This time it's Steven Berlin Johnson's turn to talk, and Marc Prensky and I— the discussants— have the luxury to sit back, relax, and enjoy the show. We just jumped in at the end...



Steven's lecture was both thought provoking and entertaining. it will be available at a later date as a webcast. Meanwhile, you may want to visit Steven's blog. He always has a lot going on

Future lectures in the series are:

* Monday, June 23: "The Anthropology of YouTube" by Michael Wesch, assistant professor of cultural anthropology at Kansas State University.
* Monday, June 30: "Open Source Reality" by Douglas Rushkoff, author of "ScreenAgers: Lessons in Chaos from Digital Kids."

On April 7, I gave a talk at the Library of Congress on the anthropology of "digital natives". This was the first of a series of lectures on digital natives. The series is directed by Derrick de Kerchove and sponsored by the John Kluge Center at the Library of Congress. I focused on today's children's creative explorations of —and contributions to— literacies beyond print. Marc Prensky was my discussant.


Photo of kids using POGO appears in IDC07 paper by Francoise Decortis and myself

Young people today born into a digital world are experiencing a far different environment of information-gathering and access to knowledge than a generation ago. Who are these "digital natives" and what are they thinking? How are they using the technology, and are IT experts adequately responding to them?

These questions will be addressed in a new Library of Congress series titled "Digital Natives." The four-lecture series will examine the generation that has been raised with the computer as a natural part of their lives, with emphasis on the young people currently in schools and colleges today. The series will seek to understand the practices and culture of these digital natives, the cultural implications of the phenomenon and the implications for education -- schools, universities and libraries.

This first lecture explores how young people think, learn and play. Speaker Edith Ackermann is interested in helping shape the future of play and learning in a digital world. "I study how people use place, relate to others and treat things to find their ways -- and voices -- in an ever-changing world," she said.

WEBCAST
RUNNING TIME: 119 minutes

Related posts