MILLENNIALS TO EXPLORE THE NEW DIGITAL CURRICULUM AT MEDIA INNOVATIONS SUMMIT YOUTH SYMPOSIUM

Students, Educators and New Media Experts to Share Visions of Technology’s Evolving Role in Education at Window on Tomorrow Youth Symposium in Santa Clara on December 1 

Santa Clara, Calif. – November 2, 2011 — Media Innovations Summit (MIS), the premier new media strategies conference, will address the ongoing debate over the impact of technology on young people in education and culture during its Window on Tomorrow Youth Symposium taking place December 1 from 4-7 p.m. at the Santa Clara Convention Center. Students and experts will provide fresh perspectives on new techniques and technologies advancing education in a unique forum targeted to Bay Area educators and parents.

The Window on Tomorrow Youth Symposium, closing out the second day of the Media Innovations Summit, will introduce research on multiple facets of how technology is impacting youth culture and new approaches to enhancing education. At the same time, experts will engage students from Bay Area middle schools, high schools and colleges in discussions that provide real-life context for the raw data of research findings.

“While experts and executives routinely cite trends in social networking, entertainment consumption and learning to characterize the so-called millennial generation, we never get to hear from the kids themselves,” said Fred Dawson, editor and CEO of ScreenPlays Magazine, producer of the Media Innovations Summit. “We’re taking a different approach by providing a forum that emphasizes young people’s input on the issues everybody is talking about.”

One of the major themes to be explored at the symposium is the introduction of “blended learning” techniques into school curriculums, where online instruction becomes an integral part of the classroom experience. As a leading proponent of blended learning, Lisa Gillis, president of Integrated Educational Strategies and co-author of “Virtual Schooling:  A Guide to Optimizing Your Child’s Education” (Macmillan, 2009), will discuss the results seen so far at schools that have implemented the strategy, including Rocketship charter schools like San Jose’s Mateo Sheedy Elementary.

Eric Simons, CEO of ClassConnect, will demonstrate a new tool which he conceived as a high school student to enable teachers to easily assemble online and offline lesson materials into second-screen A/V applications that complement classroom lectures and students can readily access via tablets and laptops. Dan Coates, president of Youth Pulse, Inc., and Kathleen Gasperini, founding partner and senior vice president of Label Networks, are among the other speakers on hand to share information gleaned from years of research and direct engagement with young people.

Media Innovations Summit, a three-day conference devoted to emerging developments in new media and communications, is making the Youth Symposium available as a standalone event at a low admission price to educators, parents and others who have a special interest in how new technology is affecting the lives of young people.

More information about the symposium and registration can be found at http://www.mediainnovationssummit.com/youth.html.

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For more information, please contact:

Lara Levin
Bob Gold & Associates
310-784-1040
[email protected]

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