Nicole is an assistant professor of urban teacher education at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. Her teaching and research focuses on the intersections between critical literacy and civic engagement across multiple contexts, including urban secondary English classrooms, grassroots youth organizations, and digital learning communities. Prior to earning her Ph.D. in urban schooling from the UCLA Graduate School of Education and Information Studies in 2012, she taught English language arts at a public high school in the Crown Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn. This experience sparked her passion for English education, which continued to grow as she taught at another public high school in the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles and coordinated the UCLA Council of Youth Research, a university/school partnership that engages young people in research in their schools and communities in pursuit of educational and social justice. She also advocates for teacher leadership and critical digital literacy as a Connected Learning Ambassador for the National Writing Project.
Nicole Mirra
Publications
Articles
September 24, 2015
My Exploration of Connected Learning as a Framework for Teacher Education
I was living in Los Angeles in 2013 when the Los Angeles Unified School District began implementing its ill-fated plan to provide all of its 640,000 students with iPads. I am now...
Categories: Connected Learning, Educational PracticeJune 22, 2015
What’s ‘Value Added’ About Tech Tools in the Classroom?
I always cringe when educational pundits talk about evaluating teachers according to “value-added” assessment models, as if the value that teachers offer their students could be easily quantified or evaluated according to...
Category: EdtechApril 9, 2015
Engaging Students in Critical Social Media Analysis Through Debate
As part of the national celebration of Digital Learning Day last month, I had the opportunity to moderate an online debate between two teams of high school students from opposite ends of California about...
Categories: Digital Citizenship, Educational PracticeFebruary 12, 2015
Is the Maker Movement Equitable?
The title of the article from The Atlantic stopped me in my tracks as I was scrolling through my Twitter feed: “Why I am Not a Maker.” I was perplexed. Why would someone...
Categories: Critical Perspectives, EquityDecember 18, 2014
Ferguson, Social Media and Educational Dialogue
As St. Louis County Prosecutor Robert McCulloch stepped to the microphone on the evening of Nov. 24 to announce the grand jury’s decision about the fate of Darren Wilson, the police officer...
Category: Digital CitizenshipOctober 9, 2014
Potential and Pitfalls of Digital Reading Platforms for Connected Learning
At the recent Tech for Schools Summit hosted by EdSurge at the USC Rossier School of Education, organizers promised that the event was designed “for educators by educators” and that attendees would...
Categories: Connected Learning, EdtechAugust 25, 2014
Digital Tools Can’t Magically Create Connections
One of the best perks of supporting the Los Angeles Central Library is advanced notice of the readings and talks coming through town as part of their ALOUD program. A few months...
Category: EdtechJuly 21, 2014
Making Learning More Connected
I consider myself pretty invested in the Connected Learning community. I had the privilege of co-chairing the "Civic Education and Youth Serving Organizations" strand of the Digital Media and Learning conference in...
Category: Connected LearningMay 29, 2014
Innovators, Not Hackers: Stop Portraying Youth as Digital Deviants
Why is it that when young people use technology on adult terms, they are praised as 21st century learners, but when they use technology on their OWN terms, they are castigated as...
Categories: Digital Citizenship, EquityAugust 17, 2015
The Value of Social Media and Counternarratives
As I write these words, St. Louis County has just declared a state of emergency in Ferguson, Missouri, in the wake of protests marking the one-year anniversary of Michael Brown’s death at...
Categories: Civic Engagement, Digital Citizenship