Digital Learning Day (Afterschool/Community Program Examples & a TOOLKIT!)

Digital Learning Day - Engaging Students. Celebrating Teachers. Creating Better Schools.

Students Engage Beyond the School Day in Afterschool and Expanded Learning Programs

Before-school, afterschool, and summer programs are a natural fit with digital learning and often use digital media and technology in ways that complement the school day. For at-risk students in particular, these informal environments provide important opportunities to extend learning, increase access to technology, and foster digital literacy skills.

Not only does digital learning have the power to expand learning beyond the traditional school day, it also

increases equity and access;
improves effectiveness and productivity of teachers and administrators;
provides student-centered learning to ensure college and career readiness; and
recognizes teachers as education designers.

Check out the Expanded Learning Toolkit to learn more.

Examples of Expanded Learning Programs
Youth Speak Out About Community Concerns Through Video

Wide Angle Youth Media’s Baltimore Speaks Out! (BSO) program in Maryland serves communities faced with high rates of juvenile arrests, teen births, and chronic absences among middle school students. Funding has been severely cut for neighborhood recreation centers, leaving many youth without productive alternatives for out-of-school time. BSO, in partnership with the Enoch Pratt Free Library, provides youth ages ten to fifteen with media education in their own communities. The afterschool program focuses on video production, critical thinking, public speaking, teambuilding, and youth development skills. Young people create their own videos about youth and community concerns.

BSO promotes twenty-first-century learning, actively engages young people in issues impacting their communities, and builds media literacy skills. Students engage in critical discussions, conduct research, interview community members or relevant stakeholders, and participate in reflective writing exercises. Past projects focused on school bullying, gang activity, pollution, and police surveillance. Students report that they feel safe at BSO and that they have an opportunity to engage in open discussions with their peers and adults that they may not normally have access to.

Empowerment through Video Journalism

Latinitas hosts thirty afterschool enrichment programs for middle school girls throughout Texas and New Mexico, including media enrichment programs where girls learn how to build confidence as they develop multimedia skills through lessons on writing, photography, filmmaking, audio production, graphic design, desktop publishing, and web design. Youth enrolled in the Latinitas program publish LatinitasMagazine.org, a digital youth empowerment magazine by and for girls. By introducing middle school–aged Latinas to all facets of journalism and digital multimedia program, Latinitasmagazine’s outreach programs promote new voices in media, as well as cultural pride and the relevancy of young Latinas’ opinions and experiences. Results from studies conducted by the program show increases in self-esteem, attachment to school, and self-efficacy, as well as decreases in self-harming behaviors among participating students.