Pedagogies of Production: Challenging "Participation Gaps" Through a Digital Storytelling Workshop for Urban Families

• In Event: Contributions of Technology to Improved and More Equitable Teaching

Abstract

In this paper, we present findings of a research study centered around a digital storytelling workshop developed for families in an urban schoolboard, a demographic rich with culturally diverse immigrant families and ESL/ELL learners. The aim of this research was to support parents/guardians in urban communities with a practical hands-on understanding of 21st century literacies, and to provide models, tools and practices for parents/guardian and their children/youth to enact digital and narrative competences together. Mobilizing a ‘production pedagogy’ framework, we explore what and how families learn through producing multimodal digital narratives. Findings signal that this workshop model positively impacted (home) digital literacy practices and collaborative relations, while also increasing confidence to engage new media in formal and informal learning contexts.

Authors

• Kurt Thumlert, York University

• Cristyne Hebert, University of Regina

• Jennifer Jenson, The University of British Columbia