Digital Media - GoodPlay Project

Do today's young people think differently? Does their ubiquitous use of digital media to work,
create, socialize, and play profoundly shape the way they develop? And if so, how? These
are some of the questions guiding the research of the Developing Minds and Digital Media
(DM2) project. Working closely with our fellow colleagues in the GoodWork project, we are
investigating the intersection of child development and new digital media (NDM) as they
relate to how children and young adults think and relate to others. The project synthesizes
the leading theories of cognitive development (Piaget, Vygotsky, Bruner, Erikson), education
and media studies (Turkle, Papert, Jenkins), and empirical findings about young people’s
digital media engagement.

To better understand changes in young people over time related to digital media, DM2
researchers administered in-depth qualitative interviews and complementary surveys with forty
outstanding and experienced educators in the greater Boston area. The project is currently
synthesizing and analyzing the data from these interviews, and expects to release its first
publication by fall 2009.

Howard Gardner. "Do Video Games Significantly Enhance Literacy?" Congressional
Quarterly Researcher, November 10, 2006.

Learning: Peering Backward and Looking Forward in the Digital Era. Margaret Weigel,
Carrie James and Howard Gardner. International Journal of Learning and Media, March 2009.
Free download or Order Hardcopy ($3.00)

The Best of Both Literacies. Margaret Weigel and Howard Gardner. Educational Leadership,
March 2009. Download from publisher's site ($3.00)

51. Developing Minds with Digital Media: Habits of Mind in the YouTube Era.
(November 2007), Margaret Weigel and Katie Heikkinen.

60. Social Development in the Era of New Digital Media (Winter 2009) Katie Davis,
Margaret Weigel, Carrie James, and Howard Gardner

61. New Digital Media, Social Institutions and the Changing Roles of Youth
(Winter 2009) Margaret Weigel, Katie Davis, Carrie James, Howard Gardner

The Developing Minds and Digital Media Project is funded by Judy Dimon.