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
June 11, 2018
Connected Learning and 21st Century English Teacher Education
Much of the current rhetoric about technology and education relates to devices and software programs — what types schools should purchase, how much money districts should spend on them, how they should...
Categories: Connected Learning, Educational PracticeDecember 4, 2017
Fostering Democratic Dialogue with Digital Annotation
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3WGKOpQg0E As a professor at a public, land-grant institution, I consider it my sacred responsibility to produce and share knowledge that directly benefits the communities I have the honor to serve. As...
Category: Digital CitizenshipSeptember 4, 2017
Opportunity to Share Research on Connected Learning, Teacher Education
If you follow my blog posts, you know that I am deeply committed to exploring the intersections of connected learning and teacher education, both in my own practice as a teacher educator and...
Categories: Connected Learning, ResearchJuly 31, 2017
From Connected Learning to Connected Teaching: A Necessary Step Forward
I am lucky to know some amazing teachers. I know teachers who are throwing open the doors of their classrooms and partnering with community organizations, libraries, and museums to expand students’ learning...
Categories: Connected Learning, Educational PracticeMay 22, 2017
What Do We Mean When We Talk About 21st Century Learning?
The signifier “21st century” has become ubiquitous in educational policy discourse. A glance at most local, state, and national education plans reveals reference after reference to the need for “21st century schools”...
Categories: Edtech, Educational PracticeApril 17, 2017
Critical Literacy, Civic Engagement and Connected Learning in the Classroom
I am on a personal crusade to make civic education the responsibility of every teacher regardless of subject area, despite the fact that it is consistently assumed to be the concern of...
Categories: Civic Engagement, Connected LearningMarch 9, 2017
Online Tools That Foster Civic Engagement
As my colleague, Antero Garcia, explained in a DML Central post last month, we are working together to produce a web series that provides educators with tools and tips to support civically-engaged...
Category: Civic EngagementFebruary 13, 2017
Fighting for Critical Civic Education in Dangerous Times
The actions that Donald Trump has taken during the first weeks of his presidency have struck many Americans as shockingly antithetical to the values upon which our country was purportedly founded. Posts...
Categories: Critical Perspectives, EquityDecember 8, 2016
Critical Civic Innovation in Action via PhotoVoice
In the wake of last month’s election, many Americans of all backgrounds are fearful about the direction in which the U.S. will be heading under President-elect Trump in areas ranging from education...
Categories: Civic Engagement, EquityOctober 27, 2016
Moving Past Civic Engagement To Civic Innovation
Every year, without fail, I leave the Digital Media and Learning Conference with a renewed sense of purpose and commitment to my work. While I attribute some of this energy boost to...
Categories: Civic Engagement, Digital Learning