DIY Media in the Classroom

This book shows teachers how to bring students’ Do-It-Yourself media practices into the classroom (Grades 6-12). In one accessible resource, the authors explain DIY media, identify their appealing features for content area instruction, and describe the literacy skills and strategies they promote. Chapters address: Adolescents’ DIY Media as New Literacies; Blogs; Social Networking and Social Media Sites; Video Games, Machinima, and Virtual Worlds; YouTube and Video Sharing Sites; Informational Wikis and Online Resources; Fan Fiction, Fan Art and Web Comics; Zines and Indie Music; DIY Media, Assessment, Ethics, and Achievement. Providing a compelling rationale and framework for using DIY media in the classroom, this book: addresses both print-based and digital DIY media (one of the first professional education books to do so); provides teaching strategies for using DIY media across the curriculum, including English/language arts, math, social studies, science, art, and music; and offers multiple perspectives, including a classroom teacher who reflects on her own challenges and successes with DIY media in a high school class.

Barbara Guzzetti is a Professor in the division of Learning, Technology and Psychology in the Mary Lou Fulton Research Institute and Graduate School of Education at Arizona State University. Kate Elliott is a graduate student in nonprofit studies at Arizona State University. Diana Welsch is a Library Assistant in a large urban public library where she develops and implements art, music, and gaming programs for teens.