As new initiatives to exploit technology and digital media for learning sweep the country, a learning center for teens at the Harold Washington Library in downtown Chicago demonstrates both the challenges and opportunities that these efforts present, a new report from the University of Chicago Consortium on Chicago School Research finds. YOUmedia attracts between 350 and 500 teens weekly, the report finds. The largest single demographic group attending YOUmedia is African American males, who historically have been underserved by after-school programs. With the guidance of adults and collaboration with peers, participants discover and pursue their interests through activities such as blogging, writing and sharing poetry, playing and reviewing electronic games, producing mu-sic and videos, and participating in book clubs. Key findings from the report include: -YOUmedia is cultivating a budding sense of community among teens who participate. This sense of community, along with peer relationships, serves as a potent force for driving teens to engage in digital media in new ways. The vast majority of teens say that at YOUmedia it is "cool to be excited about your interests" and that they have met peers and mentors that share their interests. -A majority of YOUmedia participants report that they have improved their digital media skills due to YOUmedia. -The majority of teens also report that YOUmedia has helped them with their school work and better understand opportunities available to them after high school. -Staff members at YOUmedia have at times struggled to balance the imperative to let teens choose their own activities in the space with the desire to engage students in more structured learning activities. -Participation at YOUmedia differs substantially from teen to teen. While about 22 percent of teens regularly create original work, 28 percent use the computers to do their homework. A little over 30 percent use a variety of media, including video games, keyboards, and podcasts; and 18 percent primarily socialize and attend open mic sessions performed by other teens.
About the Author: PENNY BENDER SEBRING is a Senior Research Associate at the University of Chicago and Founding Co-Director of UChicago CCSR. She serves on the Board of Directors for the Chicago Public Education Fund, and she is chair of the Policy Advisory Board of the School of Education and Social Policy at Northwestern University. ERIC BROWN is a former research analyst at UChicago CCSR. He received his BA in Liberal Arts/Social Sciences from the City University of New York and an AM in Social Service Administration from the University of Chicago. KATE JULIAN is a Senior Research Associate at Evanston Township High School. She received a PhD in Educational Psychology from the University of Illinois at Chicago. SUSAN E. SPORTE is Director for Research Operations at UChicago CCSR. She serves as the main point of contact with Chicago Public Schools regarding data sharing and research priorities; she also oversees UChicago CCSR's data archive. ERIN BRADLEY is a former research assistant at UChicago CCSR. She currently works as the Chicago Project Coordinator for the Connecting Youth: Digital Learning Research Project at New York University. LISA MEYER is a former research assistant at UChicago CCSR. She currently works at Inspiration Corporation, a nonprofit social service agency for individuals who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. The University of Chicago Consortium on Chicago School Research (UChicago CCSR) builds the capacity for school reform by conducting research that identifies what matters for student success and school improvement. Created in 1990 after the passage of the Chicago School Reform Act that decentralized governance of the city's public schools, UChicago CCSR conducts research of high technical quality that can inform and assess policy and practice in the Chicago Public Schools. UChicago CCSR studies also have informed broader national movements in public education. UChicago CCSR encourages the use of research in policy action and improvement of practice but does not argue for particular policies or programs. Rather, UChicago CCSR helps to build capacity for school reform by identifying what matters for student success and school improvement, creating critical indicators to chart progress, and conducting theory-driven evaluation to identify how programs and policies are working.