Purpose
Grantmaking in education seeks to explore what may be one of the most significant forces shaping student learning and educational experiences in and out of school in the 21st century: rapidly evolving new technologies.  Through research, demonstrations, and innovations, the Foundation places specific emphasis on understanding the effects of this force on individual students’ experiences and opportunities for learning and the environments and institutions that influence that learning. 

Strategies
The Foundation supports grantmaking in Digital Media, Learning and Education.  This area of inquiry is exploring the hypothesis that digital media tools now enable new forms of knowledge production, social networking, communication, and play.  The hypothesis asserts that through the use of such tools, young people are engaged in an exploration of language, games, social interaction, and self-directed education that can be used to support learning.  They are different as a result of this use of digital media, and these differences are reflected in their sense of self, in how they express their independence and creativity, and in their ability to learn, exercise judgment, and think systemically.

Grantmaking acknowledges the emerging vernacular of young people who are “growing up digital” and embraces the writing, thinking, and design tools of the digital age.  It is seeking to answer questions such as: Are young people fundamentally different because of their exposure to technology?  What environments and experiences capture their interest and contribute to their learning?  What are the implications for education?  It includes ethnography, the development of media literacy, and the connection between games and learning.

Grantmaking in Chicago is focused on improving schools in neighborhoods where the Foundation also is supporting community and economic development efforts through the New Communities Program (see Community Change for details), and, over time, on research and demonstrations that bring together the other two strands of work by exploring the effects of digital media on student learning in a real-world environment.

Funding
The Foundation does not accept unsolicited proposals for its work in education at this time.

Questions about this grantmaking area can be e-mailed to education at the MacArthur Foundation.