"Smartphone adoption among American teens has increased substantially and mobile access to the internet is pervasive. One in four teens are “cell-mostly” internet users, who say they mostly go online using their phone and not using some other device such as a desktop or laptop computer.

These are among the new findings from a nationally representative Pew Research Center survey that explored technology use among 802 youth ages 12-17 and their parents."

"Looking@Democracy is a national competition offering a total of $100,000 in prize money for short, provocative media submissions designed to spark a national conversation about why government is important to our lives, or how individuals and communities can come together to strengthen American democracy.

"Today, so much of our research happens online, and part of what makes the internet so wonderful is the ease at which it brings information into our lives. But when that information is so easily available to us, it is sometimes easy to forget that someone else produced that information, and they deserve credit...Teaching students about copyright is more than just letting them know that they should be doing their own work, and not copying off the web.

"The Texas Council on Family Violence has created a new resource: a creative arts curriculum for people aged 12-21 which uses a variety of media to enlist youth in exploring equality and nonviolence. It's directed at a youth and adult audience, and presents 12 "action plans" which are based on contemporary music, video, art, and written word examples from youth culture."

A new issue brief from Afterschool Alliance focuses on Digital Media & Learning in Afterschool: "digital media and technology are revolutionizing how, where and when children learn. As one might expect with any type of transformative innovation, digital media has compelled many educators to completely reimagine the learning experience.