Coming May 2 at www.pbs.org/learningnow
Arlington, VA - May 2, 2006- PBS today unveils a new blog called learning.now, which will address how new technology and Internet culture are significantly affecting the ways educators teach and children learn. Learning.now launches at www.pbs.org/learningnow.
Hosted by prominent educational technology thinker and writer Andy Carvin, learning.now will offer a continuing look at how the forces of new technology, such as wikis, blogs, RSS, podcasts, social networking sites, and the always-on culture of the Internet are impacting teachers' and students' lives both inside and outside of school.
The blog will be aimed at K-12 educators, and will help guide them through the sometimes strange world of new communications devices, Web sites, and cultural shifts brought about by technology. As with other pbs.org blogs, learning.now will offer ongoing opportunities for active public participation and feedback. Local PBS stations will also be invited to make learning.now content available on their local Web sites.
"The Internet is an exercise in life-long learning at lightning speed, with new tools and techniques appearing almost on a daily basis; through learning.now, we'll explore these things together," said Carvin. "I want to give educators a better understanding of the landscape, and showcase for them some of the teachers and students at the forefront of education and technology."
Carvin and his work have been featured in many media outlets, including the New York Times, CNN, BBC Radio, Harvard Educational Review, Education Week, Washington Post, Rolling Stone and Wired. In 2005, Technology Review magazine named him one of the 35 leading high-tech innovators under the age of 35. Carvin is the founding editor of the Digital Divide Network, an online community of more than 9,000 Internet activists working to bridge the digital divide. He is the author of the pioneering online education resource EdWeb, launched in 1994. He is also the founder and moderator of WWWEDU, the Internet's oldest forum on the Web in education, and the DIGITALDIVIDE email list. Carvin lives in suburban Boston, Massachusetts.
Mary Kadera, managing director, PBS K-12 Education, added, "PBS has always advocated for the thoughtful, innovative infusion of media and technology in K-12 education. We want to provide the tools and resources that help students deeply engage with the curriculum and that help teachers be successful. Learning.now expands PBS's current offerings in K-12 education, and will provide a provocative and exciting stimulus for cutting-edge teaching and learning."
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PBS is a private, nonprofit media enterprise that serves the nation's 348 public noncommercial television stations, reaching nearly 90 million people each week through on-air and online content. Bringing diverse viewpoints to television and the Internet, PBS provides high-quality documentary and dramatic entertainment, and consistently dominates the most prestigious award competitions. PBS is the leading provider of educational materials for K-12 teachers, and offers a broad array of other educational services. PBS' premier kids' TV programming and Web site, PBS KIDS Online (pbskids.org), continue to be parents' and teachers' most trusted learning environments for children. More information about PBS is available at pbs.org, one of the leading dot-org Web sites on the Internet.
CONTACT:
Kevin Dando, PBS, 703/739-5073; kdando@pbs.org
Drew Saunders, PBS, 703/739-5165; dbsaunders@pbs.org