Living and Learning with New Media, K-12

http://digitallearning.macfound.org
Results from the most extensive U.S. study on teens and their use of digital media show that America's youth are developing important social and technical skills online - often in ways adults do not understand or value.

"It might surprise parents to learn that it is not a waste of time for their teens to hang out online," said Mizuko Ito, University of California, Irvine researcher and the report's lead author. "There are myths about kids spending time online - that it is dangerous or making them lazy. But we found that spending time online is essential for young people to pick up the social and technical skills they need to be competent citizens in the digital age."

The major findings of this newly released study include:

* Youth engage in peer-based, self-directed learning online.
* Most youth use online networks to extend the friendships that they navigate in the familiar contexts of school, religious organizations, sports, and other local activities.
* In both friendship-driven and interest-driven online activity, youth create and navigate new forms of expression and rules for social behavior.
* Adults should facilitate young people’s engagement with digital media.
* Given the diversity of digital media, it is problematic to develop a standardized set of benchmarks against which to measure young people’s technical and new media literacy.
* In interest-driven participation, adults have an important role to play.
* To stay relevant in the 21st century, education institutions need to keep pace with the rapid changes introduced by digital medi