The emergence digital technology as a nearly ubiquitous element of American society has brought about new opportunities to enhance citizen engagement in democratic politics and to increase the level of civic engagement among American citizens.  The Ackerman Colloquium on Technology and Citizenship Education—hosted by the James F. Ackerman Center for Democratic Citizenship at Purdue University--was conceived as an effort to bring scholars in social studies, citizenship education, and educational technology together to explore issues related to the impact of digital technology on citizenship education. The first two Colloquia were held in 2006 & 2007.

The Colloquium provides a unique opportunity for participants to interact with a relatively small circle of scholars and researchers working in the area of technology integration in social studies education in order to discuss common interests and take stock of the current state of this field of study. Each participant is invited to deliver a publication-quality paper or research report at the Colloquium, and the best of these papers are then published.  The Colloquium has produced an edited book--The Electronic Republic?: The Impact of Technology on Education for Citizenship (Purdue University Press, 2008)--and two special issues (2008, Vol. 8; issues 2 and 3) of the on-line journal Contemporary Issues in Technology and Teacher Education.

In addition to the research paper sessions, participants have also toured the Envision Center, Purdue University’s award-winning data imaging center and heard from two nationally-know keynote speakers. The first, Michael Cornfield (George Washington University) studies campaign politics, the public discourse, and the Internet, has worked on the staff at the PEW Internet & American Life Project, and is the author of Politics Moves Online: Campaigning and the Internet (The Century Foundation, 2004).  The second, Edward Castronova, explores the economics of massively multiplayer online role play games (MMORPGs) as well as MMORPGs potential for education. Castronova's book Synthetic Worlds: The Business and Culture of Online Games (University of Chicago Press, 2004) is widely considered a seminal piece in this literature.

2009 Ackerman Colloquium

Education for Web 2.0-based cybercitizenship is a natural extension of the citizenship education role the social studies have always played in the school curricula.  Lessons in cybercitizenship, for example, might address the problematic aspects of the creation and distribution of new media (e.g., YouTube, viral videos, etc.) and enhance critical skills for managing these challenges.  These lessons might also mean, however, extending the same sorts of skills needed by effective citizens in civic society to the digital ‘civic space’ provided by such new media.

The third Ackerman Colloquium on Technology and Citizenship is entitled Citizenship Education 2.0: New Media in a Networked World. The goal of this Colloquium is to engage participants in discussions related, but not limited to: (1) the potential role of new media/Web 2.0 technology in the development of knowledge and skills required by citizens in an increasingly digital and global world, (2) the knowledge/research base on new media in K-12 social studies classrooms; (3) defining a research agenda on new media in K-12 social studies; and (4) demonstration of the application and use of new media technologies in the K-12 social studies classrooms.

The colloquium is sponsored by the James F. Ackerman Center for Democratic Citizenship.

We look forward to an exciting and productive meeting!!

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