and the more goal-directed learning and achievement of résumé building for school and career. At the same time, we observed instances of young people’s leveraging the learning and relationships developed in their online affinity networks in the wider world.
These connections were most seamlessly developed for groups centered on a “connected civics” model, in which the interest and affinity are already centered on real-world activism and civic action (Ito et al. 2015). In other cases, young people applied skills they developed—such as mathematical reasoning or writing—to in-school settings. We also found examples of young people’s parlaying their online activities into immediate economic benefits—such as selling knitting patterns online—as well as longer-term career pathways—such as choosing to pursue vocational training related to the interest area.
These examples point to the ways in which we can frame educational supports in terms of brokering and connection building rather than the more conventional notion of “transfer.” The ability of young people to make these connections from affinity networks to opportunity were not simply about the individual’s “applying” or “generalizing” knowledge and skills but rested on very specific relational, infrastructural, and organizational supports such as a close relationship to a teacher, a school offering, or civic action related to an interest.
In the final chapter of the book, we explicitly explore the implications of our research for educational practice and the design of programs and technology. While online affinity networks may not be explicitly designed to support connected learning, they provide a rich set of lessons for those seeking to leverage the emerging affordances of the online world in the service of learning that is engaged, equitable, and meaningful.
CASE 1.1
The Wrestling Boards
Crystle Martin
The wrestlers wait with bated breath for the unveiling of the match card, which tells players whom they will be wrestling that week.1 As soon as the match card is released by the booker, who manages the fantasy wrestling federation, the wrestlers gleefully spring into action—creating feuds with the wrestler or wrestlers they are paired with that week. Throughout the course of the week, the wrestlers build and perfect their feuds—creating written, audio, or video promos about how they are going to win their match against the opposing wrestler (see figure C.1.1.). At the end of a given week, the booker calls a halt to the feuding, and the anticipation grows as three writers launch into a frenzied weekend of activity, in which they churn out up to 85 pages of text. These stories are released to the wrestlers, who devour every moment—from the time the first wrestler hits the ramp to the last move of the last match with a winner being declared—and every scrap of text between. The wrestlers enjoy every moment of the narrative of the match that grew out of their carefully crafted and raucous feuds. The wrestlers discuss the match and share praise and criticism with the writers, and then the whole process begins again with a new match card and new feuds.
Professional wrestling traces its roots to the nineteenth century (Scientific American 1895) and has thrived as a major pastime in North America for the past four decades. World Wrestling Entertainment (or WWE) is now the largest professional wrestling promotion group in the world. Professional wrestling, with its focus on dramatic performance, differs markedly from the ancient Greek–influenced sport of amateur wrestling seen in the Olympics and in collegiate settings. Despite professional wrestling’s popularity, being a fan continues to carry a cultural stigma and is seen as decidedly lowbrow, much like video games (Sammond 2005). Outsiders often object to the vulgar nature of both and see them as educational wastelands devoid of cultural value. But just like the varied genres of video game entertainment, professional wrestling offers participants a variety of educational and culturally relevant experiences. The WWE alone has more than 220 million members on its social media network, with local-language websites in 23 countries (WWE, n.d.).
Figure C.1.1. A wrestling card created by a fantasy wrestling federation participant and the booker.
Image courtesy of Rhashan.
Founded in 2011 by administrator Crayo, a 19-year-old white male from the United Kingdom, the Wrestling Boards is an online professional wrestling community where wrestling fans come together in a supportive space to share and explore their interest. On the Wrestling Boards, participants discuss many aspects of the sport and their surrounding interests, and participate in the community’s fantasy wrestling federation (FWF) Over the Ropes, which is essentially a text-based role-playing game. This is a space where the love of professional wrestling intermingles with an enjoyment of role-playing and writing.
Participants on the site range in age from 15 to older than 60, with the majority falling in the 16 to 25 range. A majority of participants are male, although the community has several very active female members in its core community. The Wrestling Boards forum has more than 4,300 members, but only about 100 participate in the FWF, with about 20 characters participating in a season of matches at a time. Despite its smaller number of participants, the FWF is a vibrant and active part of the forums.
The Wrestling Boards forums are very user friendly, allowing participants to add elaborate signature images or .gifs, mashups of their favorite wrestler(s), or in one participant’s case, a mashup of his favorite wrestler and his favorite My Little Pony character from the newest version of the television show. Community members frequently include links to outside resources, videos, and audio files so that they can share news, opinions, best-of videos, and a host of other information with others on the forum about the complex story lines surrounding professional wrestling. They also participate in a variety of shared activities within the fantasy wrestling federation, such as feuding in character and writing reviews of each week’s show.
Participants in the community describe again and again the importance of help and feedback to the community, and supporting each other is a shared expectation among members. In the professional wrestling fandom, educating newcomers about “the product” of wrestling is a shared goal of the community. Some new fans believe that wrestling is a real sport, and wrestling fans work hard to educate these “marks” into what Crayo calls “smarks,” helping them to understand that professional wrestling is scripted and choreographed and is actually a genre of television writing. Participants on the Wrestling Boards answer each other’s questions about wrestling story lines, wrestlers, wrestling history, community norms, and participating in the fantasy wrestling federation. They use help and feedback as a support system and as a way to create social bonds with other participants. Jonathan, a 16-year-old white male from the United Kingdom, describes why help and feedback are so prominent in the community: “At the end of the day, we’re all alike and we’re like a family on Wrestling Boards.”
The site was just a year old when I first started observing it, so at the time the core group of original members was still very prominent in participation and visibility. These members have earned special status because of their history with the community. The site allows members of the community to have titles under their chosen image or avatar, which are given by specific groups or for actions on the forum. They can also display the trophies they earn for things such as “member of the month.” Participants use a variety of strategies to determine who has status on the forum, including activity, quality of postings, trophies earned, and so on. Only rarely do they use the reputation system that is built into the forums; instead they use a system similar to the way people evaluate “likes” on a Facebook post.
Learner Story
The story of one Wrestling Boards participant illustrates how a lifelong interest can evolve into an avenue for expertise development and to a potential career path. Rhashan, a 19-year-old
