Brother Mike Hawkins- A YOUmedia Perspective: Remixing Connections, Culture, and Creativity

“Brother Mike” Hawkins will share his personal experience about YOUmedia Chicago and the power and potential of interest-driven learning.

Key Questions and Comments:

• (21:54) What’s the role of a mentor during [informal, unstructured] times?
• (26:42) How has the vision of YOUmedia evolved over the past three years? What do you see as the next phase of development?
• (35:39) What are the mechanisms through which you’re thinking about tying that interest-driven learning in the ‘hangout’ environment, in that more informal environment of YOUmedia, to the traditional classroom curriculum?
• (36:15) If the YOUmedia project becomes a catalyst for taking learning into the connected realm outside of the school…what do you see as far as motion towards receiving credit for what these young people are doing? Or maybe even creating landscapes of learning that could be acknowledged…as official learning in some way?
• (42:13) If kids are exposed, in these spaces (these YOUmedia and other spaces like that) to teachers who are messing around and geeking out, can’t we trust that that curiosity within is going to do us much better than “the core”?

View the Conversation
During the broadcast, the conversation also took place on Twitter using the hashtag #connectedlearning.

Guests for this webinar included:

• Hillary Kolos
• Monika Hardy
• Thomas Steele-Maley
• Brother Mike Hawkins: Mike Hawkins (aka Brother Mike) is the heart and soul of YOUmedia. The YOUmedia Coordinator/Lead Mentor for Digital Youth Network, Brother Mike came to DYN with eight years’ experience working in the classroom at Carter G. Woodson on Chicago’s South Side. Brother Mike specializes in spoken word and hip-hop. Follow him on Twitter:@BrotherMike1
• Mimi Ito

Resources for this webinar:

• iRemix Records (Media Arts Class)
• Lyricist Loft Open Mic Series
• Born Brave Bus Design (with Lady Gaga’s Born This Way Foundation)
• What’s Going On Now (with The Kennedy Center)
• One Book One Chicago: (example) A Mercy by Toni Morrison
• YOUmedia Chicago
• Digital Youth Network
• Wiki for resources around teaching critical thinking (open to contribution)
• YOUmedia on Flickr
• Chicago Tribune article about local teens helping design Lady Gaga’s “Born Brave” tour bus
• “YOUmedia turns teens into DIY rock stars”
• Dave Cormier on rhizomatic learning [VIDEO]
• One Book, One Chicago project
• List of “The House on Mango Street” projects (Spring 2009)
• YOUmedia on Tumblr and ‘youmedia’-tagged Tumblr posts
• Howard Rheingold’s syllabus module for teaching about remix
• “Folk Cultures and Digital Cultures” – the historical context of remixing [VIDEO]
• YOUmedia’s “Library of Games” video game journalism program