New Media and Learning in the 21st Century

This volume brings together conceptualizations and empirical studies that explore the socio-cultural dimension of new media and its implications on learning in the 21st century classroom. The authors are invited to articulate their vision of new media enhanced learning at a global level. The high level notions is then re-examined through different degrees of contextualization and localization, for example how a specific form of new media (e-reader) changes the cultural practices of specific activities. In addition, studies anchored in Singapore classrooms provide insights as to how the high level notions are being transformed and enacted by a co-constructive effort of researchers, teachers and students. Singapore classrooms offer a unique lens to study the theory-practice nexus in that they are high achieving, implicitly grounded in the eastern cultural values and well-resourced with ICT infrastructure. While these studies are arguably the state-of-the-art exemplars that synergize socio-cultural and technological affordances of the current learning environments, they also serve as improvable ideas for further innovations. Together, the interplay between theory and practice lend support to the reciprocal improvements for both. This book contributes to the continuous debate in the field, leading to emergence of better environments for the 21st century learners.