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Maria is an avid fan of professional wrestling. She was first introduced to wrestling through her family.
Maria’s friends tease her about her wrestling interests. She goes online to connect with fellow fans in an online fan fiction community where she writes stories about wrestling.
Hearing about Maria’s interests, a teacher she is close to encourages her to write for the school newspaper and a college writing degree.
Learn more about Maria and online peer relationships that support learning in Affinity Online: How Connection and Shared Interest Fuel Learning.
The research is clear: Learning is irresistible and life-changing when it connects personal interests to meaningful relationships and real-world opportunity.
Learning is irresistible and relevant when it grows from interests, culture, and identity. This could be personal interests like arts, sports, or literature, as well as social issues and community connection that motivates civic engagement and activism. Learn more in our reports on connected arts learning and connected civics.
Learners thrive when they are supported and challenged by caring peers and mentors with shared affinities. Youth can find these support and affinity groups in school and community settings, as well as in supportive online spaces and peer interactions. Learn more in our report on social media and youth wellbeing.
Personally relevant learning connected to academic, civic, and career opportunities is how young people find their place in communities and careers. Learn more in our report on how youth development organizations foster occupational equity by connecting to young people’s culture and identity.
Learn more about research on connected learning from the Connected Learning Research Network.
YOUmedia, a youth digital makerspace in Chicago’s main downtown public library, embodies the values and elements of connected learning.
YOUmedia centers on digital media production such as music, art, poetry and journalism. Young people can “hang out socially, mess around with new projects and geek out” in areas of specialization when they want to take the leap. Librarians and mentors organize showcases, support the production of various projects and broker connections to other opportunities in their interest area.
Youth who participated at YOUmedia saw clear results.
Read more about research on YOUmedia from the Chicago Consortium for School Research and the Connected Learning Alliance. Learn more about the growing network of YOUmedia learning labs in libraries and museums across the country here.
Connected learning does not rely on a single technology or technique. Rather, it is fostered over time through a combination of supports for developing interests, relationships, skills, and a sense of purpose.
Organizations and adults must meet youth where they are in order to foster connected learning. They do this by being sponsors of what youth are genuinely interested in — recognizing diverse interests and providing mentorship, space, and other resources.
Ongoing shared activities are the backbone of connected learning. Through collaborative production, friendly competition, civic action, and joint research, youth and adults make things, have fun, learn, and make a difference together.
Learners need to feel a sense of belonging and be able to make meaningful contributions to a community in order to experience connected learning. Groups that foster connected learning have shared culture and values, are welcoming to newcomers, and encourage sharing, feedback and learning among all participants.
As connected learners develop, they access varied programs, communities and opportunities. In order to support diverse learner pathways, organizations and caring adults can form partnerships, broker connections across settings, and share on openly networked platforms and portfolios.
Educators have been putting connected learning into practice through a wide range of networks and organizations, in both formal and informal environments.
Programs and organizations designed around connected learning are serving young people around the country and world.
Libraries and museums across the country have established YOUmedia learning labs to engage thousands of young people in creative, hands-on connected learning experiences.
The Quest to Learn school in New York City continues to be a beacon for game-based connected learning. Students have shown improvement in traditional test scores, as well as assessments designed to measure critical and independent thinking.
Connected Camps has developed online STEM summer camps and after-school programs that connect interests in gaming with STEM learning, serving over 20,000 learners from diverse backgrounds.
The North America Scholastic Esports Federation uses esports as a platform to acquire critical communication, collaboration, and problem-solving skills needed to thrive in work and in life. In addition to supporting a competitive league, NASEF supports school clubs, coaching, research, and a high school curriculum centered on STEM skills and competencies such as digital production and entrepreneurship in esports.
The Connected Scholars Program supports college students in developing networking and relationship-building skills based on a connected learning model. Because of growth in self-efficacy and GPA and improved campus relationships, UMass Boston has rolled out the program campus-wide.
FUSE facilitates learning through ‘making,’ develops 21st century skills, and builds collaborative, youth-centered learning communities. FUSE is designed for students in middle and high school, but is also implemented in community colleges and in lower elementary in some contexts.
