The Digital Student: or the impact that new media technologies are having on young people

I'm grateful to Andrew Clay who lectures on "Studies in Digital Technology" in our Faculty of Technology for this list of resources about the impact that new media technologies are having on young people, including today's Guardian supplement. I've added a few things I like to each resource in the list.

1. Digital Student - a supplement printed in today's Guardian newspaper and available online at http://www.guardian.co.uk/digitalstudent.

• Almost every article is written by non-students. Do the experiences of new technologies that are described ring true with what our students and tutors are doing, I wonder? A key quote comes in the podcast article: 'iTunes U could "question the role of the lecturer" because unless someone sets the information in context, learners won't get much benefit from it.' There is very little discussion of progressive pedagogies in the supplement - after all this time we are still fixated on the tools and traditional power relationships. But then maybe this supplement is about opening up a discussion.
• I love this quote from Lawrie Phipps from the JISC about the value of Second Life: " The nice thing about Second Life is that the tangible benefits are whatever you need them to be." This reflects the fact that tangible benefits of e-learning and technology are so often difficult to nail down, but also that progressive pedagogies for virtual worlds still haven't taken off. Will they ever mainstream? Especially given the view from one of our design tutors that: "Five of my final year students are working on a business internship building assets and environments... suffice to say it looks generations better than Second Life". Plus we are seeing more-and-more bespoke business/corporate worlds being developed.

2. The Digital Youth Project's report on how young people are using new media at http://digitalyouth.ischool.berkeley.edu/files/report/digitalyouth-WhitePaper.pdf

• I love the trichotomy of participation framed by "Hanging Out, Messing Around and Geeking Out". Educators who are serious about engaging progressive pedagogy with play should read this in-light of the EYFS.
• I created a wordle image for the white paper. I like the fact that it highlights: new: youth; media; learning; participation; messing; and around; as big tags.
• The implications for education are critical: Social and recreational new media use as a site of learning; Recognizing important distinctions in youth culture and literacy; Capitalizing on peer-based learning; and New role for education?

3. The CarPhone Warehouse's Mobile Life Project 2008 report 'Exploring our relationships with modern technology in a wireless world'.

• Interesting to review this in light of the NSPCC's Children and the internet [Internet Safety] briefing, on access for young people and their structured participation.