The Pearson Foundation has released another potentially groundbreaking study on digital media and learning today: “The Digital World of Young Children: Emergent Literacy”
I have to admit I’ve only read the summary so far, but the big findings, in particular mobiles as the only platform for many youth raise an important question. If youth are increasingly dependent on mobiles as the learning platform, how will they learn to hack these tools to create their own apps? While this is the pinnacle of Mimi Ito et al’s “hanging out, messing around, geeking out” trilogy of digital media skills, it’s the one that, in my opinion, is essential for digital literacy. Learning how something is made is the best way to be able to think critically about what’s out there and make your own contribution.
A recent tweet by McKenzie Wark says it all:
“Rather than phones becoming tiny computers, we’re going to get computers that are just big phones: closed, proprietary, unhackable.”
What do we do about this? I think we need to speak up about it and get the smart new folks in the White House’s Education office involved! First stop, an iPhone hunger strike outside of Steve Jobs’ office… (see John Battelle’s excellent “Here’s What I hate About The iPad” for the rallying cry.)
Sent from my iPhone ;]
1 response so far ↓
1 Michelle Pacansky-Brock // Mar 14, 2010 at 1:42 am
Hi Colleen,
Great post! You were referred to me by Heather Horst. I’m coordinating MoblEd 10, a conference in Pasadena, CA on April 19-20 and I’d like to know if you’d be interested and available to speak on the topic of the future of mobile gaming. Would you kindly contact me so we can talk? I’d really appreciate hearing from you. Your voice and expertise would bring a wealth of dynamism and thought provoking dialogue to our event.
best wishes,
Michelle Pacansky-Brock
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