Innovation Hub

Encore: Innovations In Urban And Digital Learning

By Kara Miller

The Urban Classroom


At the Clap Innovation School in Boston, students are encouraged to cheer for the colleges where their teachers went. Here, a mural mixes math problems with the word "Harvard." (WGBH)

Almost half of students in large cities read below grade level, lagging far behind their suburban counterparts. Why does this problem exist, and how do we tackle it? How do you emphasize learning to students combating poverty and other hardships? 

We visit a school that’s turning itself around —  and ask a researcher what that sort of turnaround will take.


The Digital Classroom

A still from Muzzy Lane's Participatory Chinatown game, which turns students into virtual urban planners (via Muzzy Lane).

Once, they were a distraction from homework, something mom told kids to put away before their brain frittered away. But now, some designers and educators say video games can be cutting-edge educational tools. What happens when video games are homework?

We look at their role in the classroom, whether they might replace textbooks, and how kids could be affected.


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