Youth Practices in Digital Arts and New Media: Learning in Formal and Informal Settings (PDF)

Joanna Black is Associate Professor in the Faculty of Education and is cross-appointed as Associate Professor in the School of Art at the University of Manitoba, Canada. Her research interests and published works are on the subjects of new media in education, contemporary art, and digital visual arts pedagogy.


Juan Carlos Castro is Assistant Professor of Art Education at Concordia University in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. He also serves as Undergraduate Programs Advisor for the Department of Art Education.


Ching-Chiu Lin is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Department of Curriculum and Pedagogy at the University of British Columbia (UBC) in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Lin's research interests lie in teacher mentorship, as well as issues of technology and community in art education.

"Digital media, and the technological advances associated with it, disrupts traditional conceptions of the teaching and learning experience. In this volume, Joanna Black, Juan Carlos Castro, and Ching-Chiu Lin assist educators in navigating this disruption in a comprehensive, compelling, and provocative way. Students, and their communities, will be well served as a result."

- Doug Blandy, Professor in the Arts and Administration Program, University of Oregon

"Young people's informal learning through the arts and digital media has become a vital consideration in understanding contemporary human development. This book builds context for the study of youth digital arts practices and brings together several, informative case-based examples, illustrating the range and depth of learning that occurs as a result of these practices outside of school. Any educator could benefit by reading this book and attending to these practices, which have become a defining characteristic of digital natives. Young people's informal learning through the arts and digital media has become a vital consideration in understanding contemporary human development. This book builds context for the study of youth digital arts practices and brings together several, informative case-based examples, illustrating the range and depth of learning that occurs as a result of these practices outside of school. Any educator could benefit by reading this book and attending to these practices, which have become a defining characteristic of digital natives."

- Kerry Freedman, Professor and Division Head, Art + Design Education, Northern Illinois University

"This book is a timely and important addition to the educational literature at the intersection of learning, digital technology, and contemporary youth culture. As the authors note, this book is particularly interested in exploring "the relationship regarding youths' digital culture in connection to creativity, it's