The Needs of Students and Educators Should Guide Our Use of New Classroom Technologies

This article first appeared in The Jacobin Since the start of the pandemic it’s become common to suggest that education will have to adapt to a “new normal,” with increased use of online platforms. But private tech firms risk having an oversized say in what the “new normal” is — ignoring the needs expressed by … Continue reading →

transmedia literacy conference – growing research evidence on the good stuff

The Transmedia Literacy International Conference in Barcelona held between 22-24 March 2018, highlighted the rich and diverse skills youth (can) acquire, experience and practise when they engage with digital media. During the afternoon workshop sessions researchers from Latin America, Europe and Australia demonstrated evidence of the various opportunities and benefits young people gain when they … Continue reading →

the trouble with media education in primary schools

Information and communication technology (ICT) lessons for primary schools, in Malta at least, must change. If there is even an inkling that primary school syllabi across the world aim to teach children how to retrieve files from CD-ROMS, how to work Word and Excel and make PowerPoints, practise technical skills using ready-made examples, this article … Continue reading →

from risk to resilience

Research has identified a number of ways parents resort to mediate their children’s digital media use. This post presents a summary of these common approaches – some more liberal than others – to allow readers of this blog, some of you parents, to compare, perhaps re-think your own ways. This post also aims to invite … Continue reading →

use media to socialize with your children

Here are a few ideas for parents and children how to use tablet/phone computers as social tools. The below is not an exhaustive list. These suggestions address parents with pre-teen children and parents who worry about screen-time and media ‘effects’. Nevertheless, everyone can adjust these to fit their tastes and family dynamics, to benefit from … Continue reading →