Educating for Democracy in the Digital Age

October 20, 2016
By Educator Innovator

The Educating for Democracy in the Digital Age Initiative’s new video series documents best practices and new strategies in civic education.

Are you concerned about the health of our democracy? Do you feel like schools aren’t doing enough to prepare young people to fully leverage the potential of digital tools toward civic ends or to avoid the pitfalls of the digital age? Do you wonder how to prepare young people to address the great challenges of our age from climate change to racism?

The Educating for Democracy in the Digital Age (EDDA) Initiative in Oakland, California includes more than 100 teachers who are grappling with how to productively engage their students in today’s civic and political world. EDDA is a partnership between Oakland Unified School District (OUSD), Mills College, and the National Writing Project (NWP). EDDA aims to expand the opportunity structure in OUSD high schools and to develop students’ commitments and capacities for meaningful civic action in the 21st century.

EDDA recently launched a series of videos with the Teaching Channel that captures how teachers in the Initiative are leveraging web 2.0 tools and best practices in civic education to provide students with civic learning opportunities that will prepare and motivate them to work for positive change in their communities. Two EDDA teachers–Matt Colley and Chela Delgado–invited us into their classrooms to capture this work in action and share it with others. Both teachers worked with students, as part of a broader unit on deeply analyzing a civic and political issue, identifying ways to take action in response to an issue, and reflecting on how their action steps may have an impact on the community and others.

Check out the videos and at the following links:

By Erica Hodgin & Young Whan Choi