Comments on: Open Thread for the Civic Learning Online Research Presentation http://www.engagedyouth.org/2008/10/03/open-thread-for-the-civic-learning-online-research-presentation/ Just another WordPress weblog Fri, 18 May 2012 08:32:09 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.3.3 By: Lance Bennett http://www.engagedyouth.org/2008/10/03/open-thread-for-the-civic-learning-online-research-presentation/#comment-288 Lance Bennett Tue, 07 Oct 2008 11:25:50 +0000 http://www.engagedyouth.org/2008/10/03/open-thread-for-the-civic-learning-online-research-presentation/#comment-288 These Russian postings resulted from a delegation of scholars and practitioners from various cities in Russia who visited the Center for Communication and Civic Engagement to look at our programs, They liked PSO, and began using it from afar. I think that sustaining this link would have required more local involvement with them. These Russian postings resulted from a delegation of scholars and practitioners from various cities in Russia who visited the Center for Communication and Civic Engagement to look at our programs, They liked PSO, and began using it from afar. I think that sustaining this link would have required more local involvement with them.

]]> By: Eszter Hargittai http://www.engagedyouth.org/2008/10/03/open-thread-for-the-civic-learning-online-research-presentation/#comment-286 Eszter Hargittai Mon, 06 Oct 2008 02:38:48 +0000 http://www.engagedyouth.org/2008/10/03/open-thread-for-the-civic-learning-online-research-presentation/#comment-286 Thank you for a great meeting! As I was clicking around on Puget Sound Off, I noticed several users from a town in Russia. I was wondering how this came about. It made me think about the local aspect of the site and I wondered: how important is it that users are Seattle-based? Thank you for a great meeting!

As I was clicking around on Puget Sound Off, I noticed several users from a town in Russia. I was wondering how this came about. It made me think about the local aspect of the site and I wondered: how important is it that users are Seattle-based?

]]> By: Peter Levine http://www.engagedyouth.org/2008/10/03/open-thread-for-the-civic-learning-online-research-presentation/#comment-276 Peter Levine Sat, 04 Oct 2008 18:41:00 +0000 http://www.engagedyouth.org/2008/10/03/open-thread-for-the-civic-learning-online-research-presentation/#comment-276 Here are some possible objectives for a program like Puget Sound Off. Which ones are reasonable? What counts as success? 1. Diversifying the available news and political media in King County by involving perhaps 200-300 youth at any given time in creating high-quality media that competes with or complements the newspaper, radio, and TV. 2. Influencing schools by exemplifying a different form of active citizenship than what is presented in textbooks. 3. Expanding the proportion of young Seattle residents who follow news and social issues, by providing them with a more interactive and youth-friendly platform. (The target might be to reach half of all youth periodically.) 4. Enhancing the knowledge, perspectives, and even the "wisdom" of the 200-300 youth who are directly involved, and/or the other 200,000 Seattle teenagers. 5. Having a significant impact on social problems in Seattle. For instance, the high school droupout rate falls because kids feel more engaged in school, or because PSO kids develop ideas for school reform that are implemented. Or Seattle police prevent more crime and reduce racial profiling because they interact better with teenagers. Or...? 6. Creating a model that is borrowed by other Seattle community-based organizations, so that one day there are (say) 30 different but interlinked sites like PSO in Seattle. 7. Creating a model that is borrowed and adapted in other communities. 8. Promoting public policies that support youth media or civic media. Here are some possible objectives for a program like Puget Sound Off. Which ones are reasonable? What counts as success?

1. Diversifying the available news and political media in King County by involving perhaps 200-300 youth at any given time in creating high-quality media that competes with or complements the newspaper, radio, and TV.

2. Influencing schools by exemplifying a different form of active citizenship than what is presented in textbooks.

3. Expanding the proportion of young Seattle residents who follow news and social issues, by providing them with a more interactive and youth-friendly platform. (The target might be to reach half of all youth periodically.)

4. Enhancing the knowledge, perspectives, and even the “wisdom” of the 200-300 youth who are directly involved, and/or the other 200,000 Seattle teenagers.

5. Having a significant impact on social problems in Seattle. For instance, the high school droupout rate falls because kids feel more engaged in school, or because PSO kids develop ideas for school reform that are implemented. Or Seattle police prevent more crime and reduce racial profiling because they interact better with teenagers. Or…?

6. Creating a model that is borrowed by other Seattle community-based organizations, so that one day there are (say) 30 different but interlinked sites like PSO in Seattle.

7. Creating a model that is borrowed and adapted in other communities.

8. Promoting public policies that support youth media or civic media.

]]> By: David Keyes http://www.engagedyouth.org/2008/10/03/open-thread-for-the-civic-learning-online-research-presentation/#comment-275 David Keyes Sat, 04 Oct 2008 18:33:57 +0000 http://www.engagedyouth.org/2008/10/03/open-thread-for-the-civic-learning-online-research-presentation/#comment-275 I've posted the Puget Sound Off logic model as a pdf at <a href="http://seattle.gov/tech/youth/Puget_Sound_Off_Logic_Model.pdf" title="Puget Sound Off Logic Model" rel="nofollow">Logic model </A> (Hopefully I got the code right :) If not: http://seattle.gov/tech/youth/Puget_Sound_Off_Logic_Model.pdf I’ve posted the Puget Sound Off logic model as a pdf at Logic model

(Hopefully I got the code right :)
If not: http://seattle.gov/tech/youth/Puget_Sound_Off_Logic_Model.pdf

]]> By: David Keyes http://www.engagedyouth.org/2008/10/03/open-thread-for-the-civic-learning-online-research-presentation/#comment-274 David Keyes Sat, 04 Oct 2008 17:01:01 +0000 http://www.engagedyouth.org/2008/10/03/open-thread-for-the-civic-learning-online-research-presentation/#comment-274 Reelgrrls.org is the program Sami is part of. http://www.youtube.com/profile_videos?user=reelgrrls to see what they have posted there. Reelgrrls.org is the program Sami is part of.
http://www.youtube.com/profile_videos?user=reelgrrls to see what they have posted there.

]]> By: Savannah Peterson http://www.engagedyouth.org/2008/10/03/open-thread-for-the-civic-learning-online-research-presentation/#comment-272 Savannah Peterson Fri, 03 Oct 2008 23:53:27 +0000 http://www.engagedyouth.org/2008/10/03/open-thread-for-the-civic-learning-online-research-presentation/#comment-272 Relating to the desire to incorporate in-depth material with user-generated content: I agree with what Lance was saying, that Puget Sound Off is progressing much faster as a networking site than as one of education; however, I think that in the long run this will even out. The number one complaint that we've received from youth was that the site was 'nerdy' and the youth often referenced the 'nerd factor' of PSO. This 'nerd factor' is a bit of a deterrent when it comes to youth involvement. I enjoyed Mark's point about not being obsessed with what is cool, and his suggestion that the slightly older members of PSO's target demographic create the standard from cool; however, if the site is too civic centric, our experience has shown many students are turned off. This has been and continues to be one the greatest challenges of the PSO project. Hopefully both the scope and depth of content on PSO will continue to grow as the site ages. I encourage everyone to check out the site: www.pugetsoundoff.org and take a look at what our initial users are talking about. There is also a nice rant by user naominel3 titled "bumbershoot publicity!" regarding the necessity of marketing PSO virally (she asks for a commitment to PSO). Conceptually, it's inspiring. Relating to the desire to incorporate in-depth material with user-generated content: I agree with what Lance was saying, that Puget Sound Off is progressing much faster as a networking site than as one of education; however, I think that in the long run this will even out. The number one complaint that we’ve received from youth was that the site was ‘nerdy’ and the youth often referenced the ‘nerd factor’ of PSO. This ‘nerd factor’ is a bit of a deterrent when it comes to youth involvement. I enjoyed Mark’s point about not being obsessed with what is cool, and his suggestion that the slightly older members of PSO’s target demographic create the standard from cool; however, if the site is too civic centric, our experience has shown many students are turned off. This has been and continues to be one the greatest challenges of the PSO project. Hopefully both the scope and depth of content on PSO will continue to grow as the site ages.

I encourage everyone to check out the site: http://www.pugetsoundoff.org and take a look at what our initial users are talking about. There is also a nice rant by user naominel3 titled “bumbershoot publicity!” regarding the necessity of marketing PSO virally (she asks for a commitment to PSO). Conceptually, it’s inspiring.

]]> By: Adriana Gil Miner http://www.engagedyouth.org/2008/10/03/open-thread-for-the-civic-learning-online-research-presentation/#comment-271 Adriana Gil Miner Fri, 03 Oct 2008 22:14:06 +0000 http://www.engagedyouth.org/2008/10/03/open-thread-for-the-civic-learning-online-research-presentation/#comment-271 Re: Mark's comment form YouthNoise that not all users are the same so it's important to have many different points of entries. This is a design principle (and good to consider when measuring success) that seems to be universal to digital environments. I blogged about this, reflecting on Charlene Li's Groundswell book at http://digitalecologist.com/ui-for-different-user-types/ Re: Mark’s comment form YouthNoise that not all users are the same so it’s important to have many different points of entries. This is a design principle (and good to consider when measuring success) that seems to be universal to digital environments. I blogged about this, reflecting on Charlene Li’s Groundswell book at http://digitalecologist.com/ui-for-different-user-types/

]]> By: Eszter Hargittai http://www.engagedyouth.org/2008/10/03/open-thread-for-the-civic-learning-online-research-presentation/#comment-270 Eszter Hargittai Fri, 03 Oct 2008 21:15:46 +0000 http://www.engagedyouth.org/2008/10/03/open-thread-for-the-civic-learning-online-research-presentation/#comment-270 Jon, I think you're absolutely right. I co-authored a paper with Gina Walejko on the <a href="http://www.webuse.org/papers?id=participation-divide" rel="nofollow">Participation Divide</a> where we show that there are systematic differences in who is most likely to share writing, photos, music and videos online. We found that young women (we looked at first-year college students) were less likely to post than young men, controlling for all sorts of other factors. However, once we also controlled for skill (see <a href="http://www.webuse.org/papers?id=survey-measures-of-web-oriented-digital-literacy" rel="nofollow">this paper</a> for more on how we measured that), there is no longer a relationship between gender and tendency to post. Inspired by these findings, I’ve started doing additional work on this question with a group of students. We’ve conducted 30 interviews so far and have found that concern about how the material they post is perceived is definitely a deterrent for several students in being more active online. Jon, I think you’re absolutely right. I co-authored a paper with Gina Walejko on the Participation Divide where we show that there are systematic differences in who is most likely to share writing, photos, music and videos online. We found that young women (we looked at first-year college students) were less likely to post than young men, controlling for all sorts of other factors. However, once we also controlled for skill (see this paper for more on how we measured that), there is no longer a relationship between gender and tendency to post.

Inspired by these findings, I’ve started doing additional work on this question with a group of students. We’ve conducted 30 interviews so far and have found that concern about how the material they post is perceived is definitely a deterrent for several students in being more active online.

]]> By: jonhickey http://www.engagedyouth.org/2008/10/03/open-thread-for-the-civic-learning-online-research-presentation/#comment-269 jonhickey Fri, 03 Oct 2008 18:01:05 +0000 http://www.engagedyouth.org/2008/10/03/open-thread-for-the-civic-learning-online-research-presentation/#comment-269 Applying the traditional categories of learning that Lances proposes (knowlege, expression, joining, and action) to the web is interesting. Lance points out that in a classroom setting, knowledge is most common, followed by expression, and down the line to action. When applying this online, it seems like knowledge is still the most likely to occur, but I wonder if expression is less likely to occur than joining. Joining online networks is simple. Clicking a button, reading, and sharing information found elsewhere is easy. However, from personal experience, expression can be difficult online. With so many people posting content, it can be intimidating to put your voice out there. There is always someone that will write harsh words about your opinion, and there is always someone more knowledgeable in large online communities. Does anyone agree with this? The web has been hyped for the ease of expression, but I think there are barriers for many that should be taken into account. Applying the traditional categories of learning that Lances proposes (knowlege, expression, joining, and action) to the web is interesting. Lance points out that in a classroom setting, knowledge is most common, followed by expression, and down the line to action.

When applying this online, it seems like knowledge is still the most likely to occur, but I wonder if expression is less likely to occur than joining. Joining online networks is simple. Clicking a button, reading, and sharing information found elsewhere is easy. However, from personal experience, expression can be difficult online. With so many people posting content, it can be intimidating to put your voice out there. There is always someone that will write harsh words about your opinion, and there is always someone more knowledgeable in large online communities.

Does anyone agree with this? The web has been hyped for the ease of expression, but I think there are barriers for many that should be taken into account.

]]> By: David Keyes http://www.engagedyouth.org/2008/10/03/open-thread-for-the-civic-learning-online-research-presentation/#comment-268 David Keyes Fri, 03 Oct 2008 17:58:53 +0000 http://www.engagedyouth.org/2008/10/03/open-thread-for-the-civic-learning-online-research-presentation/#comment-268 In addition to the 5 general areas of civic learning you've identified (Knowledge, expression, joining publics, taking action, developing orientations), I would add Problem Solving. This is both knowing how to facilitate and working to develop solutions together. This is before you take action to make yours or others solutions a reality...and gets revisited as you learn about power hierarchies, negotiation and how to dog and track an issue. In addition to the 5 general areas of civic learning you’ve identified (Knowledge, expression, joining publics, taking action, developing orientations),
I would add Problem Solving.

This is both knowing how to facilitate and working to develop solutions together. This is before you take action to make yours or others solutions a reality…and gets revisited as you learn about power hierarchies, negotiation and how to dog and track an issue.

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