Online content creation: looking at students’ social media practices through a Connected Learning lens

Brown, Cheryl; Czerniewicz, Laura; Noakes, Travis

Online content creation: looking at students’ social media practices through a Connected Learning lens

Journal Article

2016

Journal Title

Learning, Media and Technology

Link to Journal

http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/cjem20/current

Publisher

Taylor & Francis

Publisher

University of Cape Town

Abstract

As the boundaries between technology and social media have decreased, the potential for creative production or participatory practices have increased. However, the affordances of online content creation (OCC) are still taken up by a minority of Internet users despite the opportunities offered for engagement and creativity. Whilst previous studies have addressed creative production by university students for specific purposes, there is a research gap concerning OCC in the everyday lives of African university students. This paper describes the stories of three students who are online creators of content, the social media they utilised; their trajectories; their linkages with career interests; the types of online presences they created, maintained or discontinued into their university lives. As the case studies spanned digital practices that were informal and extracurricular yet peer supported as well as interest-driven and academically-oriented, the pedagogical framework of Connected Learning proved an appropriate heuristic. The study shows that being a digital creator gives students a competitive edge in our globally competitive society.