Integrating Web 2.0 into Youth Programming

By Anthony Brunner, Peter Kirschmann, Mary Pumphrey and Oanh Vu

"If you work with youth, you know that they are interacting online. They are creating and posting content and remixing, commenting on, and mashing up content created by others. New Web 2.0 tools, which encompass sites allowing for collaborative, dynamic, user generated content, are quickly becoming ubiquitous in everyday life.

Our interest in these tools came about through reflection on our own programs and those of our peers, which include varied views and uses of Web 2.0 tools at different youth serving organizations in the Twin Cities. Many sites are using Web 2.0 tools for outreach and marketing; however, we found that many of our Americorps co-workers were utilizing Web 2.0 tools within their organizations in ways beyond general program outreach.

Contributors to this article are members of a newly emerging generation of youth workers, who have grown up with these technologies and are aware of the possibilities surrounding them. To better inform our colleagues in the field, we interviewed a few of our peers as we identify the field's unique position to integrate Web 2.0 as a critical component in the process of youth-produced media."