Digital Media & Learning Archives - Connected Learning Research Network

Explaining the Research of Connected Learning

June 2, 2014

The idea of “connected learning” encompasses a way of theorising and describing the kinds of learning that take place against the grain, as it were, in places where we might not usually expect to find it, in communities where traditionally it is not always recognised, and amongst individuals who frequently appear to be on parallel tracks to those customarily valued by the mainstream. It describes communities of practice that have sprung up in virtual and informal spaces inhabited by young people and aro Read More...

Matt Rafalow

Support the n00bs: Community Design for Inclusivity

April 11, 2014

A common topic of discussion among our team of Leveling Up researchers is how communities maintain different barriers to entry. Every community, be it an online forum for Worldwide Wrestling enthusiasts, One Direction fangirls, or Starcraft II players, has its own etiquette and sets of rules for entering the community and becoming a full participant. But for platforms that wish to continually attract a new and engaged user base, designers must think through how to minimize barriers to entry. In essence, lea Read More...

Mimi Ito

A new year and a new book

January 17, 2014

It’s the start of a new year and time to take stock. It’s been three years since the launch of the Connected Learning Research Network and the Leveling Up project, and a year and a half since the launch of this blog. Along the way, we’ve delved into stories of knitters, boy band and wrestling fans, fashionistas, eSports enthusiasts, and game makers, as well as how the online world is supporting their learning, sharing, and civic engagement. The cases we’ve developed over these years have both confir Read More...

S. Craig Watkins

Rethinking the ‘Race Between Education and Technology’ Thesis

December 4, 2013

This year my research team has been pouring over qualitative data that we collected over a year-and-half period from Freeway High School (previously referred to as Texas City High School in earlier posts), the site of our fieldwork in the study of ‘connected learning.’ Several themes related to young people’s adoption of digital media, the role of technology in schools, social inequality, and the future of learning have emerged from our fieldwork. For instance, we have thought a lot about the social d Read More...

Ugochi Acholonu

Junaid Khan

Sports for the Mind: How do you bring Connected Learning into the Classroom?

November 4, 2013

Ugochi Acholonu is a postdoctoral scholar for the Connected Learning Research Network looking at ways that formal learning environments can be adapted to support Connected Learning. Junaidullah Khan is a teacher at ChicagoQuest (a public charter school) implementing curriculum to support connected learning in his classroom. In this post they combine their perspectives to think about the theoretical and practical aspects of changing formal institutions to facilitate connected learning. Connected Learn Read More...

Ugochi Acholonu

Encouraging Connected Learning Means It’s Okay for Students to Opt-out

July 23, 2013

One of the purposes of developing Connected Learning environments is to support the development of the Connected Learner. The Connected Learner can, and seeks to, effectively knit together his or her social networks, academic inclinations, and individual interests to form learning communities that develop his or her expertise in a particular domain [1]. However, for individuals to become Connected Learners, they must first value this approach to learning.

Lauren Weinzimmer

Gender and Connected (After-School) Learning: Understanding “Can-Do” Girlhood (Part 2)

July 2, 2013

In my previous post on this topic, I introduced Michelle, a Freeway High School (FHS) student who now attends an elite private university on the east coast. In that piece, I utilized the framework of “can-do” and “at-risk” girlhood (posed by Anita Harris in Future Girl) to compare the pathways of two students I analyzed through their after-school engagement – the second case study is below.

Lauren Weinzimmer

Gender and Connected (After-School) Learning: Understanding “Can-Do” Girlhood (Part 1)

July 2, 2013

Yong Ming Kow

To Geekdom! What Can StarCraft II Tell Us About Attaining Geek-hood?

June 10, 2013

Not long after I first participated in the StarCraft community, I fell in love with it. I admire its members’ activism, congeniality, and camaraderie. The players built the community infrastructure including organizations, learning ethos, social networks, and other programs. The StarCraft II community reveals one possible model of how peer-supported and academically relevant learning may manifest in grassroots and openly-networked settings.

S. Craig Watkins

Poorly Educated and Poorly Connected: The Hidden Realities of Innovation Hubs

May 30, 2013

When President Barack Obama decided to kick off his “Middle Class Jobs and Opportunity Tours” in Austin it highlighted once again the city’s reputation as a growth sector in the nation’s creative and high tech economy. Over the last few years the arrival of Apple, Google, Facebook and others has diversified Austin’s creative economy which has long provided a home for Dell, IBM, and Applied Materials Inc.

Digital Media & Learning

Explaining the Research of Connected Learning

Support the n00bs: Community Design for Inclusivity

A new year and a new book

Rethinking the ‘Race Between Education and Technology’ Thesis

Sports for the Mind: How do you bring Connected Learning into the Classroom?

Encouraging Connected Learning Means It’s Okay for Students to Opt-out

Gender and Connected (After-School) Learning: Understanding “Can-Do” Girlhood (Part 2)

Gender and Connected (After-School) Learning: Understanding “Can-Do” Girlhood (Part 1)

To Geekdom! What Can StarCraft II Tell Us About Attaining Geek-hood?

Poorly Educated and Poorly Connected: The Hidden Realities of Innovation Hubs

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