Concerted Action: New Media Literacy Report Outlines Research & Policy Agenda

The Oxford Internet Institute’s Monica Bulger shares the findings from a new report on media literacy policy and research in Europe and explains that the increasing importance of media literacy in today’s world is an opportunity as well as an obstacle

Is using technology for learning a good idea?

Monica Bulger takes a critical look at a recent OECD report about the benefits and drawbacks of using computers and technology to aid children’s learning. She concludes that talking to children about what they like to learn and how is the best way forward to support them. Monica leads the Enabling Connected Learning initiative at the Data & Society Research Institute specialising in children’s rights in digital and learning spaces

A global research agenda for children's rights in the digital age

Taking the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) as a starting point for evidence-based policy regarding children’s rights in the digital age, we offer a global research agenda designed to produce evidence of value for policy makers working to promote children’s rights. Informed by research reviews and interviews with international stakeholders, four priorities for theory and evidence are identified: (i) the provision of opportunities that confer benefit, recognising that this may be defined diversely according to the cultural context, (ii) the protection of children from risk of harm, including understanding the relation between vulnerability and resilience, (iii) the balance between risk and opportunities, especially to allow for children’s participation even in risky opportunities, (iv) the framing of the research agenda (in terms of concepts, design, measures, and priorities) and the evaluation of policies and initiatives in collaboration with researchers and practitioners from the global South