A central goal of our work is to shift the focus of the conversation about the digital divide
from questions of technological access to those of opportunities to participate and develop the cultural competencies and social skills needed for full involvement in media communities. Schools as institutions have been slow to react to the emergence of this new participatory culture; the greatest opportunity for change is currently found in afterschool programs and informal learning communities.
To create materials for use in informal learning environments, NML is collaborating with
Platform Shoes Forum to build the Learning Library. We are currently in alpha phase, designing a framework that will go live on October 2008. This framework will house a collection of interactive learning modules offering teens a rich variety of ways to explore and practice the
skills needed in the new media culture. Learning modules consist of online, offline, individual, and group activities, launched by media prompts. Examples of media prompts include
video interviews with media makers, animations, data visualizations, and podcasts. Activities offer various ways for teens to "close the loop" by creating material in response to what they've experienced.
As participatory culture shifts the focus of literacy from one of individual expression to community involvement, a beta phase will open the Learning Library for user-generated content, becoming a community tool for youth to create and share their own materials.
To participate in evaluating our Learning Library modules,
sign up at the Online Focus Group
