Abstract :
This study explores the ways adolescents create information collaboratively in the digital environment. In spite of the current widespread practice of information creation by young people, little research exists to illuminate how youth are engaged in creative information behavior or how they make participatory contributions to the changing information world. The purposefully selected sample includes teenagers who actively produce and share information projects, such as online school magazines, an information-sharing website in Wiki, and a digital media library, using Scratch—a graphical programming language developed by MIT Media Lab. Qualitative data were collected through group and individual interviews informed by Dervinʹs Sense-Making Methodology. The data analysis technique included directed qualitative content analysis with Atlas.ti. Findings reveal the process of information creation, including content development, organization, and presentation of information, as well as noticeable patterns by youth such as visualizing, remixing, tinkering, and gaining a sense of empowerment. This study extends our knowledge of the creative aspects of information behavior.
