A Review of “Interreligious Learning”

This article considers Religious Education (RE) from the perspective of socialization theory. After clarifying the concept of socialization, an understanding of socialization processes, requiring the simultaneous development of both a personal and a social identity, is linked with RE. The development of both a personal and a social identity calls for hermeneutic and critical reflective skills, which may be acquired in RE classes. Therefore, RE is an important means of socializing children and youths that may have great civic value and has a rightful place in the school curriculum. The article concludes with the argument that schools with an open religious identity are best suited to provide the type of RE advocated here.     

A Review of: “LEARNING LATER By Brian Findsen”

Many older adults do not use health information available on the Internet. Older adults residing in affordable housing were taught to use the NIHSeniorHealth.gov Web site. Participants were predominantly African American women with limited education and income (N = 42). Outcomes included changes in computer and health Web site navigation skills. Results showed significant improvements for all demographic groups in both computer and Web site navigation (p < .001). Older minority adults with no prior computer experience were willing and able to learn to use health Web sites. Success factors included an instructor familiar with the community, peer training assistants, and a focus on new learner needs.     

A Review of: “Seeing Beyond Blindness Shelley Kinash”

This project addresses the challenge of preparing educational leaders for future roles in administration in K–12 schools. Through a project-based learning scenario set in a 3-D virtual world, graduate students in school administration and instructional technology worked together in simulated school teams to develop proposals for integrating technology into a fictitious school. The scenario provided parameters within which each team developed a proposal to a superintendent for the use of iPads, which included developing plans for professional development, collaboration among faculty and staff, infrastructure to support the technology, alignment with curriculum, and budgets. Teams worked independently of classes to develop proposals that were then posted in the virtual world for review by instructors and other students. The simulation offered opportunities to develop shared leadership and skills in collaboration outside the usual comfort zone of graduate school classes. Student perception of the value of participation provided insight into the design of the project, which will inform future such collaborative efforts among faculty. Results of student surveys and written reflections are shared as examples of the types of data collected for this project.     

A Review of Atlanta’s “FUBU”: On Power

This media review focuses on one of Atlanta's episodes entitled "FUBU." The episode is utilized as a proxy to provide a critique of American society and its power relations in everyday life. Atlanta and its writers use television as their vehicle to create critical and constructive discourse in spaces that they would otherwise not be able to physically occupy. Out of this, the hope is that this discourse leads to healthier interaction in the educational spaces facilitated by educators with an understanding of the social forces at play.