This story is featured in the Fall 2013 issue of Showcase: The Knowledge Mobilization Edition. View the complete publication at www.trentu.ca/showcase

What better way to learn early modern text than by having students tweet it in conversation with each other? If you’re part of the current “NetGen” demographic, born between 1980 and 2000, it’s an ideal approach.

The NetGens are wired to be multi-taskers due to exposure to digital technology during their formative years of development. Facebook updates, tweets and online chats often happen simultaneously. In order to reach this fast-paced generation, the exploration and use of the latest technology is crucial. For educators, students, creators and technology users who want to know how to access technology, effectively harness its power, and make it work in the world of academia, a thought-provoking virtual meeting place called Digital Communitas will be a welcome development.

Led by Dr. Sara Humphreys, an assistant professor in the Department of English Literature at Trent University Oshawa, the site hosts scholarly articles. It’s a place where technological and educational visionaries reveal their expertise through online interviews. Educators and students post their personal experiences. The information is accessible and the dialogue inclusive. As the editor and project leader of Digital Communitas, Professor Humphreys quickly saw the site transformed into a clearinghouse of information examining how people ue digital tools in research and in the classroom.

Demystifying Technology

Prof. Humphreys believes that knowledge mobility is really about accessibility and taking information learned in the ivory tower and moving it to the street in a way that’s accessible and responsible. “This site is important,” she says. “A lot of people are doing these fantastic things in research labs and digital media zones. This is a site where teachers and researchers can go and gather. I’m hoping it empowers users in their use of media in the classroom and in their research, and inspires them to make research accessible.” Digital Communitas also has a significant research component. The views expressed in the posts collected on the site are part of a research project examining the use, creation and implementation of digital technologies in the classroom. An in-depth investigation into the proliferation of “digital media labs” or “zones” in Canadian universities will also be published through a series of blog posts. Possible plans for the future include the production of an interactive eBook showcasing the research results. Trent alumnus and research assistant, Allen Kempton is conducting the digital lab research project. “What drew me to the project was the opportunity to do real-world applications of theory and technology,” says Mr. Kempton, who is pursuing a Master’s degree in Sociology.

Where the Luminaries Gather. Virtually.

Throughout the site, scholars and media luminaries weigh in on the topic of technology and education. Trent chancellor Don Tapscott, who is recognized as one of the top business thinkers in the world, conducted an interview for the site emphasizing the importance of technology for today’s students. To view the video, visit: http://digitalcommunitas.wordpress.com/how-to-videos/don-tapscott/. Site research assistant, Sara Gallagher is a student in the M.A. English (Public Texts) program. “Our site shows how technology can be successfully incorporated into learning and the student’s role in innovating how they manage and use what they learn,” Ms. Gallagher says. “It’s exciting to think what digital media can offer that other technologies cannot, including project development, networking, and interactivity on a level that has never been seen before.”

Digital pedagogy and knowledge mobilization are high calibre words. They describe the marriage of limitless technological resources and research and its responsible delivery to eager learners. The Digital Communitas website, funded by Trent’s Instructional Development Centre and Research Office, is a new portal where technology and education collide and collaborate. The online discussion to be found at Digital Communitas is fascinating, the future implications, astounding.

http://digitalcommunitas.org