The current generation of children and adolescents has yet to know a time when digital networks a... more The current generation of children and adolescents has yet to know a time when digital networks and social media were unavailable. However, it remains unclear how youth develop the skills necessary to critically evaluate the content they find via these media forms. These skills are thought to underlie what has been referred to as media literacy. To date, there is limited consensus on how best to define, measure, or teach media literacy skills, particularly in the US where media literacy instruction remains noticeably absent within most state curricula. Here, we constructed and validated a 14-item media literacy scale for adolescents, a demographic shown to be extensive digital media users. We used the scale to 1) assess adolescents' grasp of media literacy as defined in extant research, and 2) explore relationships between media literacy and social media use, media multitasking, and academic achievement. Findings from 78 adolescents (mean age 13 years; range 11-15) indicated that the internal consistency for the 14-item scale approached an acceptable range (Cronbach's α = .68). Media literacy scores correlated positively with self-reported grades and negatively with self-reported social media use and media multitasking. Thus, experience with social media use, in particular, may not promote media literacy skills. Further, youth may need targeted media literacy skill instruction to reduce their vulnerability to misinformation via digital media and enhance their critical evaluation of content found through these sources.
New Directions for Child and Adolescent Development, Mar 1, 2013
Current empirical findings show linkages between recreational video game play and enhanced cognit... more Current empirical findings show linkages between recreational video game play and enhanced cognitive skills, primarily among young adults. However, consideration of this linkage among children and adolescents is sparse. Thus, discussions about facilitating transfer of cognitive skills from video game play to academic tasks among children and adolescents remains largely uninformed by research. To inform this discussion, we review available research concerning the cognitive benefits of video game play among children and adolescents and their impressions of video games as learning tools as these impressions may impact their application of cognitive skills used during game play to academic tasks.
Page 166. 8 Asynchronous Learning in Graduate School Classes Fran C. Blumberg Meira Torenberg Lor... more Page 166. 8 Asynchronous Learning in Graduate School Classes Fran C. Blumberg Meira Torenberg Lori M. Sokol Fordham University The use of computer-mediated communication (CMC) to facilitate learning has spawned ...
Contents: M. Rabinowitz, Introduction: The Design of Instruction and Evaluation: Psychological Fo... more Contents: M. Rabinowitz, Introduction: The Design of Instruction and Evaluation: Psychological Foundations. Part I: Affordances of Media. S.M. Fisch, Characteristics of Effective Materials for Informal Education: A Cross-Media Comparison of Television, Magazines, and Interactive Media. S.L. Calvert, Media Forms for Children's Learning. R.E. Mayer, Designing Multimedia Technology That Supports Human Learning. Part II: Affordances of Technology. M. Gauvain, S. Borthwick-Duffy, Opportunities for Learning and Development in an After-School Computer Club. Y.B. Kafai, C.C. Ching, S. Marshall, Learning Affordances of Collaborative Software Design. R.E. Bennett, How the Internet Will Help Large-Scale Assessment Reinvent Itself. J.D. Fletcher, Technology, the Columbus Effect, and the Third Revolution in Learning. Part III: Affordances of Software. F.C. Blumberg, M. Torenberg, L.M. Sokol, Asynchronous Learning in Graduate School Classes. R.E. DiPaolo, A.C. Graesser, D.J. Hacker, H.A. White, the Tutoring Research Group, Hints in Human and Computer Tutoring. H.T. Everson, Intelligent Tutors Need Intelligent Measurement, or the Other Way 'Round.
This study assessed 96 law school students' preferences for online, hybrid, or traditional l... more This study assessed 96 law school students' preferences for online, hybrid, or traditional learning environments, and their reasons for these preferences, learning strategies, and motivational orientations. A discriminant analysis revealed that non-traditional learning environment familiarity, self-efficacy, and employment status were the strongest predictors of preferences for non-traditional learning environments. Preferences for traditional environments were attributed to students' familiarity and ability to engage in ...
International Journal of Child-Computer Interaction, Dec 1, 2021
Abstract Middle childhood remains a privileged albeit understudied developmental period in studie... more Abstract Middle childhood remains a privileged albeit understudied developmental period in studies examining child-computer interactions, particularly as it pertains to digital game play. Middle childhood also is marked by increasing digital game play, arguably the most common form of child-computer interactions during this developmental period. For example, children between the ages of 6 and 8 play digital games 60-90 min per day and 47% of 3rd to 8th grade teachers reported using digital games in their classrooms several times a week (Vega & Robb, 2019). Surprisingly, how content learning and cognition may be facilitated through digital gaming remains sparsely investigated among children during this period. In the studies that do examine the linkages between game play and content learning or cognition, research methodologies vary markedly. The goal of this narrative review is to help bring greater cohesion to the research literature, which often spans many disciplines. This review emphasizes the games, measurement of outcomes, and research designs that have been used to examine content learning and cognitive skills among children ages 6 to 12 in the context of digital games.
The current generation of children and adolescents has yet to know a time when digital networks a... more The current generation of children and adolescents has yet to know a time when digital networks and social media were unavailable. However, it remains unclear how youth develop the skills necessary to critically evaluate the content they find via these media forms. These skills are thought to underlie what has been referred to as media literacy. To date, there is limited consensus on how best to define, measure, or teach media literacy skills, particularly in the US where media literacy instruction remains noticeably absent within most state curricula. Here, we constructed and validated a 14-item media literacy scale for adolescents, a demographic shown to be extensive digital media users. We used the scale to 1) assess adolescents' grasp of media literacy as defined in extant research, and 2) explore relationships between media literacy and social media use, media multitasking, and academic achievement. Findings from 78 adolescents (mean age 13 years; range 11-15) indicated that the internal consistency for the 14-item scale approached an acceptable range (Cronbach's α = .68). Media literacy scores correlated positively with self-reported grades and negatively with self-reported social media use and media multitasking. Thus, experience with social media use, in particular, may not promote media literacy skills. Further, youth may need targeted media literacy skill instruction to reduce their vulnerability to misinformation via digital media and enhance their critical evaluation of content found through these sources.
New Directions for Child and Adolescent Development, Mar 1, 2013
Current empirical findings show linkages between recreational video game play and enhanced cognit... more Current empirical findings show linkages between recreational video game play and enhanced cognitive skills, primarily among young adults. However, consideration of this linkage among children and adolescents is sparse. Thus, discussions about facilitating transfer of cognitive skills from video game play to academic tasks among children and adolescents remains largely uninformed by research. To inform this discussion, we review available research concerning the cognitive benefits of video game play among children and adolescents and their impressions of video games as learning tools as these impressions may impact their application of cognitive skills used during game play to academic tasks.
Page 166. 8 Asynchronous Learning in Graduate School Classes Fran C. Blumberg Meira Torenberg Lor... more Page 166. 8 Asynchronous Learning in Graduate School Classes Fran C. Blumberg Meira Torenberg Lori M. Sokol Fordham University The use of computer-mediated communication (CMC) to facilitate learning has spawned ...
Contents: M. Rabinowitz, Introduction: The Design of Instruction and Evaluation: Psychological Fo... more Contents: M. Rabinowitz, Introduction: The Design of Instruction and Evaluation: Psychological Foundations. Part I: Affordances of Media. S.M. Fisch, Characteristics of Effective Materials for Informal Education: A Cross-Media Comparison of Television, Magazines, and Interactive Media. S.L. Calvert, Media Forms for Children's Learning. R.E. Mayer, Designing Multimedia Technology That Supports Human Learning. Part II: Affordances of Technology. M. Gauvain, S. Borthwick-Duffy, Opportunities for Learning and Development in an After-School Computer Club. Y.B. Kafai, C.C. Ching, S. Marshall, Learning Affordances of Collaborative Software Design. R.E. Bennett, How the Internet Will Help Large-Scale Assessment Reinvent Itself. J.D. Fletcher, Technology, the Columbus Effect, and the Third Revolution in Learning. Part III: Affordances of Software. F.C. Blumberg, M. Torenberg, L.M. Sokol, Asynchronous Learning in Graduate School Classes. R.E. DiPaolo, A.C. Graesser, D.J. Hacker, H.A. White, the Tutoring Research Group, Hints in Human and Computer Tutoring. H.T. Everson, Intelligent Tutors Need Intelligent Measurement, or the Other Way 'Round.
This study assessed 96 law school students' preferences for online, hybrid, or traditional l... more This study assessed 96 law school students' preferences for online, hybrid, or traditional learning environments, and their reasons for these preferences, learning strategies, and motivational orientations. A discriminant analysis revealed that non-traditional learning environment familiarity, self-efficacy, and employment status were the strongest predictors of preferences for non-traditional learning environments. Preferences for traditional environments were attributed to students' familiarity and ability to engage in ...
International Journal of Child-Computer Interaction, Dec 1, 2021
Abstract Middle childhood remains a privileged albeit understudied developmental period in studie... more Abstract Middle childhood remains a privileged albeit understudied developmental period in studies examining child-computer interactions, particularly as it pertains to digital game play. Middle childhood also is marked by increasing digital game play, arguably the most common form of child-computer interactions during this developmental period. For example, children between the ages of 6 and 8 play digital games 60-90 min per day and 47% of 3rd to 8th grade teachers reported using digital games in their classrooms several times a week (Vega & Robb, 2019). Surprisingly, how content learning and cognition may be facilitated through digital gaming remains sparsely investigated among children during this period. In the studies that do examine the linkages between game play and content learning or cognition, research methodologies vary markedly. The goal of this narrative review is to help bring greater cohesion to the research literature, which often spans many disciplines. This review emphasizes the games, measurement of outcomes, and research designs that have been used to examine content learning and cognitive skills among children ages 6 to 12 in the context of digital games.
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