The Chicago-based John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation has announced two grants totaling $3.8 million in support of research to explore the effects of digital media on young people, particularly as it relates to learning and education.

The grants, part of MacArthur's larger strategy to improve the performance of students in urban school systems by enhancing the quality of the instruction students receive, are the first by the foundation in the area of digital learning. To that end, the University of California at Berkeley and the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Southern California were awarded $3.3 million to study how young people experience digital media and use digital tools in their daily lives, and to document the consequences of that exposure. In addition, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology was awarded $500,000 to develop a new approach for understanding the challenges youth face in today's constantly evolving media environment, and to identify the steps schools should take to help prepare youth to function effectively.

"Common sense suggests the exposure to digital media affects young people in formative ways, reflected in their judgment, their sense of self, how they express their independence and creativity, and in their ability to think systematically," said MacArthur president Jonathan F. Fanton. "So far, there is little empirical evidence to back this up. Findings from this research will contribute to new thinking about education and the structure of teaching and learning."