I’ve been doing instructional design for the past three years, working at the nexus of education and digital technology. I’ve managed LMSs, created SCORM files with authoring tools, and built modules, lessons, courses, and learning paths. But at the back of my mind, I’ve always been wary of the grand promises of instructional design and …
Despite having lived in San Francisco for seven years and working in a tech field, I’ve never actually participated in a hackathon. Since I’m not a developer or a designer, it just never felt like something that I would have much to contribute to. That changed this weekend. For the past couple of months, I’ve …
I’m excited to share the news about KQED Learn, a free, safe online space for students to engage in thoughtful discussions about timely societal topics, using fact-based arguments and social media that they share. As the next generation of KQED’s awesome “Do Now” series, this looks like a great tool for teachers to facilitate thoughtful debates …
The 2015 Digital Media and Learning Conference I feared was going to be the last. With the announcement by the MacArthur Foundation in August 2015 that they were ending funding of the field of digital learning, including the DML conference, it seemed like the writing was on the wall. DML Los Angeles felt to me …
I've been thinking a lot about this interview with former Facebook exec and angel investor Chamath Palihapitiya. It's chock-a-block with mind exploding ideas and concepts. As a teen educator, I'm particularly focused on the first ten minutes where Chamath talks about what he sees as a fundamental shift in what counts as "social capital." I highly …
Here's a neat little video about the LRNG Summit West that took place a couple of weeks ago at the California Academy of Sciences. LRNG is an initiative focused on "redesigning learning for the 21st century." As part of their launch, LRNG sponsored three "summits" in Philadelphia, San Francisco and the final one this week in Chicago …
Interesting news in the digital learning field. It looks like there will be a 2016 Digital Media and Learning conference, despite MacArthur Foundation ending their support for the DML area this year. *Save the Date!* The 2016 DML Conference will be held Oct. 5-7, 2016 at @UCIrvine. More info coming soon. #2016DML pic.twitter.com/Ffg8sH0jOo — DML2016 (@dmlconference) …
As I wrote about previously, MacArthur Foundation is winding down its support for the “digital media and learning” portfolio (I.e., digital learning, as we know it) into a new nonprofit. Now we know what it's called: Collective Shift. Main points from their press release: Collective Shift has received $25 million dollars in seed money from …
A couple of weeks ago, we got the official word on the phasing out of the MacArthur Foundation's support for Digital Media and Learning. While this was not terribly surprising for those of us who have been in the field and paying attention, it still is a major shift in our community. Barry Joseph on …
Although we've known about this for awhile, this is the most public statement from the MacArthur Foundation, indicating that they are stepping back from their digital learning support. The latest essay from Julia Stasch the president of MacArthur Foundation makes clear that they are ending their support for several key parts of their portfolio, including affordable …