Mizuko Ito

Mizuko Itō (sometimes rendered as Mizuko Ito), sometimes known as Mimi Ito (伊藤瑞子), is a Japanese cultural anthropologist.

She is Professor in Residence and John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Chair in Digital Media and Learning, and Director of the Connected Learning Lab in the Department of Informatics, Donald Bren School of Information and Computer Sciences at the University of California, Irvine.

Her main professional interest is young people's use of media technology.

She has explored the ways in which digital media are changing relationships, identities, and communities.

Mizuko Ito grew up between the United States and Japan.

In Japan, she attended Nishimachi International School and the American School in Japan.

She did her undergraduate work at Harvard University, graduating in 1990 with a degree in East Asian studies: her thesis was "Zen and Tea Ritual: A Comparative Analysis."

Ito did her graduate work at Stanford University.

In 1991, she received a Masters of Arts degree in anthropology; her thesis was "The Holistic Alternative: A Symbolic Analysis of an Emergent Culture."

In 1998, she received a Ph.D. from the Department of Education for her dissertation: "Interactive Media for Play: Kids, Computer Games and the Productions of Everyday Life."

In 2003, she received a Ph.D. from the Department of Anthropology for her dissertation: "Engineering Play: Children’s Software and the Productions of Everyday Life.".

Her dissertation research was published in the book, Engineering Play: A Cultural History of Children’s Software.

Ito's main professional interests are in connected learning and young people's use of media technology, in particular the ways digital media impact relationships, identities, and communities.

She is an advocate for connected learning - learning that is equity-oriented, centered on youth interest, and socially connected.

Her work decodes digital youth culture for parents and educators, offering ways to tap interests and digital media to fuel learning that is engaging, relevant, and social.

Earlier in her career, Ito investigated otaku fan culture with collaborators Daisuke Okabe and Izumi Tsuji, which resulted in the book Fandom Unbound: Otaku Culture in a Connected World.

With Misa Matsuda and Daisuke Okabe, Ito also edited Personal, Portable, Pedestrian: Mobile Phones in Japanese Life (MIT Press, 2005).

In 2006, Ito received a MacArthur Foundation grant to "observe children's interactions with digital media to get a sense of how they're really using the technology."

The book, Hanging Out, Messing Around, and Geeking Out reported on the outcomes of this study.

This work was one of the first projects in what became the MacArthur Foundation’s Digital Media and Learning Initiative, which invested over $200 million in research and innovation.

As part of this initiative, Ito co-led with David Theo Golberg, the Digital Media and Learning Research Hub which was housed in the University of California Humanities Research Institute.

Ito also chaired the MacArthur Foundation Connected Learning Research Network and was a member of the MacArthur Foundation Youth and Participatory Politics Research Network between 2011 and 2018.

The results of the Connected Learning Research Network were summarized in the report The Connected Learning Research Network: Reflections on a Decade of Engaged Scholarship.

After the conclusion of the Digital Media and Learning Initiative, Dr. Ito launched the Connected Learning Lab at UC Irvine, serving as its Director.

CLL began in 2017 as a research center and in 2019, it was recognized as an Organized Research Unit.

It consists of an interdisciplinary group of 30+ UCI Faculty who collaborate to research, design and mobilize learning technologies in equitable, innovative and learner-centered ways.

Through the Connected Learning Lab, Ito has continued to lead and co-lead a range of research projects related to connected learning, STEM, and arts learning funded by the MacArthur Foundation, National Science Foundation, Institute of Museum and Library Services, Google, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Pivotal Ventures, STEM Next Opportunity Fund, and private industry partners.

Notable outputs from these projects include:

Reports:

Books:

Press:

Her work has been featured in Wired, CNN, NPR, The Hill, The New York Times, Edsurge, LitHub, the Atlantic, Fast Company,, LifeWire, Gizmodo, and USA Today.

Ito is Co-Founder and Executive Director of the Connected Learning Alliance, a nonprofit organization that “envisions a world where the diverse interests, culture, and assets of young people connect and power education, civic and career opportunities.”

Ito also co-founded, with Katie Salen Tekinbas and Tara Tiger Brown, Connected Camps, a nonprofit that provides online learning programs in coding and the digital arts.

In 2018, led the launch of the annual Connected Learning Summit conference with a committee of faculty and educational leaders, which is now stewarded by the Connected Learning Alliance.

Ito lives in Southern California with her husband, Scott Fisher, a virtual reality researcher.

They have two adult children.

When her kids were younger, she kept a Bento Moblog, a visual record of the school lunches she prepared for her kids.

Ito's brother is Joi Ito, President of Chiba Institute of Technology, and former director of the MIT Media Lab.