Come one, come all

Ladies, gentlemen, and children of all ages, we would like to invite you to attend a session at the AAG in Washington, DC next Friday (April 16) at 8AM (if you are attending the conference of course). The panel session is entitled Digital Media and Learning in Geography (abstract below) and it will take place in Marriott Ballroom Salon 3, Marriott Lobby Level. The panel participants will be Jeff Dunn, Frank Lafone, Sue Bergeron, Jesse Rouse, and you (I mean a panel is just a reason to talk to other people about a topic we are interested after all). We will spend the first 20-25 minutes of the panel giving you a glimpse at some of the aspects of general DML conversations and how Geography can take advantage of everything from New Media to social networks, 3D games to our very own LBS, followed by a general discussion amongst those interested in sharing their questions and experiences.

We hope to see you there!

Digital Media and Learning in Geography
The concept of digital media and learning (DML) emerged in the last few years to try to characterize the broad range of digital resources that are being used in formal and informal education. From video games to online social media, the use of digital media is no longer a question of digital divide, but one of how do I keep up. As educators interact with their audience of ‘digital natives’ the preparation that equipped them for brick and mortar settings often leaves them ill prepared for the expectations of many of their tech-savvy students. The question of how to incorporate the digital technologies that our students are now expecting into their education leaves many an educator shell-shocked. Fortunately, in Geography and related disciplines, we can approach the issue with a full arsenal of digital technologies from GIS to GPS to web maps and virtual globes. We even have ready access to presentation technologies through New Media technologies such as blogs, podcasts, YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter. However, there seems to be some question as to how to incorporate these technologies, whether spatial or presentation, outside of the traditional classroom and lab experience to provide broader access to formal education, let alone the potential for external informal audience. This panel will focus on the wealth of DML technologies geographers have access to and how they can be used to educate a new generation of learners, whether in or out of the classroom.