Thirty year old Akili Lee warned me that he spoke very quickly. What he did not warn me about was how eloquently he spoke and how every delivered word was passionate and beyond significant. He also did not warn me that an interview with him would produce 10 pages of captivating notes and a lingering bewilderment which has left me thinking, “I can’t believe he is only 30.”
It is impossible to tell you everything Akili is capable of. As program director of digital strategy and development for Digital Youth Network, he has been working on designing and developing tools that support learning in different media contexts.
“I am an old computer nerd, kind of,” Akili said, realizing he had pulled his laptop out for the interview for no reason. He elaborated, saying from 6th or 7th grade on, he always had a computer in front of him.
“I would have no problem spending seven hours online at night,” he said with a smile. Akili then told me about a hip-hop site he made which connected him to people all over the world.
“In ’98, having kids get on your Web site was exciting. It‘s amazing what computers can do,” he added.
Akili graduated from Northwestern University as a computer science major. From there he did IT work for nonprofit Woodlawn Organization, and soon found himself working at University of Illinois Chicago where he then met Nicole Pinkard, founder of Digital Youth Network. He returned to school at DePaul University and was soon asked by Pinkard to help run the DYN program with a younger perspective before it’s actual launch. Akili was only 25 years old.
“Kids can be powerful producers of media. We want to provide them with the critical communication skills needed to be an active global citizen.” he explained, providing details on DYN’s focus on media production and media critique shortly after. Most aspects of the digital world are nothing short of complicated for me. Luckily Akili provided an in-depth explanation which allowed me to somewhat grasp a bit of the creativity flowing through him and the Digital Youth Network programs.
DYN has partnered with different middle schools to create some digital and creative tools that enhance what students are already doing. 6th grade students collaborate on a music album. For the first half of the year they rotate through positions such as video promoter (public relations) or graphic designer for a poster, which is “mapping this on to a picture they’re already familiar with,” Akili said. In 7th grade, students create digital stories by developing a two to three minute trailer about a novel they just read.
“Lots of kids are having problems with traditional concepts such as writing a book report. DYN gives them the opportunity to do a song with the same concept. It helps them excel,” he said.
After school programs are just as popular. Students opt to participate and get involved at the Chicago Public Library with more music production, animation, spoken word and poetry, robotics, design—you name it .
The most impressive learning environment for these students are what Akili refers to as social learning networks. DYN calls it Remix World, and these are private networks focused on promoting structured discussion with a specific direction. Instead of students spending all of their time on Facebook posting fragmented sentences, they now have another outlet where they receive quality feedback in formatted answers. DYN encourages students to have debates on these networks, though postings and responses must always have specific evidence.
“We enforce certain expectations and have had surprisingly good results,” he said. “Recently at 10:30 p.m. on a Saturday, high school kids were making posts and requesting virtual currency.” Virtual currency is the students’ earning system. It is a way for mentors to model quality posts for others on the network.
It is hard to imagine students having this opportunity to learn 24-7. Or to envision a way for them to creatively express themselves through new media outlets while also enhancing those they already spend most of their time on. Akili did all of that and made it an obtainable reality. To put it in Akili’s terms, Remix was his “baby.”
“Kids are surrounded by different types of technology, texting, face book, video games. Learning institutions need to adapt to these new learning environments,” he said.
This realization prompted further development of the iRemix pilot, which is now separated from DYN. Akili is co-creator of iRemix and explained how it will soon be available for other schools to use as a platform for their own private social learning networks. He said it will also concentrates on also connecting students to other organizations and museums that can enhance learning skills in different contexts. Students in Chicago will be able to link up with the Field Museum or Art Institute online keeping them engaged on different levels.
“I’m very involved with Iremix, but I have a lot of interest in the next big thing with DYN so I’m staying with them,” he said.
The iRemix platform has also branched out as a completely new company called Remix Learning Inc (which Akili is co-founder of), but instead of entering the business world, he is sticking with DYN.
For over an hour, Akili’s words were vocal inspiration. The kind of words that make you want to jump out of your chair and actually do something instead of simply thinking about it. Desperately trying to hear more, I asked him why DYN is so important.
“The global landscape is changing, and we need to make sure that as educators we are being proactive across the board because being an active participant in global culture means you need to be able to navigate this landscape,” he said. “Everyone is a huge consumer of media and you need to understand the product and what’s behind it. You need to become your own filter and be a filter for others.”
I have not been able to watch TV the same way since.
To read more about Digital Youth Network’s innovative programs or for ways to help out, check out their website at http://iremix.org/.
