This column describes multimedia resources available to teachers on the Smithsonian Folkways website. In addition to massive collections of audio and video recordings and advanced search tools already available through this website, the Smithsonian Global Sound educational initiative brought detailed lesson plans and interactive features to the…

The National September 11 Memorial & Museum will be officially dedicated this September on the 10th anniversary of the attacks of 2001. It provides educational resources that explore the ongoing impact of the September 11th attacks and the ways that volunteerism and art aid in healing, recovery, and rebuilding. The 9/11 Memorial Museum, to be…

The film "No Impact Man" tells the story of 40-something Colin Beavan, his wife Michelle Conlin, their 2-year-old daughter Isabella, and dog Frankie and their decision to go "off the grid" in an effort to have no personal net impact on the environment for a year while living in New York City. The film highlights the family's struggles to stay true…

Hip-hop music and culture are often cited as being public pedagogy, meaning the music itself has intrinsic educational value. Non-profit organizations and individual educators have graciously taken the lead in utilizing hip-hop to educate. As the academy continues to debate its effectiveness, teachers and community organizers are moving forward.…

Podcasting is becoming more and more common as a method of delivery at universities and for training purposes. The concept to set up podcasting is simple, and the costs vary. The advantages of podcasting are enormous. Podcasting is especially effective for adult education programs. (Contains 17 online resources.)

Today information about the world around people comes to them not only through words on a piece of paper, but more and more through the powerful images and sounds of their multimedia culture. This explosion in information has presented a major challenge to the world of formal education. The transformation of their culture from an industrial age to…

Uses Presidential and House of Representatives elections as basis for year-long curriculum focus on civics education, integrating print material, software, and the Internet. Describes classroom activities, Internet sites, and software described for four major areas: (1) campaigning for office; (2) moving into a new home; (3) reporting for work;…

In this chapter, the author presents arguments to support a school curriculum that might forge a life of justice as well as develop a rational, analytical, and critical understanding of media texts that students use in classrooms and in out-of-school contexts. First, he begins by laying out the rationale for why media literacy matters in schools.…

The IADIS CELDA 2012 Conference intention was to address the main issues concerned with evolving learning processes and supporting pedagogies and applications in the digital age. There had been advances in both cognitive psychology and computing that have affected the educational arena. The convergence of these two disciplines is increasing at a…