From SuperGoo to Scratch: exploring creative digital media production in informal learning

Abstract

Based on work in media studies, new literacy studies, applied linguistics, the arts and empirical research on the experiences of urban youths' informal media arts practices, we articulate a new vision for media education in the digital age that encompasses new genres, convergence, media mixes and participation. We first outline the history of how students' creative production has been used to meet the goals of media educators and highlight new trends in media education that are instructive for creative production. Our goal is to introduce and situate the new ways in which youth are participating in creative production and the subsequent impact that this might have on teaching and learning media education today. Findings from an ethnographic study are used to demonstrate the potential of youth producing new media, such as videogames and interactive art, on media education research and practice.

Acknowledgements

The work reported in this article was supported by a dissertation grant from the Spencer Foundation to the first author, in addition to a grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF‐0325828) to the second author in collaboration with Mitchel Resnick's research group at the MIT Media Lab. The views expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the supporting funding agencies or the University of California, Los Angeles.

Notes

1. Participant names in this study are pseudonyms.