Tufts University
20 Professors Row
Medford, MA 02155 617/627-3417
NSF Program(s):
HUMAN-CENTERED COMPUTING, INFO INTEGRATION & INFORMATICS, SCIENCE & ENGINEERING INFORMAT, DIGITAL SOCIETY&TECHNOLOGIES, WORKFORCE
Field Application(s):
0104000 Information Systems, 0116000 Human Subjects
Program Reference Code(s):
HPCC,9218,7482,1187,1045
Program Element Code(s):
7367,7364,7294,6850,1713
ABSTRACT
This CAREER project aims to develop a research and education program to foster positive and healthy youth development through the use of multi-user, virtual environments called identity construction environments (ICEs), which are hypothesized to foster new kinds of communities of learning and care. One context where such technologies may have the most impact is in situations where youth might otherwise be isolated and in danger of developing mental health-related problems. The PI will work with youth at the Boston Children's Hospital that have suffered severe renal and cardiac failure and who wouldn't otherwise survive without medical interventions such as heart and kidney transplants. An applied developmental model provides a framework to design ICEs. It also provides a model for doing research in complex real world settings. It is hypothesized that ICEs will 1) promote positive youth development (measured as competence, connection, character, confidence, caring and contribution to civil society), 2) complement and augment face-to-face psychosocial interventions, and 3) that the positive effects are due to design features and the nature of online activities that engage youth in cognitive, social and emotional development. Educational activities include research opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students in an interdisciplinary research group, service learning in healthcare and community-based settings, new courses and curricula for students from a variety of disciplines: education, mental health, engineering and computer science.
PUBLICATIONS PRODUCED AS A RESULT OF THIS RESEARCH
(Showing: 1 - 5 of 5).
Beals, L. & Bers, M..
"Robotic technologies: when parents put their learning ahead of their child's,"
Journal of Interactive Learning Research.Chesapeake, VA: AACE.,
v.17 (4),,
2006,
p. 341-366..
Bers, M.
"Positive technological development: Working with computers, children, and the Internet,"
MassPsych,
v.51/(1),,
2007,
p. 5-7, 18-1.
Bers, M (2006).
"The role of new technologies to foster positive youth development,"
Applied Developmental Science. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Mahwah, NJ,
v.10:4,
2006,
p. 200-219.
Bers, M., Chau, C., Satoh, K., & Beals, L..
"Virtual Communities of Care: Online Peer Networks with Post-Organ Transplant Youth,"
Proceedings of the 2007 Computer Supported Collaborative Learning Conference Proceedings,
2007,
Bers, MU.
"Fostering civic engagement by building a virtual city,"
JOURNAL OF COMPUTER-MEDIATED COMMUNICATION,
v.11,
2006,
(Showing: 1 - 5 of 5).
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