MacArthur Project

The MacArthur Foundation Series on Digital Media and Learning will explore the intersection of digital media and learning from the perspectives of experts, visionaries, and thought leaders chosen from across the globe. The working hypothesis of the effort is that digital media have advanced significantly in recent years, enabling new forms of knowledge production, social networking, communication, and play. Through the use of such media, young people are engaged in an unprecedented exploration of language, games, social interaction, and self-directed education that can be used to support learning.

The overall aim of the series is to explore the consequences of this exposure to and use of digital media for their sense of self, how they express their independence and creativity, and their ability to learn, exercise judgment, and think systematically.

Six volumes will be published in the first year of the MacArthur Foundation Series, each with a unifying theme that addresses a critical aspect of this emerging field of study.

The themes are Identity and Digital Media, Credibility, Civic Engagement, the Ecology of Games, Innovative Uses and Unexpected Outcomes, and Race and Ethnicity. Each of these volumes, which are intended for an informed but wide audience, will include an introductory chapter by the editor, and 7-10 additional chapters that will explore the topic from a variety of perspectives.

MacArthur Foundation Series Topics

The MacArthur Foundation Series on Digital Media and Learning is a project designed to explore the intersection of digital media and learning. Each of the focus areas for the series will include an ongoing slate of "virtual conversations" on each topic area held via the Internet, with each led by thought leaders in the field and open to interested parties.

For 2006/2007, the MacArthur Foundation Series topics will focus on the following six areas as they apply to the use of digital media by contemporary youth and young adults in North America and Western Europe:

• Credibility
• Digital Media & Civic Engagemen
• Ecology of Games
• Identity & Digital Media
• Innovative Uses and Unexpected Outcomes
• Race and Ethnicity

The outcome of each virtual conversation will be a volume of 7-10 seminal “thought” papers commisioned to further explore that topic and provide an intellectual foundation for further research and dialog. In addition, a comprehensive set of web resources will be created to inform the topic. A Youth Advisory Council will ensure that the voices of young people are included in each conversation.

Advisory Committee

An Advisory Committee of visionaries and respected leaders was commissioned by the MacArthur Foundation to guide the selection ot topics and to work with the editors to conceptualize each commissioned volume of papers.

Online Community

Visit the MacArthur Foundation's Digital Learning web site:
http://digitallearning.macfound.org/