I think I’ve decided to do my research for my masters on the use of social media in church-based youth work in Scotland.  I could of course change my mind again but on reflection this seems to be something that would be both interesting and worth doing.

I’d still like to have a go at ‘does youth work work?’ but think that might make a better large scale project for me and my lovely colleagues at the URC.

So, If you’re reading this and are involved in church-based youth work in Scotland let me know so I can come and interview you and your young people some time in the new year.

Anyone with any ideas and/or suggestions, please feel free to contribute said ideas anytime you like.

And I’ll try not to bore you all.  Honest.

We’re working on a level 1 youth work course.  That is, a basic course for volunteers and people who are new to youth work.

What would you include?  What do you think youth workers need to know?

I’ve decided to use the other blog I’ve had lying around doing nothing for a year to record my research and reflect a bit more on my Masters in Research.  I’ve written a little about it here and will still post things that are relevant to my work but I think keeping a separate blog might help me to focus a bit more on the one area, using digital tools to engage in and enhance learning of young people.

Leaning and Teaching Scotland have just announced what they think the markers fo excellence in literacy are for the 21st century… and the definition of texts is:novels, short stories, plays, poems, reference texts, the spoken word, charts, maps, graphs and timetables, advertisements, promotional leaflets, comics, newspapers and magazines, CVs, letters and e-mails, films, games and TV programmes, labels, signs and posters, recipes, manuals and instructions, reports and reviews, text messages, blogs and social networking sites, web pages, catalogues and directories. (emphasis added) (ht Ewan)

So, what will that mean for youth work in the 21st century?  Informal educators inhabit the world their ‘clients’ live in.  We meet people ‘where they are at.  How do you think that Christian youth work will engage with this generation of digital natives?  And will banning youth workers from texting, instant messaging and Bebo really turn out to be a good idea?

Any thoughts?