, social interaction, problem solving, and self-directed activity that leads to diverse forms of learning. These diverse forms of learning are reflected in expressions of identity, how individuals express independence and creativity, and in their ability to learn, exercise judgment, and think systematically.

Direct link to the pdf here.

Books about Bullying | Stephen’s Lighthouse

Posted on August 7, 2013 by infophile

Books about Bullying | Stephen’s Lighthouse.

A list of 33 resources including suitable grade range for each.

Recent Pew Research Center Studies

Posted on July 18, 2013 by infophile

Pew Study: Technology Aids Students’ Writing Skills Though Challenges Remain | The Digital Shift
Digital technologies are impacting American middle and high school students’ writing in many ways, both good and bad, a new national report from the Pew Research Center shows.

Internet adoption becomes nearly universal among some groups, but others lag behind | Pew Research Center
New data from the latest survey by the Pew Research Center’s Internet Project in the spring shows that 85% of Americans adults use the internet at least occasionally. Five years ago, in an April 2008 survey, 73% of adults used the internet. Ten years ago, in May 2003, 63% of adults used the internet.

Personal. Portable. Participatory. Pervasive. from Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project

Young Adults, Mobile Phones and Social Media:Technology and the Transition to adulthood

How Teachers Are Using Technology at Home and in Their Classrooms | Pew Internet
A survey of teachers who instruct American middle and secondary school students finds that digital technologies have become central to their teaching and professionalization. At the same time, the internet, mobile phones, and social media have brought new challenges to teachers, and they report striking differences in access to the latest digital technologies between lower and higher income students and school districts.

Gun Violence, Videogames, and Libraries | American Libraries Magazine

Posted on June 3, 2013 by infophile

Quotables:

“ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom recommends that libraries cultivate videogame creation, play, and contests. Many reluctant learners are at-risk youth, and gaming helps bring them into the library.”

“Libraries are among the most trusted of institutions. It is time to use that trust to create activities and programs that help solve the problem of gun violence.”

via Gun Violence, Videogames, and Libraries | American Libraries Magazine.

A Web Series For Kids Aims To Be The “Elmo for Engineering” | Co.Design

Posted on May 22, 2013 by infophile

It’s hard to beat classic episodes of Sesame Street for timeless, near-universal educational appeal, but engineer and Adafruit Industries founder Limor Fried still saw an unmet need in the educational-video space. “We looked around and didn’t see an ‘Elmo for engineering’ or a kid’s show that celebrated science and engineering,” she tells Co.Design. “Every kid seems to have a cell phone or a tablet, but they know more about SpongeBob than how a LED works on the device or TV they’re watching, and we wanted to change that.” So she and her team at Adafruit created Circuit Playground, a Youtube series that combines chirpy puppets with hackery know-how via A Web Series For Kids Aims To Be The “Elmo for Engineering” | Co.Design: business + innovation + design.