The 2007-08 Digital Media and Learning Competition, administered by HASTAC and supported by the MacArthur Foundation, has just announced this year’s award-winning projects. From a field of over 1,000 applications, seven projects won Innovation awards, while ten projects received awards in the Knowledge-Networking category.

Innovation award winners include: Black Cloud, an Environmental Studies collaborative role-playing game; HyperCities, a web-based learning platform that connects geographical locations with stories of the people who live there; Mobile and Immersive Learning for Literacy in Emerging Economies (MILLEE), a project that promotes literacy through language-learning games on mobile phones; Mobile Musical Networks, explores new ways of making music with laptops and local-area-networks; Sustainable South Bronx Fab Lab, a laboratory that allows people to turn digital models into real world constructions; Virtual Conflict Resolution, a digital humanitarian assistance game that creates a learning environment for young people studying public policy and international relations; YouthActionNet Marketplace, a digital networking platform for young leaders to engage in social entrepreneurship and address critical social problems.

The Knowledge-Networking award winners are: Always with You, a social network that connects young African social entrepreneurs with young North American professionals. Critical Commons, a blogging, social networking and tagging platform designed to promote the “fair use” of copyrighted material; FollowTheMoney, an online interactive site that supports civics research of young people; Fractor, a web application that matches news stories with opportunities for social activism and community service; Let the Games Begin, a tutorial on the fundamentals of social issue games; Networking Grassroots Knowledge Globally, an “information commons” that will help share innovative practices for helping marginalized and vulnerable children; Ohmwork: Networking Homebrew Science, a social network and podcast site where students can share their do-it-yourself science projects; Self-Advocacy Online, an educational and networking website for teens and adults with intellectual and cognitive disabilities; Social Media Virtual Classroom, an online community for teachers and students to collaborate and contribute ideas about issues related to participatory media; The Virtual World Educators Network, an online hub to promote the use of virtual worlds as rich learning environments.

Of course, our descriptions of these fascinating projects are very brief here, so be sure to check out Digital Media and Learning’s complete announcement for detailed descriptions of each project.