Peer-supported


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...

Rachel Cody Pfister

The Powerful Combination of Interests and Peer Culture

April 5, 2014

The connected learning model emphasizes the importance of peer culture and interests in fueling members’ participation and learning in the rich activities and opportunities these communities create. In interest-driven communities, it is the passion or interest that leads people into joining the community (Gee and Hayes 2010). As a researcher who has focused on interest-driven communities, I sometimes take this for granted. But the depth of what this means to members - that they are able to find a communit Read More...

Crystle Martin

Supports for Help and Feedback in Peer-Supported Communities

March 3, 2014

As I’ve described in a previous post focusing on the professional wrestling community, the Wrestling Boards, help and feedback are key ingredients to an active peer-supported community. Peer-support is one of the three main spheres of the connected learning framework. But what enables help and feedback? Analysis of the Leveling Up case studies suggests two major supports for help and feedback: community design and community culture. Community design refers to the way in which online communities intentiona Read More...

Jean Rhodes

What It Takes: All of Us

February 11, 2014

This has been a groundbreaking year for the field of youth mentoring. With little fanfare, two large-scale, rigorous evaluations have been released, both of which suggest mentoring relationships have meaningful impact on young people. First, the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health and Big Brothers Big Sisters Canada announced a very ambitious, ongoing study. Although still early in the study, researchers David DeWit and Ellen Lipman have found preliminary results that show children with mentors exhibi Read More...

Jean Rhodes

New Research (and a story) about teachers

January 21, 2014

Sometimes a simple anecdote can illustrate a point far better than mounds of research.  It was written by Jerome Groopman, M.D., Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, Chief of Experimental Medicine at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. In this excerpt, from a recent New York Review of Books, Groopman highlights the vital importance of teachers that “get” their students and understand their strengths. I never learned to type. The best I can do is hunt and peck with two fingers while l 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...

Rachel Cody Pfister

A Home within Home: Physical Challenges and Online Connected Learning Environments

December 13, 2013

Some of the characteristics of connected learning environments are that they allow for full participation and aim towards equity in their participation.  As we have seen with the fibercrafting community of Hogwarts at Ravelry, the group actively works to keep the group open to and welcoming of members of all backgrounds, setting a low bar for participation in activities and membership in the group. Through member interviews, an interesting theme that has emerged for some Hogwarts at Ravelry members is how Read More...

Timothy Young

Yong Ming Kow

On-ramps, Leveling Up and Recognition: How the StarCraft 2 Community Deepens their Interests

December 9, 2013

The StarCraft community is one of the most productive gaming communities, spearheaded by community leaders who earn recognition by expressing their passion for the game through creating gaming content or organizing gaming events.  Many active community members become community leaders, recognized content producers, and top level players.  We found that some of the most productive and recognized community members had support for their gaming interest at an early age, which transitioned into deeper engageme Read More...

Crystle Martin

Rachel Cody Pfister

Self-Directed Learning in Online Connected Learning Environments

November 22, 2013

Many people would not think of professional wrestling fans and knitters as having a lot in common but the two communities share many underlying principles and cultural norms. The Hogwarts at Ravelry knitting group and the Wrestling Boards professional wrestling fan community are connected learning environments. The communities are peer-supported, interest-powered, and academically-oriented. The connected learning experiences of Hogwarts at Ravelry and Wrestling Boards support production-centered activities, Read More...

Ksenia Korobkova

Matt Rafalow

On Schools, Sackboys, and Sponsors: a Tale of Two Online Communities

October 21, 2013

Leveling Up is a research team focused on learning practices within interest-driven online and face-to-face contexts. Ksenia Korobkova and Matt Rafalow draw on their unique cases to compare and contrast literacy practices in online communities. Chris, a 10th grader, has passions for theater, English literature, and gaming. Although he describes himself as an average student, he’s definitely “more of an English/history person” and excels in those subjects. When not in school, he enjoys playing the Pla Read More...

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