MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL – University of Minnesota researcher Christine Greenhow and Seattle-based news aggregator News Cloud will test new ways to engage youth in news and information by launching two social media publications on the popular social networking site Facebook. The project is being made possible by a $249,529 grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.
University researchers, led by Greenhow, will investigate how online social network sites like Facebook can engage youth in world events, build community and generate real world impact. Greenhow's previous work investigated the learning benefits of online social networking sites (MySpace , Facebook) for teenagers.
"Understanding how youth not only consume online information but
manipulate, produce and talk through it for social and educational
purposes will move us closer to understanding how to design and develop
successful media-rich environments," Greenhow said.