DIGITECH Research Group

In June I began supporting a young people's research group "Digitech" at St. Katherine's School in Ham Green, Pill, in North Somerset. The group formulated a research statement to clarify their aims -
"WE ARE UNDERTAKING A RESEARCH PROJECT INTO THE USES OF DIGITAL MEDIA TECHNOLOGY (DMT). USING A SAMPLE OF STUDENTS THROUGHOUT THE SCHOOL OUR AIM IS TO DISCOVER WHETHER OR NOT DIGITAL MEDIA TECHNOLOGY COULD BE PUT TO BETTER USE AND INCREASED IN ORDER TO IMPROVE LEARNING WITHIN A CLASSROOM ENVIRONMENT". DIGITECH, 2007.
Supporting Digitech to develop research skills and knowledge provides an opportunity not only to foster my own understanding of the process of participatory research processes but also to gain a young person's first hand perspective on effective uses of digital media technology for learning.

Related articles on Informal Learning and Media Education

Article posts by Emma Agusita on Futurelab's blog

It’s a question… of balance
Wednesday, June 18th, 2008
Why is it that practitioners of informal learning can align themselves so closely with the tenets of democratic educational philosophy?


The We, the What, the How? Futurelab - Research Discussion Day
Wednesday, March 26th, 2008

In September 2007 I was invited by the Arts and Humanities Research Council UK to present my work on Platform Futures at a European conference on the use of technologies in humanities research in Tallinn, Estonia. The conference explored how new technologies are being incorporated into the work of humanities scholars and discussed the impact and implications of this.

I presented at a PhD poster session summarizing the main aims and objectives of my research. I explained that the research deals with learning not just with or through media technologies as a tool, but in terms of critical learning about media as a form of representation particularly in relation to young people. I also emphasized the importance of engaging young people as participants in the research process.

Young Researchers Collective

I aim to enable a group of young people to work as co-researchers on elements of the project. This is because I believe that young people should be given the opportunity to be active participants in research rather than simply 'subjects' of it. This is an approach which reflects the ethos of KWMC who encourage young people to be part of consultation and decision-making processes in relation to issues which affect them.

I will work with a group of young people, facilitating and supporting them to develop research and evaluation skills, for the purpose of evaluating their own and their peers creative uses of digital media technologies. My aim is to create a space for dialogue and a research ‘voice’ within the project for young people, one which seeks to articulate their interests, experiences and opinions, as far as possible, on their own terms.

In doing this, I aim to address one of the key objectives of the research - which is to identify how provision for social, cultural and educational development of young people using digital media can be improved. In terms of developing approaches and practices that connect with young people in more relevant and meaningful ways.