Spotlight on Digital Media And Learning

9.8.09 | In the shadow of the El at the corner of State and Van Buren in Chicago’s Loop, a bright green wall catches the eye through the window of the Harold Washington Library. Inside, a group of teens is hanging out on bright green and yellow couches, playing a game of chess. Another is flopped in a bean-bag chair, with an iPod and a book.

Farther down the block, the green gives way to dark blue-green and teens are peering into a bank of computers and mixing music on a sound board. By the end of the block, the room is deep red, mirroring the intensity on teens’ faces as they listen to an instructor on Photoshop.

Welcome to YOUmedia at the Harold Washington library.

Since it opened in July as a high-tech space for high-schoolers to learn about and experiment with digital media, as well as just hang out, YOUmedia has been a hit. 

“I’ve been surprised by how many kids we’re seeing without really recruiting or advertising it much,” says librarian Bernadette Nowakowski. “It’s fun to see somebody who has just discovered it for the first time. They look around and say, ‘This is for us?’ They’re just in awe.”

YOUmedia is a part of MacArthur’s Foundation’s $50 million Digital Media and Learning initiative, which examines digital media’s impact on kids and learning. Today’s digital access has changed how, when and where we learn, and YOUmedia is one part of “a larger vision of anywhere, anytime learning,” says MacArthur Vice President Julia Stasch. That YOUmedia is located in a library is deliberate. Afterschool programs, museums, and libraries are important nodes on today’s network of learning.

Hanging Out, Messing Around, and Geeking Out

The YOUmedia space was designed based on the research of cultural anthropologist Mizuko Ito of the University of California, Irvine, who says kids use digital media in three ways: to “hang out,” “mess around” and “geek out.” Each step is progressively more involved.

Read more about Ito’s work here.

YOUmedia helps this progression occur. Physically, that means the space is divided into three sections, delineated by different colors—the bright green (hanging out), dark green (messing around), and red (geeking out) seen from the street. The idea behind the colors, says Drew Davidson, director of the Entertainment and Technology Center at Carnegie Mellon University and lead designer of the space, was to signify the increasing intensity of youth’s interest—from cooler greens and blues to warmer reds.

In the “hanging out” area, young people gather to read, talk, flirt, and chill. This section bridges the worlds of traditional and new media, with the library’s young adult book collection on hand (see box about the surprising uptick in books checked out). If students want to check out what a friend is doing with a video camera or just check their Facebook page, they can start messing around with one of the more than 100 laptops, or check out a camera or a podcasting microphone. They also can reserve a time to use the music sound board or check out a drawing pad as they move deeper into experimentation and creativity with new and old media.

The digital tools at their disposal exposes teens to a range of media. Kids can find their niche, says Nichole Pinkard, director of innovation for the University of Chicago’s Urban Education Institute and director of the MacArthur-funded Digital Youth Network (DYN). But they can also still be connected to their friends who may be interested in another medium. In this way, she says, kids can discover what they want to do.

Ultimately, some of the teens will geek out. They can then take workshops led by an expert in digital photography, fan fiction, graphic design, music production, and more. In addition, mentors of all ages from the DYN program are on hand to help teens move from “where they are now to where they want to be,” says Pinkard.

“It is important for kids to explore,” the library’s Nowakowski says. “They have their own ideas of what they want to pursue, but we also want to make sure that in the workshops we’re giving them the skills they need.”

House on Mango Street

One of the first projects that the teens created in their workshops was based on the book, House on Mango Street, which was a One Book, One Chicago pick, a program sponsored by the library that encourages all Chicagoans to read the same book at the same time, offering events, discussions, and exhibits to enhance the experience.

During a 10-week course over the summer, DYN mentors guided students through weekly book discussions to analyze how modern media has shaped their perception of their own identity, the American dream, and community. The students then used digital media to bring the text to life. The end result was a collection of work representing the fusion of literature, personal narrative, and digital media. See here for a video of their work.

“What happens in here is creativity,” says Chicago Public Library Commissioner Mary Dempsey. “It really allows the library to be seen by teens as a place where they can give full license to their creativity, whether it’s in their love of literature, poetry, music, or their desire or interest in using technology and digital media.”

A House on Mango Street mural hangs over a couch in the hanging out space at YouMedia, one of what will be many pieces of teen-created art adorning the walls of the 5,500-square-foot space. It’s one way of helping young people feel a sense of ownership there, says Davidson, the designer.

The next workshop topic, which will center on Carl Smith’s book, The Plan of Chicago, explores Daniel Burnham’s urban design for remaking Chicago. The students will draw on lessons from the book and the library’s collection of city maps to create a multimedia plan for their own neighborhoods today. The winning plan will send six students to Washington, D.C., for the United Nation’s Habitat for Humanity day Oct. 5-7.

Ultimately, the YOUmedia space gives kids the tools to learn by following their interests—the best way for anyone to learn and grow.

Photo by: Mike Hawkins