At the core of all of our work at the Digital Youth Network, whether it is understanding the affordances of social learning networks or creating new learner-centered models, is the idea that learners stay engaged by identifying the pathways most interesting and relevant to them. We address this by not only providing a wide array of program options but also designing social learning networks to provide our youth a space outside of structured programming to explore their passions with the support of peers and mentors. Being able to engage our students beyond the limited time and space of workshops and classes not only allows us to continue that work with them throughout the week, but just as important, it gives them a chance to bring invaluable outside experiences into the space to share with the learning community. A great example of this was one of our middle school students, Jalen.… more