The Digital Edge

A greater diversity of young people in the U.S. are using digital media than ever before. So, why do issues related to technology, diversity, and equity continue to matter today? “The Digital Edge” is designed to explore how students, teachers, and families are engaging digital media in the face of significant social, financial, educational, and familial challenges. Interdisciplinary in its scope, our team draws from a range of perspectives including digital media studies, the sociology of education, theories of social and cultural capital, learning sciences, gender studies, popular culture, race and ethnic studies, demography, design, and youth and cultural studies. Our research is based on extensive interviews, participant observations, ethnography and creative collaborations with students and teachers from a Central Texas High school. Team members are also exploring the design and implementation of digital media learning with a focus on game design and digital video production. In addition to observing students in both in-school and out-of-school learning environments, we seek to understand the many different nodes—peer, familial, online, extra-curricular—that shape their learning ecologies. Connected learning in edge communities is a central challenge in the creation of a more equitable digital future through the expansion of digital literacy, the transformation of learning, and the enrichment of the digital and mobile media practices of young people.