Beyond participation to co-creation of meaning: mobile social media in generative learning communities

TLDR

Digital social media is reshaping participation and learning, yet educators struggle to harness these dynamic, scripted interactions for educational purposes. The article argues that social learning theories can guide the design of Web 2.0 participatory media to enhance learning. They develop Mobltz, an informal mobile social media app that uses social learning principles to create generative learning communities through shared meaning and experiences.

Abstract

Digital social media is dramatically changing the social landscape and the ways in which we understand ‘participation’. As youth embrace these dynamic yet highly scripted forms of mediated social interaction, educators have struggled to find ways to harness these new participatory forms to support learning. This article considers the interactive structures and frameworks that underlie much of ‘Web 2.0’ participatory media, and proposes that theories of social learning and action could greatly inform the design of participatory media applications to support learning. We propose engaging the potential of mediated social interaction to foster ‘generative learning communities’ and describe an informal learning social media application under development known as ‘Mobltz’ — embracing concepts of ‘mobile media blitz’ with the intentional emphasis on the syllable ‘mob’. The application is an attempt to bring guidance from what social science knows about learning and human development to craft interactional affordances based on sharing of meaning and experiences.