Training is key to schools' digital media use

Educators need to embrace Web 2.0 technologies in schools, but they should be given adequate professional development to ensure they learn the proper ways to engage their students through digital media, said experts at a Sept. 21 Capitol Hill briefing. That was the general consensus of the panel members, which included representatives from the Consortium for School Networking (CoSN), Common Sense Media, the National Writing Project, and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, as well as school teachers, administrators, and students. Julia Stasch, vice president of U.S. programs for the MacArthur Foundation -- which is in the middle of a five-year, $50 million effort to study the impact of digital media on youth culture and learning--said learning is becoming increasingly participatory. "Digital media are not only changing how young people are accessing and sharing new knowledge, they are extending the classroom to more informal and unconventional spaces, such as libraries, museums, and even online communities," she said. "Our support for the field of digital media and learning is designed to help these institutions take advantage of the learning opportunities presented by digital media and to help build an infrastructure for successful teaching and learning in the 21st century."