Getting Schooled by a Third Grader

What Kids' Gaming, Tweeting, Streaming and Sharing Tells us About the Future of Elementary Education

Arizona State University, the New America Foundation, and Slate
August 9, 2012
12:00 p.m. - 1:30 p.m.

Tech-savvy teachers are bringing gadgets and games to the center of today's classrooms. Whether kids are jumping in front of Microsoft's Kinect, tapping on an iPad, building worlds on Minecraft, or sending tweets in kindergarten classrooms, the ways they use technology are sparking new teaching methods in elementary education -- and providing some cautionary tales. As interactive media become an animating force in children's lives, how can teachers and schools make the most of its educational value? How can we tell the difference between technologies that belong in the classroom and those that are best suited for afterschool entertainment? When they use these kinds of media, what might young kids be teaching us about the way they learn?

PARTICIPANTS:

Joel Levin - @MinecraftTeachr
"The Minecraft Teacher," Columbia Grammar and Preparatory School

Annie Murphy Paul - @AnnieMurphyPaul
2013 Bernard L. Schwartz Fellow, New America Foundation
Author of Brilliant: The New Science of Smart (available 2013)

Reed Stevens - @slclifecenter
Co-Lead, Learning in Formal and Informal Environments Center
Learning Sciences Professor, Northwestern University

Scott Traylor (via Skype) - @360KID
Founder of 360KID

Alice Wilder - @alicewilder
Co-Creator and Head of Research and Education for "Super Why!" on PBS

Moderator
Lisa Guernsey - @LisaGuernsey
Director, Early Education Initiative, New America Foundation
Author, Screen Time: How Electronic Media--From Baby Videos to Educational Software--Affects Your Young Child

Lunch will be served before the event.

To RSVP for the event:
http://newamerica.net/events/2012/getting_schooled_by_a_third_grader

For questions, contact Stephanie Gunter at New America at (202) 596-3367 or gunter@newamerica.net

Future Tense is a collaboration among Arizona State University, the New America Foundation, and Slate. Future Tense explores the ways emerging technologies affect society, policy, and culture.