ABSTRACT
Twenty-first-century children and youth are avid consumers and producers of digital media, including photography, memes, video, stop-motion animation, blogging, web design, and other venues. Often, young people's digital media learning tends to overemphasize the use of software and media tools and techniques and attach a sense of “coolness” to effective technology use and the sophisticated skills needed for such work, as well as to staying abreast with new hardware and software updates, all of which overshadow the importance of users’ critical thinking about the world and their own media making. Students are also expected to demonstrate a fundamental digital citizenship, including the ethical and responsible use and production of digital media and awareness of how their own digital work can contribute to the global, democratic mediascape. This chapter provides a comprehensive overview of conceptual frameworks and pedagogical practices that promote youth civic participation using a variety of established and emerging digital technologies in university classrooms, public schools, and community settings.
