Nichole Pinkard

Nichole Pinkard

Dr. Nichole Pinkard is a leader in the evolution of digital media and how people are learning with digital media. Dr. Pinkard is the Founder of the Digital Youth Network and an Associate Professor at DePaul University in the College of Computing and Digital Media. She is involved with many other organizations relating to digital learning and has been recognized for her efforts by various awards and honors.

Contents

Education

Dr. Pinkard holds a B.S. in Computer Science from Stanford University, an M.S. in Computer Science from Northwestern University, and a Ph.D. in Learning Sciences from Northwestern University.[1]

Stanford has recognized Pinkard in multiple articles, primarily citing the organization she founded, the Digital Youth Network.[2] While at Northwestern, Pinkard’s dissertation was titled “Leveraging Background Knowledge: Using Popular Music to Build Beginning Readers' Reading Skills.”[3]


Career

The philosophy of her career focuses on developing a citizenry that is able to critically consume and produce alternative media. This is reinforced by the apparent trends of technology’s evolution including: reduced cost and size of technology, the increasing ubiquity of internet connectivity, and the shrinking of the world through globalization. .[4]

Pinkard is an Associate Professor at DePaul University in the College of Computing and Digital Media. Pinkard teaches a variety of courses involving technology and learning including: “Digital Media Literacies,” “Introduction to Human-Computer Interaction,” and “Interactive Media.”[5] Pinkard’s research is focused on the design and use of pedagogical-based social networks, new media literacy learning outcomes, ecological models of learning and developing pathways for urban youth to develop fluidity as creators and consumers of new media literacies.[6] Pinkard is also the founder of Digital Youth Network, "a hybrid digital literacy program that focuses on supporting youth in developing 21st century media literacy skills."[7]

Digital Youth Network

Digital Youth Network (DYN) began at the Urban Education Institute at the University of Chicago[8]. It was founded by Nichole Pinkard, and is a collaborative effort to mentor students in the realm of digital media and technology. [9]

Adult professionals in the field help students to develop digital media skills, and learn the tools that are prevalent in the evolution of multi media. The ultimate goal of the project is to provide youth with excellent learning opportunities that will help them succeed in urban America. [10]

DYN Model

The DYN model begins with sixth to eighth grade education, and focuses on mandatory in-school media arts classes and optional after-school programs. This educational model is meant to expose youth to multi-media outlets and forms of expression.

The DYN high school program then helps students to develop independent strengths. There are opportunities for students such as internships and mentor programs with middle-school students. [11]

DYN Schools and Partnerships

DYN has worked with variety of schools in Chicago including[12]:

  • University of Chicago Charter School, Carter G. Woodson Campus
  • University of Chicago Charter School, Woodlawn Campus
  • Betty Shabazz International Charter School, Dusable Campus
  • Kenwood Academy Magnet High School
  • Urban Prep High School

In 2010 they partnered with LISC/Chicago and the Smart Communities Program to develop a program called Broadband Technology Opportunity Program (B-TOP), which will expand DYN into new communities including Auburn-Gresham, Chicago Lawn, Englewood, Pilsen, and Humboldt Park. [13]

DYN is also partnered with organizations including the Chicago Public Library, The Common Ground Foundation, Quest Atlantis, Vocalo.org, International Feature Project, Youth Speaks: Brave New Voices Festival, Institute of Play, Carnegie Mellon’s Entertainment Technology Center, and The Marcus Graham Project. [14]

Professional Development (PD)

As a part of the DYN project, the professional artists who become the new media educators are required to go through training called professional development (PD).

In order to understand how to select and support the new media educators, also called “mentors,” Nichole Pinkard launched a research project called “Qualities of an Effective Digital Media Mentor,” which studies the effectiveness of teaching methods. [15]

Watch the videos of the DYN Professional Development.

Team Members

Team members include Director Tene Gray; Director of Digital Strategy and Development, Akili Lee; YouMedia Coordinator and Mentor, Mike Hawkins; Mentor, Raphael Nash; and Media Arts Coordinator & Mentor, Asia Roberson. [16]

Funders

The grants that DYN has received include a grant from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, which provided a five-year, $50 million Digital Media and Learning Initiative, and a two-and-a-half year funding commitment from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.[17]

Press/Criticism of DYN

Read, “Kids Create—and Critique on—Social Networks,” by Laila Weir, on www.edutopia.org.

Read, “Pinkard: Videogames Inspire a Different Design for Classroom Learning,” on the Spotlight on Digital Media and Learning website.

Read “A Conversation with Nichole Pinkard,” by Lisa Guernsey, featured in Parents’ Choice: Children’s Media & Toy Reviews.

Watch and read “Expert Interview: Nichole Pinkard and Akili Lee, Digital Youth Network,” on the Common Classroom website.


Additional Projects

YOUmedia

Dr. Pinkard is a co-founder of YOUmedia, a public learning space for teens that immerses students in a context of traditional media to produce new media artifacts like games, videos, and virtual worlds. [18]

It is a partnership between the Chicago Public Library and the MacArthur Foundation. Teens engaging with YOUmedia can access thousands of books and a variety of media creation tools, all of which allow them to build their digital media skills in projects to create media artifacts (songs, videos, photography, blogs), that promote critical thinking and creativity. [19]

RemixWorld

In April 2010, Pinkard co-founded RemixWorld along with Robert Chang. It is a privately held company emerging from work developed at the Digital Youth Network and supported by the MacArthur Foundation’s Digital Media and Learning Initiative. RemixWorld provides an easy-to-use, customizable cloud-based social learning network for primary and secondary education, which can be quickly and affordably implemented in schools and after-school based programs. It seeks to safely and securely connect children and adolescents with curriculum, extended learning and mentorship opportunities. Nichole Pinkard is the Charman and Chief Scientist of Remix World.[20]

Cooney Center

Dr. Pinkard has also worked with the Joan Ganz Cooney Center, an independent research and innovation lab that catalyzes and supports research, development, and investment in digital media technologies to advance children’s learning. The center also works to focus national attention on evolving “new literacies” that children need to compete and cooperate in the 21st century. Major initiatives focus on inter-cultural understanding, media literacy, and advancing STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) learning, which have become critical in an interconnected world.[21]


Awards, Honors, and Accomplishments

  • Director of Innovation for the University of Chicago's Urban Education Institute (UEI)[22]
  • Senior Research Associate, Chief Technology Officer and Director of the Information Infrastructure System (IIS) project at the Center for Urban School Improvement (USI) at the University of Chicago[22]
  • She holds a doctorate in Learning Sciences from Northwestern University[22]
  • Recipient of the 2010 Common Sense Media Award for Outstanding Commitment to Creativity and Youth[23]
  • Recipient of the Jan Hawkins Award for Early Career Contributions to Humanistic Research and Scholarship in Learning Technologies[23]
  • NSF Early CAREER Fellowship[23]
  • Advisory Board member of the Joan Ganz Cooney Center[23]
  • National Advisory Committee member for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Health Games Research program[23]

References

  1. ^ "Joan Ganz Cooney Center Advisory Board". http://joanganzcooneycenter.org/National-Advisory-Board-70.html. 
  2. ^ "Researchers study how technology shapes the ways in which students learn". http://news.stanford.edu/news/2006/november15/barron-111506.html. 
  3. ^ "Nichole Pinkard Profile". http://www.sesp.northwestern.edu/profile/?p=1049&/NicholePinkard/. 
  4. ^ http://spotlight.macfound.org/blog/entry/nichole-pinkard-youth-multiliterate-learners
  5. ^ "DePaul University Faculty Information". http://www.cdm.depaul.edu/people/Pages/facultyinfo.aspx?fid=973. 
  6. ^ http://www.achievementseminars.com/seminar_series_2009_2010/nichole.htm
  7. ^ "Joan Ganz Cooney Center Advisory Board". http://joanganzcooneycenter.org/National-Advisory-Board-70.html. 
  8. ^ "Our History". http://digitalyouthnetwork.org/1-about/pages/2-our-history. Retrieved 09/26/2011. 
  9. ^ "Team". http://digitalyouthnetwork.org/team_members/2-nichole-pinkard. Retrieved 09/26/2011. 
  10. ^ "Our History". http://digitalyouthnetwork.org/1-about/pages/2-our-history. Retrieved 09/27/2011. 
  11. ^ "Overview". http://digitalyouthnetwork.org/1-about/pages/1-overview. Retrieved 09/26/2011. 
  12. ^ "Partners". http://digitalyouthnetwork.org/1-about/pages/4-partners. Retrieved 09/26/2011. 
  13. ^ "Our History". http://digitalyouthnetwork.org/1-about/pages/2-our-history. Retrieved 09/26/2011. 
  14. ^ "Partners". http://digitalyouthnetwork.org/1-about/pages/4-partners. Retrieved 09/26/2011. 
  15. ^ "Qualities of an Effective Digital Media Mentor". http://workingexamples.org/frontend/project/55. Retrieved 09/27/2011. 
  16. ^ "Team". http://digitalyouthnetwork.org/team_members. Retrieved 09/27/2011. 
  17. ^ "Funders". http://digitalyouthnetwork.org/1-about/pages/3-funders. Retrieved 09/27/2011. 
  18. ^ http://digitalyouthnetwork.org/team_members/2-nichole-pinkard
  19. ^ http://youmediachicago.org/2-about-us/pages/2-about-us
  20. ^ http://remixlearning.com/about/
  21. ^ http://joanganzcooneycenter.org/About-the-Center.html
  22. ^ a b c http://www.achievementseminars.com/seminar_series_2009_2010/nichole.htm
  23. ^ a b c d e http://digitalyouthnetwork.org/team_members/2-nichole-pinkard

External links


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