ABSTRACT

With the increasing interest in the role of digital technologies in education has come the hope, explicitly or implicitly contained in various out-of-school youth programs, that technology will both engage and “improve” disenfranchised youth. Indeed most prior research in educational technology has examined its effects on increasing rote academic skills or in preparation for the workplace. Digital technologies such as video production or Geographic Information Systems (GIS) mapping are often seen as a means to engage youth, and technologies may indeed carry a high intellectual valance and be crucial to engaging young people in activities that will stimulate their curiosity. However, digital technologies are insufficient tools for creating shifts in identity that will help disenfranchised youth.