Credential Engine Learning and Employment RecordsAction Guide

Editorial Style Guide

I said I was going to give the students a quiz, during the third week of class, on “everything we had learned so far.” They should use the taxonomy of cheating and the university’s own policy to cheat on this quiz. Nothing was off-limits unless it was dangerous or illegal. Other than that, have at it, I told them. All the students had to do was complete the quiz and then write a one-page reflection that explained: 1) the ways in which they cheated, 2) what, if anything, they learned from it and 3) how they felt about the experience

While it is true that merely digitizing university credentials does not provide massive value toemployers, it is also equally true that the absence of large-scale market adoption of credential-issuing software is holding back support by HR management software

rather than an integrated sector, these groups are rather organizedaround a set of semi-permeable cells—each of which is more or less self-referring with limited (butnot non-existent) communication with other cells

we as a community need to do more to build trust across the organizations thatare involved in these processes and build on each other's work

belongs to a ‘credentials first’ approach, whereby a person submits digital credentials into an onlinewallet that aggregates their skills data. The credentials can contain detailed information about allthe person’s accomplishments and shared selectively with employers. A resume, if used at all,would serve more as an index and explanatory note for the information being presented, then asthe prime source for that information.

many common resume-builders de-emphasize the role of credentials in theapplication process. They focus on enabling a user to create a summary of their knowledge andskills in a single format, while credentials are relegated to documents which can prove thesestatements, rather than acting as the primary source of the statement. Resumes also provide astandardized format for users to surface the most important parts of their experience

using this information to match candidates to jobs would requiresome way of comparing different degrees from different universities, and evaluating the weight togive different letters of recommendation from employers

Many HRMS providers point to AI approaches for processing unstructured data as the bestcurrently available approach to dealing with validation. Currently these approaches suffer frominsufficient accuracy. Improving them requires development of large and high-quality referencedatasets to better train the models.

Multiple initiatives have tried to make various kinds of social recommendations by issuingcredentials. However, up to this point they have worked better in closed social networks rather thanas open credentials due to the ability of social networks to tie a recommendation with the profile(and identity) of the recommender. There are also several nascent initiatives to create open linkeddata around which skills, credentials and issuers are valued by employers.

publishedassessment procedures,

many credential standards are designed primarily for the needs of credential-issuers,typically educational institutions.

While employers generally do want more data to make informed hiring decisions, many academiccredentials contain lots of information that is not necessarily relevant to employment use cases,such as information about student and course codes, assessment weighting information, credittransfer information and others, while sometimes omitting more useful data such as licensinginformation, links to occupational profiles, etc

employers are not currently issuing the type of data-richcredentials to their employees that they would ideally like to see job applicants present. Whilemost of our panel acknowledges that certain employers may consider such data proprietary,most indicate this is not a major factor preventing the issue of more and better credentials inworkplaces. The problem is rather rooted in business processes that are not necessarilydesigned to track personal development except as a factor of overall output

Alternative issuers tend to offer shorter, targeted learning experiences, which are specificallydesigned to address skill gaps. This by default makes their credentials more granular than thoseissued by traditional academic institutions. That said, research shows that a large percentage ofalternative credentials are designed with the same limitations as traditional ones—they containonly short descriptions of the title of a learning program, with little additional metadata or evidenceof the learning achievement provided

he degree is not a proxyfor talent, if anything, it just sets up barriers for those ... facing systemic inequalities .... [M]yobservation is that I think employers take that path because [it is] the path of least resistance,that they have always done it that way, and that is the way that they measure it.”

many applicants for aposition will not have direct experience of the work in their target profession. Nor will they havegained a title that is explicitly targeted toward that new position. To be able to assess these kinds ofapplicants, employers want insight into which specific skills and experiences of a presenter may betransferable to new contexts. This includes skills a candidate may have gained outside of formaleducation, for example through professional development programs, on-the-job training,volunteering experience or experiences in their other professions

. Should these software systems start accepting digital credentials, thenemployers will be accepting them by default. Our panel indicates that the most direct route for thisto happen is for employers to request the feature from their vendors

Issuing experiential credentials earned at a company as portable digital credentials is currentlyextremely rare.

This includes candidates whose experience has been in a different industry, andwho may not use the appropriate terminology when describing their own skills or even be awarethat they would qualify for jobs in a separate industry even though they have all the skills required

Practically all panelists see this ability to better understand their current job applicants as thenumber-one use case for digital credentials. They identify a trend of employers wanting to movebeyond summaries of data encapsulated in resumes to gain access to additional rich metadataabout a person’s experiences. Given the effort it would take to sift through this type of datamanually, this implies providing the ability to match individuals to the jobs required

Most of the panelists stated the main potential value of digital credentials is helping companiesaddress the challenges created by this shift in workforce recruitment and training.

Additionally, credential-holders,consumer groups and unions have very little knowledge about the advantages of digitalcredentials, which further weaken the voice of this stakeholder

They also need to communicate their potential, i.e., what they are able to learn, as well as toreceive guidance on how to realize their potential

They also do not have access to enterprise-class HR systems/software due to a lack of volume whichwould justify the cost and/or complexity of implementation

Analysis and assessment of the content of the document within the context of its intendeduse case—by humans and/or assisted by AI● The resulting determination if an applicant might be suitable for a particular job or task

r the purposes of this study, digital credentials are defined as claims which are issued in a formatthat is both human and machine-readable. A key research question is whether these credentialsbring enough value to employers over other legacy technologies including paper-based credentials,digital reproductions or digital documents that are not machine-readable

This mightinclude developing open-source software libraries linked to major semantic standards forlearning outcomes, publishing directories of such software, or the creation of networks ofvalidators who are able to validate different types of credentials

and the publication of these as linked opendata, will strongly increase semantic understanding of credentials

The priority needs to be increasing the number of relevant digital credentialsin the market

Digital credentials can store more granular information about learning outcomes orachievements, which is needed to make informed assessments of competence. Traditionalcredentials such as degrees, diplomas or letters of recommendation, even in digital form,lack this data. In order to transition to skills-based hiring processes, more detailedinformation, some of which institutions already track and store internally, will need to beincluded into the credentials

Adoption of digital Verifiable Credentials by employers is directly related to the way they areintegrated into Human-Resource Management Systems (HRMS

employers see potential value in using digital credentials for a number of differentreasons. These include using digital credentials to better match candidates to jobs by analyzingtheir skills, broadening the talent funnel by data-mining credential databases, ensuring theauthenticity of credentials, and using credentials to manage the talent pathways in theirorganizations

Nacirema

The result is a pervasive lack of knowledge needed to safely navigate digital environments. According to the Fletcher School at Tufts University, only 40% of American adults can answer basic questions on topics including phishing, privacy and cookies. Confronting those deficiencies head on over the next year will necessitate including underserved and undereducated communities in the design process.

“You have to assume that things can go wrong,” shared Waymo’s head of cybersecurity, Stacy Janes. “You can’t just design for this success case – you have to design for the worst case.”

Recognition of prior learning — as discussed above, this is a way to translate knowledge, skills, and experience gained on the job into credentials that can be used more widely. This depends on an authority (the ‘Issuer’) assessing a portfolio of evidence about a person (the ‘Subject’), who will then also be able to use the VC as proof of their claim (i.e. also be the ‘Holder’).

Even in these cases, however, the aim of the activity is to assess whether an individual has met the criteria for admission to a course or institution. What VCs allow is for recognition to be turned into a credential, and therefore used as ‘currency’ not just to be ‘spent’ at that institution, but potentially anywhere.

One thing to note about VCs is that they don’t have to have a visual representation in the form of an image

Each of LSE's new MicroBachelors® programs includes four university-level courses from leading LSE faculty. Learners who successfully complete a MicroBachelors® program from LSE and are admitted into select online undergraduate degree programs from the University of London, with academic direction provided by LSE

Web3 will not replace traditional infrastructures, but Web3 technologies will augment and enhance traditional infrastructures with mechanisms for balancing privacy with rich functionality when it comes to learner and employee data: consent-and-control; interoperability; machine verifiability; and selective, progressive disclosure

imagine a future where educators are able to trace the impact they have had on learners' journeys. Educators can identify which teaching methods worked best for which learners and which approaches were most effective at enabling the learners to translate that learning into practice

The NFT certificates were “minted” and distributed via the blockchain, through the Polygon network, to the 22 students who completed the most recent Coursera session, Lenz said.

Additional NFT certificates of completion are being created for students who completed Duke Engineering’s blockchain course sequence in earlier sessions

the man's eight videos posted to TikTok last Thursday and Friday generated much attention. Combined, the posts garnered more than 2 million views and were recirculated on YouTube and Instagram by large-scale content creators reaching exponentially more people

whether a digital badge is used as a container to represent successful completion of a degree program or as a module in a course with a single competency, this taxonomy supports both the classification and description of that achievement in a common language with consistent meaning both inside and outside academia—and anywhere else along the lifelong learning continuum where badges are earned and awarded.

To ensure an equitable and inclusive participation, Workcred invited executive directors and directors of certification that represented certification bodies based on selected criteria—whether their certification(s) could be aligned at the cognitive content level of a bachelor’s degree, whether the organization participates in Workcred’s Credentialing Body Advisory Council, and if they are accredited by a third-party.4 For purposes of this project, accreditation served as a proxy for the industry value of the certification. Select employers in industries related to the focus of a convening were also invited to participate.

Appendix F: Questions Universities Can Ask Certification Bodies to Assess Quality of Certifications

“Public research universities are committed to improving the workforce outcomes of their students and to addressing the workforce needs of local economies. This approach can ensure students that their credentials will have value to the labor market, and it can ensure employers that graduates have the skills required to perform in the workplace.”

provide bachelor’s degree students with an opportunity to demonstrate and apply what they have learned in their academic programs.

achieving a more comprehensive education

A study released today from the nonprofit Burning Glass Institute found that among new hires at leading firms such as Facebook, Apple, Microsoft, and Google, the share of positions in job postings requiring a bachelor’s degree remains extremely high. “There are a whole bunch of tech companies that continue to be pretty reliant on degrees,”

tutorials

The Flatirons pathway also includes “electives,” such as the CliftonStrengths Assessment, CU Boulder’s own Conference on World Affairs, as well as capstone projects that ask users to apply what they’ve learned to example scenarios. Those capstone projects have an added purpose — they mirror a common component of higher education

ICoBC Quality Criteria for Badges and Micro-Credentials

t be issued for unevaluated learning accomplishments, such as the mere completion of a series of tasks, attendance at events, or for learning that has not been assessed, as competency and learning accomplishment evaluation is very important.

To the prospective student, our old semester tuition-based models may not compare well to $39 a month for six months to gain a credential that 150 major companies are considering the benchmark for entry-level employment.

He said the new AI tutor platform collects “competency skills graphs” made by educators, then uses AI to generate learning activities, such as short-answer or multiple-choice questions, which students can access on an app. The platform also includes applications that can chat with students, provide coaching for reading comprehension and writing, and advise them on academic course plans based on their prior knowledge, career goals and interest

The Google Career Certificates Employer Consortium consists of over 150 U.S. companies like Deloitte, Infosys, Snap Inc., Target, Verizon, and of course, Google. These companies span multiple sectors and are committed to considering Google Career Certificate graduates for entry-level jobs. Upon completion of a Google Career Certificate, you will gain access to an exclusive job platform where you can easily apply to opportunities from employers with open jobs. https://grow.google/certificates/it-support/#?modal_active=none

More points were awarded to candidates with master’s degrees and more years of experience in similar fields. While this approach seemed to provide a neutral method for evaluating candidates based on qualifications, it soon became apparent that the process, with its reliance on education and experience to the exclusion of other important qualities, was deeply flawed and created barriers to hiring talented, diverse candidates

It’s very hard for a person to learn about these emotes and what they mean when they have been accumulating in the culture for so long. A person just starting to watch Twitch would have a harder time understanding the chat than a person who knows all the metaphors

The game was a broker for my historical learning of that time period. Videogames especially helped with my English vocabulary. I saw myself being better and better in English talking to people from all around the world while playing World of Warcraft or Call of Duty. When I understood English, I started turning to other media like YouTube and Twitch. I watched many different English videos and learned different things.

I don’t learn on purpose

two crucial disruptions: instantaneous access to information,and persistent access to distributed networks of experti

Learning Ecologies Interview

Do a work check. Is this person getting access to the same quality of work as their peers? If not, then fix it. Do a mentoring check. Does this person have one or more people who can speak to their work product and advocate for them? If not, then find that person for them. Do a compensation check. Does this person’s work output match the compensation they are provided as compared to others at their level? If not, then fix it

managers’ own discomfort with race ends up harming employees of color, even when the manager thinks they’re doing the right thing. For example, they might manage a woman of color who needs some coaching on her work, but the manager doesn’t feel the same rapport with her that they feel with their white employees and/or they feel awkward coaching someone of another race on problems with her work … and so they let work issues go that they really should be addressing … and so that employee doesn’t get the same coaching and support that her white colleagues get … and as a result, she ends up not performing well and doesn’t advance. Sometimes she even loses her job

Let’s say you have a group of people in a room and every one of those people has the physical ability to see. The room is dark. You want to turn on the light so they can see. You turn on a light. Here’s what equity work is like. Some eyes will hurt when you turn the light on, and they will need to be coached or trained to adapt. Some will blink and adjust quickly. Some have been waiting anxiously for light. And some eyes will stay closed and never open and then will write you emails about how angry they are that you turned a light on.

say something more meaningful than, “It makes our workplace stronger.” Why do you care? Why should your managers care? Why should your employees care? And why should your employees of color believe you when you say this matters to our company?

Develop and simulate credential hub pilot software connectors to demonstrate system integration with an SIS/HRIS, LMS, Assessment and Student Life software platform

The academic institutions tend to resort to previous work processes for constructing academic credentials and the late-stage sharing of these deliverables for feedback, rather than engaging business members in the process of development. This limits the necessary structural and delivery alternatives that might be necessary to truly align to the industry needs

The CLR is designed as the "holder" for all of the learner–worker's achievements to organize, manage, and share at their discretion

Future Relationships

All education partners indicated they spent more time than initially anticipated on the project. It was estimated that approximately 100 hours were spent by one institution by one individual in one atypical case. Another institution described a series of meetings over many months that included many individuals. In the latter case, a steering committee with about 25 people met twice a month for the first two months, which then transitioned to a small group meeting of 3 people every few weeks for the last two months.

Interestingly, the employers were aware of the need to avoid including specific technologies or competencies that were narrowly identifying the company's niche skills. By generating broader competency statements, they were also creating more sustainable position descriptions that could guide the company into the future, beyond the current specific technology or minute skill needs

he competency framework development process was similar to the curricular design process; however, the operating philosophy was still compelled by the academic program rather than backward designed from the job role/employer need

Many employers are looking to either hire those with cybersecurity credentials that are layered on top of other degrees or certifications or advance incumbent employees with years of experience. In the case of one employer, it was indicated that they were looking for individuals with 10+ years of experience. One employer noted that the Wellspring Project provides the opportunity to develop internal organizational career paths, supported with tuition reimbursement

upskilling, re-skilling, or entry hiring of employees to fill skill voids that result from the introduction of new technologies,

Project Management

Education Design Lab offered a “T-Profile” training session, a tool utilized to prioritize the highest priority 21st-century skills within a particular job role and provide a common education-employer language for discussing these skills.

COMPETENCY FRAMEWORKS

Despite an encouragement to include employers in these initial and follow-up calls, all calls consisted solely of individuals or teams from the educational institution

With a global digital transformation underway, the “distance economy” (McKinsey, 2020) further impacts the need for rapid skills-based credentials such as industry certifications, certificates and micro-credentials, and machine-readable learner records that can be linked through standards-based interoperability to optimize talent identification in the marketplace

The learn-to-work skills ecosystem continues to burgeon with projects addressing different aspects of the talent supply chain

Use of common, preferred skills terminology when applicable can positively increase the understanding of skill descriptions

The work of creating and aligning competency and skills frameworks can be tedious and time-consuming.

the education community's current efforts will require equally robust initiatives in the industry to organize and signal their talent needs in an open-standard form

Global or national strategies to define skills must be flexible and agile enough to incorporate regional and local variations and alternative elements. Standards representing skills must recognize distinct global, national, and local constructs

an exploratory project to demonstrate the feasibility of educators and employers working together to develop and create machine-readable, interconnected skills frameworks, with educators documenting their Learning Outcomes program frameworks and employers describing their job requirements as competencies and skill framework

plethora

espite this, it is inarguable that the game expands diversity and builds capacity for these marginalized groups to meet and connect with one another over their gender identities and sexualities.

The game may have brought us together, but it expanded my personal social supports for my interests

production-centered

It is peer-supported

“grindy” and time-intensive nature, as well as its high learning curve

It is sort of an initiation into the higher stages of plant membership

Marketplace

This connected and interactive community

uses the a K-pop song to teach her viewers some Korean phrases and to help them better understand the language

creates a platform

This type of learning is using a combination of approaches to retain information such as traditional learning and other aspects that help share ideas and knowledge in the context of modern society

This helps drive traffic and views to one another’s channels by broadening their viewership base

the brokers of this knowledge have been beauty or cosmetology schools. Now in the digital media age, these gatekeepers of knowledge have been surpassed by anyone with an internet connection

Reddit

His videos are super informative and entertaining, and every time you watch one of his videos you are bound to learn something new.

One of his videos can be viewed below

gravitate to community

A SUNY micro-credential is: Competency-based, reflecting skills and competencies mastered; Endorsed by the issuing institution as a whole; Developed through local faculty governance processes; and Meaningful and of high quality, with learning standards, assessments, and clear documentation of skills mastered that have meaning beyond one classroom, one program or the institution. Students can use a SUNY micro-credential to share their expertise to prospective employers, those hiring for internship opportunities, and to other academic institutions

Once we understand who our students are we can begin to tailor assessment processes and materials to have the greatest impact for their learning

The study found positive impact on student achievement and on the learning experience,

methods of assessment that can foster inclusiveness and academic success whilst upholding high standards for the quality of student learning” yet interestingly “most innovations in this context have focused on teaching rather than on student learning”

Rubrics were used such that the evaluation of the work was the same, thus quality ensured, but the demonstration could be different.

Assessment, if not done with equity in mind, privileges and validates certain types of learning and evidence of learning over others, can hinder the validation of multiple means of demonstration, and can reinforce within students the false notion that they do not belong

curating

Game designers traffic in the space of possibility. They design systems that define rules and thus give rise both to play and to a sense that anything is possible.

he desire to restrict hanging-out practices

access

well-educated

Pew’s 2007 survey found that daily 63 percent of teens go online, 36 percent send text messages, 35 percent talk on a mobile phone, 29 percent send IMs, and 23 percent send messages through social network sites

We also recognize that the ways in which U.S. youth participate in media ecologies are specifi c to contextual conditions and a particular historical moment.

This is just the tip of the innovation iceberg in a new deep-truth reality that is here today

This is just the tip of the innovation iceberg in a new deep-truth reality that is here today

There have been several studies done investigating the effects of what we are seeing on social media and its effects on our personalities, our moods, and how we feel we should live our lives

here are thousands of communities and groups dedicated to anything and everything to do with shoes

everyone has there own reason

Hype beast

Reliable information is hard to come by especially before the sneakers release. It’s a gamble every-time we decide to post something with limited information

The fans can also get inspired on how to mix the outfit for the season. I get inspiration from others, and of course for the fans

However, you can start to compare yourself and judge others and yourself from these difficult and serious topics. Some might struggle to fully agree or even just not seeing yourself as part of group can make others stressful. Still people will question it and questioning it means you still want to know anwsers and want a response which means you reacting to it. So even if, If you can turn the negative into positive and increase your knowledge in and later on you’ll be so baffled because of all the information you absorbed from Jubilee and the media

I made a high quality set of guides that made it easy for anyone to get into the community and start doing speedruns. I ran many of the community events, running the “Tasks” event and the weekly Bingo challenge. I also owned and moderated the community discord which was the central hub for the Super Mario Odyssey community. I managed the Super Mario Odyssey Speedrun twitter account which kept the community up to date with any major record, event, or discovery as well. In addition to all of this I also was a moderator for the leaderboards on speedrun.com and personally watched and verified many of the runs that are currently there. I put all of my time into bettering the Super Mario Odyssey community

YouTube and lots of other places such as Twitch

it creates a bond that is very special

built

To add on, much of the scene is openly networked meaning that anyone can find their place no matter what they drive and be able to learn from peer supported groups

What most don’t see is how impactful the community in Denver can be through ways of clubs, online forums, social media, and many other forms of passing on knowledge

While about half of all work activities globally have the technical potential to be automated by adapting currently demonstrated technologies

if we do turn our attention to the individual journeys that young people takethrough their educational, social, recreational and civic worlds, we see a marked absenceof clear “ladders” or sequential “pathways” of civic development. Instead we seemoments of activation when an affinity space is under threat, or periods of engagementwhen a cause becomes relevant to a deeply held identity or value

We have dissected the properties of narratives, practices, and infrastructures thatconstitute “consequential connections” that tie together these more conventionally dis-connected spheres

brokered

we learn best by investing ourselves into what brings us purpose in life

A great deal of my own learning stemmed from mentors, inside and outside of school; connecting other “branches”

.

In my own life

discourse

participatory culture

new literacies

media literacies

The sudden realization, I would like to say I stumbled upon, but more realistically punched me right in the face; was the fact that we learn best outside of the classroom. Who knew common sense could be so painful to the heart and mind. Now understanding this, I personally was struck with feelings of pointlessness and the sharp pains of a new black eye with a side of a broken nose. Coming across an epiphany like such leaves empty questions of what we spent the last 16 plus years of our lives doing in a classroom instead of living

YouTube will be my go-to

great source to find entertainment, information, help with school projects and or homework,

Academically, I was able to ask questions when I had concerns and follow a set of instructions without any additional help — this is where I had the opportunity to find my interests.

Speaking another language lead me to a different type of learning that certain students cannot comprehend

Media literacies

New literacies

When

able to learn from literally anywhere and anytime we want

I figured out more ways to make sure I was learning in the best way for me

I take what I have used on my computer and use it in the hospital in different programs to watch people's heart monitors or save a life.

new literacies that were probably not even around when my professors were learning

participatory culture where a group of people participates in a particular topic where they have an affinity

discourse

but I learn more with my friends. They are the ones who I can share my experiences, thoughts, and feelings with. Moreover, I can also give and receive much wonderful advice from them

media literac

learning from schools and classrooms but everywhere we are and anytime we have a chance

I also think

Today

There

they learn and develop skills within minutes. When one thing develops another grows bigger and because there are so many different ways to learn we have to step up and use all the tools we have

”

Learning

Things like Khan Academy and other learning YouTube Channels just like it

For example, LinusTechTips is a YouTuber

Reddit

without the need of a professor

Git

informal learning

T

The couple of clubs I was in fostered my learning more than hardly any class through those four years. The pre-med club allowed my to visit cadaver labs, and learn more about the human body than any biology class would have taught. I began learning on my own terms, and that has completely shifted how I view learning.

During this time discourses, or coordinations of things surrounding people, clarified my role in learning, as I wore a school uniform that differentiated me from the nicely dressed teachers to symbolize my lesser understanding

formal learning

At the moment, GPT-2 uses a binary search algorithm, which means that its output can be considered a ‘true’ set of rules. If OpenAI is right, it could eventually generate a Turing complete program, a self-improving machine that can learn (and then improve) itself from the data it encounters. And that would make OpenAI a threat to IBM’s own goals of machine learning and AI, as it could essentially make better than even humans the best possible model that the future machines can use to improve their systems. However, there’s a catch: not just any new AI will do, but a specific type; one that uses deep learning to learn the rules, algorithms, and data necessary to run the machine to any given level of AI.

up 40% from the previous study two years earlier

how meaning emerges collectivelyand collaboratively in the new media environment and how creativity operates differently in anopen-source culture based on sampling, appropriation, transformation, and repurposing

Ethics become much murkier in game spaces, where identities are assumed and actions are fic-tive, designed to allow broader rein to explore darker fantasie

young people were findingit increasingly difficult to separate commercial from noncommercial content in online environ-ments

focus on negative effects of media consumption

Empowerment comes from making meaningful decisions within a real civic context: we learnthe skills of citizenship by becoming political actors and gradually coming to understand thechoices we make in political terms

highly generative environment

people can participate in various ways accord-ing to their skills and interest

Participatory Culture

While to adults the Internet primarily means the world wide web, for children it means email, chat,games— and here they are already content producers.

Hanging out,” “messing around,” and “geeking out” describe differing levels of investments in new media activities in a way that integrates an understanding of technical, social, and cultural patterns. It is clear that different youth at different times possess varying levels of technology- and media-related expertise, interest, and motivation. The genres of participa-tion that emerged from our research can be viewed as an alternative to existing taxonomies of media engagement that generally are structured by the type of media platform, frequency of media use, or structural categories such as gender, age, or socioeconomic status

interest-driven practices. USC’s 2008 Digital Future Report surveyed some activities that could, but do not necessarily, indicate interest-driven practices. In its survey it asks about participation in, and attitudes about, online communities, which it defi nes as “a group that shares thoughts or ideas, or works on common projects through electronic com-munication only” (USC Digital Future Report Highlights 2008, 8). While the overall percentage of respondents who reported participating in an online community was relatively small—15 percent of all respondents—the authors note that this rate has more than doubled in three years.

access

Before we begin our description of youth practice, we need to map what those ecologie