Las Redes

Las Redes [Networks] is an after-school computer club in which a culturally and linguistically diverse group of children and university undergraduates collaborate in educational activities organized around play. It is an adaptation of the general principles of the Fifth Dimension approach (Cole, 1996).

Gutiérrez, Baquedano-López, Alvarez, & Chiu (1999) argue that hybridity is a crucial feature of the success of Las Redes as a site for children's literacy (and other) learning. Hybridity is carried out in many ways. One is that learning and play are combined. Another is that various forms of language and literacy are used to achieve mutual understanding. An example of a hybrid literacy activity involves El Maga, who resides in cyberspace and corresponds with the children via email. Children are asked to tell El Maga (often with the help of the undergraduates) their experiences and problems with the computer games and tasks at Las Redes. These email interactions involve "a multi-purposed writing activity that utilizes mixed genres, i.e., letters and narratives, and mixed discourses, including problem-solving, narrative, and academic discourse. Further, because no one single language or register is privileged, the larger linguistic repertoires of participants become tools for meaning making" Gutiérrez, Baquedano-López, Alvarez, & Chiu (1999, pp. 89). The children also receive explicit and implicit "instruction about literacy, including the nuances of language use, spelling, vocabulary, sentence structure, and language play" (p. 92). As a result of such rich contexts for learning, children's literacy learning is stimulated and supported.

For more information about Las Redes and other Fifth Dimension after-school sites, see The Virtual Fifth Dimension Clearinghouse. For an example of hybridity in a classroom setting see Gutiérrez, Baquedano-López, Alvarez, & Tejada, 1999).

Relevant CIP Cultural Questions

3.3 Mismatches Between Cultures

3.3.3 Preferred Learning Approaches