Digital Media and Learning | New Learning Institute. James Paul Gee Gee started his career in theoretical linguistics, working in syntactic and semantic theory, and taught initially at Stanford University and later in the School of Language and Communication at Hampshire College in Amherst Massachusetts. After doing some research in psycholinguistics at Northeastern University in Boston and at the Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics in Holland, Prof. Gee's research focus switched to studies on discourse analysis, sociolinguistics, and applications of linguistics to literacy and education.
He went on to teach in the School of Education at Boston University, where he was the chair of the Department of Developmental Studies and Counseling, and later in the Linguistics Department at the University of Southern California. At Boston University he established new graduate programs centered around an integrated approach to language and literacy, combining programs in reading, writing, bilingual education, ESL, and applied linguistics. A Vision of Students Today. Connected Learning. MindShift | How we will learn. A Conversation at the New York Times About Race, Technology and the 21st Century | The Young and the Digital.
Earlier this month the New York Times hosted an intriguing conversation about race, technology, and the future. The event was organized by Tom Holcomb and moderated by New York Times reporter, Ron Nixon. The Times’ has an internal division that is committed to issues of diversity, equity, and community engagement. Those involved in this initiative are working with various companies and non-profits to impact communities and help widen the pipeline to careers in technology, journalism, media, and other professions. The conversation was designed to explore the various barriers–social, financial, educational, racial–to technology related industries. Ron began by sharing some of the statistics on the strikingly low number of African Americans in tech related fields, the growing absence of black males in higher education, and the paltry number of black women in fields like engineering and computer science.
Denmark West was one of the invited speakers.