Research Questions

Time for the latest version of my research questions (with explanations of course).
So I am struggling between two ways to talk about this, both have merit but are different slants. The first would be : "emergent practices in online spaces" Wonderful suggestion from April. This approach highlights the practices and space aspect. Both of these are critical. Practices is a key to what I am looking at as it is the potential practices and then how these emerge as enacted practices and then how some of these enacted practices become shared which is intriguing to me. The spatial aspect of the online is critical in the sense that this lens provides a way to talk and think about the online as both different and yet a part of in-school setting. Yet there is the concern. I do not want tocreate a binary between in-school and out of school. Using an idea like hybrid space would allow me to talk about the convergence and overlapping of multiple spaces, but can be problematic in discussing the fluidity of what is going on.
The second slant would be: "varied participation of youth in new media literacy" (Once again, a suggestion from April) This focus highlights youth, varied and NML. All of which are important. I also think that I have a richer literature set to draw on for the NML and youth practices. However, this is also an area that has been walked quite a bit already. I think I could add, but perhaps the entry of space helps. When looking at the participation, this triggers the identity lens, which I have seen as important, but not sure how to bring it all into the mix. Gee is pretty helpful in talking about space, identity and practice, but I still am struggling with how they all relate.
Out of this I am looking at keeping my primary interests:

What types of student practices and participation emerge within online spaces? How do these practices emerge? How do teachers respond to these emerging practices? How does this interplay develop and redevelop the online social space?

Then the comp. questions might look like this:

Question 1: Literary Review

What does the literature say about emerging youth participation in virtual spaces in relation to youth's everyday practices broadly and then specifically practices in the educational setting?

Question 2: Theoretical Framework

What theoretical frameworks have been used to understand youth participation in virtual space? How do these lenses help in focusing the discussion on the work being done in and across school and non-school settings?

Question 3: Methodology

What research methodologies and methods have been used to examine youth participation in virtual spaces? In what ways are these methodologies linked to or shaped by the primary theoretical frameworks used?

I think that I could really work with these.
J:)