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Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences
βThe greatest scientists are always artists as well.β ~Albert Einstein
The Center for 21st Century Skills @ EDUCATION CONNECTION is proud to announce the establishment of a new 21st century high school program focused on the emerging field of Digital Arts and Sciences. The primary mission of the Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences program will be to encourage, engage, facilitate, and support the development of artistic and creative skills in the use of digital media with a focus on applying those skills to the study of science and technology. The Academy will facilitate the cross-discipline application of academic knowledge, creativity, design, and innovation skills with the integration of the Internet and digital media into the study of cutting-edge topics in science and technology. All courses will feature problem-based learning and comprehensive projects as the primary instructional methodology for all students. The Digital Arts and Sciences program will be a dynamic and exemplary model for 21st-century-focused teaching and learning that will result in increasing the number of students interested in pursuing careers in emerging fields of study such as BioInformatics, Biotechnology, Digital Design, Digital Media, Nanotechnology, Science Visualization, Virtual Environments, and more. Download the Academy Program Guide or contact the program director by e-mail: mino at educationconnection.org
Digital Media Festival Invites International Collaboration
Michael Mino, Director of The Center for 21st Century Skills @ EDUCATION CONNECTION, and Dan Cogan-Drew, Assistant Director, traveled to Finland at the invitation of Tapio Varis, professor at the University of Tampere, University of Helsinki, and UNESCO Chair of Global E-Learning, to present at the 2008 International Workshop on Ubiquitous ICT (Information and Communications Technologies) for Sustainable Education and Cultural Literacy. In September, Prof. Varis was C21’s keynote speaker at the CCC Leadership Symposium on International Competitiveness.
Michael and Dan’s presentation invited collaboration on a proposal to the MacArthur Foundation’s Digital Media Literacy grant program. The focus of the proposal is the use of C21’s “island” in Teen Second Life as the location for an international Digital Media Festival. Working in small teams, students from around the world will compose digital media expressions in response to a topic such as beauty, truth, or global warming. Teams will have virtual booths in the main presentation space on the island, complemented by a large digital display where their films will be screened. Students from other teams will be able to tour the exhibits and view the presentations. The proposal seeks to utilize 21st century technologies to further common understanding across international communities. The presentation was well received and generated offers of collaboration from half a dozen nations.