Spotlight on Digital Media And Learning

10.28.10 | Last time on StudentSpeak, teens at YOUmedia, the Chicago Public Library’s digital space for teens, created innovative new media projects based on Toni Morrison’s most recent novel, “A Mercy.”  This week, StudentSpeak is there as the students showcase their work in front of a crowd of educators, parents and their peers at the Chicago Public Library.

“We have a bond, and we build ourselves up together,” says Zoi a 15-year-old spoken word poet who performed original adaptations of Morrison’s work based on themes of racism and slavery.

Zoi said the project was important to her because of the cohesiveness of the group of teen writers and performers from all across the city, and because of YOUmedia’s mentors.

“This poem took me two weeks, first attempt,” Zoi said. “The mentors we have here are so dope, Jennifer especially. She really helped me put this piece together to be the best that it could be.”

“Jennifer” is Jennifer Steele, a writing mentor at YOUmedia and one of several Chicago-based artists who work regularly with teens in the digital space. She says it’s been wonderful to see students come up with so many creative ways to tackle the novel’s diverse themes.

“I think it really helps them understand the themes,” Steele told Spotlight. “They get into some really heated discussions sometimes about what’s going on in the book.

“By defending their opinions on the book, it’s in a way defending their perspective on their art, or their poem, or their graphic design.”

You can view all of the “A Mercy” projects - including original photography, podcasts and documentary films - at http://oboc-amercy.tumblr.com. Listen to their spoken word performance, poetry and original music in “iRemix: a Mercy Mixtape” (above); click on the titles and make sure your volume is up.

YOUmedia students produced a CD of their work inspired by Morrison, who was in town to receive the Carl Sandburg Literary Award from the Chicago Public Library and its foundation.

StudentSpeak, a video series produced by Spotlight, goes behind the scenes to show how teens use digital media in their daily lives. View previous webisodes here.