The Annenberg Center for Communication at the University of Southern California invites applications for a postdoctoral research position sponsored by a grant from the MacArthur Foundation. This one-year position, with the possibility of a second-year renewal, will require the researcher to work as a fieldworker/ethnographer on a project on “digital kids” and informal learning: how children and youth are using information and communication technologies and the internet. The USC project, led by Mizuko Ito, is part of a broader project involving Peter Lyman and Diane Harley at UC Berkeley, and Michael Carter at the Monterey Institute of Technology and Education. Visit the main project website, “Kids’ Informal Learning with Digital Media: An Ethnographic Investigation of Innovative Knowledge Cultures” for more information on the project.
Responsibilities will include monitoring and participating in online activity and conducting interviews with kids and parents; analyzing, writing up and presenting results; exploring policy implications of the research. The ideal candidate will have experience in ethnographic fieldwork, collaborative and interdisciplinary research, and experience working with children and families.
This full-time position pays $45,000 plus benefits, and requires residence in the Los Angeles area. For complete information on the position, and application instructions, contact Rachel Cody at the Annenberg School. Deadline for receipt of application materials is April 30, 2006.