The Movement for Digital Wellness

For decades, the conversation around youth and technology has been dominated by powerful voices—media, researchers, and word-of-mouth warnings—painting a picture of digital tools as the looming threat to young people’s well-being. But what if that narrative isn’t the whole story? What if, instead, we favored the spectrum of possibilities in the digital present and future, instead of a good or evil binary. It would take a a vibrant counter-movement, led by passionate advocates and young people themselves, determined to reclaim the digital world for good. And good news, there is one.This episode was recorded live at Sesame Workshop, bringing together a true who's who of leaders and do-ers in the world of “Digital Wellness for Young People.” At the heart of our conversation is Young Futures—a startup initiative funding projects through the crucial lens of digital wellness. Young Futures is empowering the next generation to create, innovate, and advocate for a healthier digital landscape, supporting ideas that prioritize well-being over profit.Joining us are visionaries from the Scratch Foundation, the organization behind the world’s largest free creative coding platform for kids, empowering millions to express themselves and solve problems through technology. We’re also honored to welcome leaders from the Joan Ganz Cooney Center, a research and innovation lab that advances learning in a digital age, inspired by the pioneering spirit of Sesame Street.Links:https://www.youngfutures.org/https://joanganzcooneycenter.org/initiative/ritec/https://www.scratchfoundation.org/https://joanganzcooneycenter.org/initiative/well-being-by-design-fellowship/https://www.gamesforchange.org/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Om Podcasten

The show is about learning with technology, the realities and exciting potential.Enjoying the show? Please take a moment to rate us, and leave a review wherever you've accessed the podcast. Find our listener survey at facebook.com/nosuchthingpodcast drop a like on the page while you're there.The music in this podcast was produced by Leroy Tindy, a guest in episode zero. You can find him on SoundCloud at AirTindi Beats.The podcast is produced by Marc Lesser. Marc is a specialist in the fields of digital learning and youth development with broad experience designing programming and learning environments in local and national contexts. Marc recently served as Youth Studies Practitioner Fellow at City University of New York, and leads a team of researchers and technologists for NAF (National Academy Foundation).Marc is the co-founder of Emoti-Con NYC, New York's biggest youth digital media and technology festival, and in 2012 was named a National School Boards Association “20-to-Watch” among national leaders in education and technology. Connect with Marc on BlueSky @malesser, or LinkedIn.What's with the ice cream truck in the logo? In the 80's, Richard E. Clark at University of Southern California set off a pretty epic debate based on his statement that "media are mere vehicles that deliver instruction but do not influence student achievement any more than the truck that delivers our groceries causes changes in nutrition." * So, the ice cream truck, it's a nod to Richard Clark, who frequently rings in my ear when I'm tempted to take things at face value. "Is it the method, or the medium?" I wonder.The title, No Such Thing, has a few meanings. Mostly, it emphasizes the importance of hard questions as we develop and document the narrative of "education" in the US. For Richard E. Clark, the question is whether there's such a thing as learning from new technologies. For others, it might be whether there's a panacea for the challenges we face in this field. Whatever your question, I hope that it reminds you to keep asking--yourself, your learners, others--what's working and how so.* Clark, R. E. (1983) Reconsidering Research on Learning From Media. Review of Educational Research 53(4) 445-459. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.