Media MashUp Formative Report Professional Audience Techno-Biographies

The Media MashUp project is funded by the IMLS (Grant LG-07-08-0113 ) to build capacity at libraries for computer-based programs for youth that help build 21st Century literacy skills. Twenty first Century literacy skills include interactive engagement with technology, collaboration and team problem solving, taking initiative and managing time and the use of higher level processing skills (www.21stcenturyskills.org/). This project uses the Scratch programming platform (http://scratch.mit.edu/) developed at MIT to help foster youth's 21st Century literacy skills. The professional audience consists of librarians and program developers from six library systems around the country representing a diversity of geographic and demographic areas, and a variety of types of library systems. The public audience is the youth who participate in the Media MashUp programs at these libraries. This report focuses on the professional audience of library staff from around the country who participated in the initial training workshop.The workshop took place in Minneapolis, MN Jan 5-8, 2009. The workshop focused on how to use Scratch, networking with other participants, identifying barriers to implementing technology-rich programs for youth and teens, and discussing possible solutions to these barriers. Additionally library staff created techno-biographies that detailed their current relationship with a variety of technologies. The library staff will be asked to revisit their techno-biographies throughout their participation in the program to track changes in their relationships with technology, if any, as a result of participation in the program. Findings from the initial techno-biographies are included in this report.