The MacArthur Foundation Series on Digital Media and Learning will explore the intersection of digital media and learning from the perspectives of experts, visionaries, and thought leaders chosen from across the globe. The working hypothesis of the effort is that digital media have advanced significantly in recent years, enabling new forms of knowledge production, social networking, communication, and play. Through the use of such media, young people are engaged in an unprecedented exploration of language, games, social interaction, and self-directed education that can be used to support learning.

The overall aim of the series is to explore the consequences of this exposure to and use of digital media for their sense of self, how they express their independence and creativity, and their ability to learn, exercise judgment, and think systematically. Six volumes will be published in the first year of the MacArthur Foundation Series, each with a unifying theme that addresses a critical aspect of this emerging field of study. The themes are Identity and Digital Media, Credibility, Civic Engagement, the Ecology of Games, Innovative Uses and Unexpected Outcomes, and Race and Ethnicity. Each of these volumes, which are intended for an informed but wide audience, will include an introductory chapter by the editor, and 7-10 additional chapters that will explore the topic from a variety of perspectives.