Tag Archives: informal learning

Corinne Brenner, a researcher and learning scientist at Killer Snails, a development studio that produces science games, moderated a panel at iLRN 2020 about the use of XR for learning in informal environments on June 25, 2020. Corinne shares highlights from the panel, which took place in a virtual environment, with us here.   The Immersive Learning Research Network (iLRN) was uniquely equipped to rethink the plans for its 6th annual conference in light of COVID-19. The organization’s members are…

For the fourth part of this series, we asked experts to focus their predictions on digital play by answering the question, “How will the way children play with digital media change in the coming months and/or years as a result of the coronavirus pandemic?” Virtual library spaces to connect children Juan Rubio is the Digital Media and Learning Program Manager at The Seattle Public Library. Before COVID-19, informal learning spaces such as libraries provided children with afterschool programs that gave…

What is one thing you believe must be done now to improve how children and families are faring during the current crisis, specifically as it relates to the media and technology in their lives?  Have a little kindness for parents, please, during this “for-now new normal.” Rosemarie T. Truglio, PhD, is Senior Vice President of Curriculum and Content at Sesame Workshop and author of Ready for School! A Parents Guide for Playful Learning for Children Ages 2 to 5. Before…

To get people thinking differently about the importance of connecting STEM learning environments, and to increase public engagement in the issue, we need to start talking differently. Empirically tested strategies for how to do this are presented in a free, user-friendly communications toolkit called Wiring Up: Strategies for Talking about Connecting STEM Learning Environments. It was produced by the FrameWorks Institute and based on original research made possible through the Families Learning Across Boundaries (FamLAB) Project as well as the generous…

This past Saturday, October 6, kids in over 30 countries in 6 continents participated in the Global Cardboard Challenge, the next chapter from the folks that brought you the short film “Caine’s Arcade.”  The fanfare around the film, featuring a 9 year-old Hispanic boy named Caine’s elaborate handmade cardboard arcade, was the impetus for the formation of the Imagination Foundation.  The non-profit, founded by “Caine’s Arcade” filmmaker Nirvan Mullick, aims to “help find, fund, and foster creativity and entrepreneurship in…

This summer’s New Media Consortium Conference brings together academics, stakeholders and technologists from museums and universities to discuss blending technology with teaching, learning, and creative inquiry. Focused on topics relating to higher education, K-12 Education, and Museums and Informal Learning., this conference hopes to spark innovation and reflection on the future of new media. For more information, please visit http://conference.nmc.org/

This past fall, I wrote a blog post for the Cooney Center about my experiences at the annual DIY Days conference at UCLA.  In that post, I wrote [emphasis added in bold]: “Many of the people I met are deeply invested in new ways to approach the role of media in children’s learning ecologies.  I believe that various projects presented at DIY Days (including R<3S and another very special project I’ll share in a later post) have deep implications for…

Cooney Center Research Associate Ingrid Erickson is teaming up with Ruth V. Small from Syracuse University and Eric Meyers from the University of British Columbia to co-edit a special issue of the journal Learning Media & Technology on the topic of digital literacy in informal learning environments. I’m excited to be co-editing an upcoming special issue of the journal Learning, Media and Technology that will be published in late 2012. We’re seeking proposals for papers that will focus on the…