Look What I Did!
Kidtrix (www.kidtrix.com) is a media-based environment that allows young people to demonstrate, perform or feature a talent, a skill, or a project. The domain name is a playful reference to some of the possible content, but the subject matter of the various entries can range from playful to serious. Grounded in constructivist and constructionist epistemology, the site taps into the behavior that kids exhibit when they create something- that energy of "look what I did- now let me show you how I did it" where a kid transforms from student to teacher. Using specifically designed user-focused content, Kidtrix seeds and builds an active community of both contributors and browsers. A metrics/peer review system roughly creates and defines levels of success and value in the overall community, creating a sense of hierarchy or status and achievement.
Kidtrix isn't just a ‘post and host’ service. Kidtrix is an intersection of active kids who want to learn and develop new skills- it's an environment that is rich with cool, creative tools that allow teams of ‘trixters’ to create a group project together. This social interaction within this environment allows for collaborative learning, where meaning is constructed via the intersection of multiple differing perspectives. The website is a social extension of the classroom at home, a fun place where children can exchange ideas through the use of multiple types of digital media (pictures, video, and audio). This media acts as a virtual artifact or representation of their learning or learning process within the virtual environment.
KidTrix UX diagram designed by: Frank Migliorelli
Within Kidtrix, children have agency by acting as instructors and learning in the process as well. The website emphasizes collaboration among its members with the purpose of engaging each other in constructive activities going from personal, lighthearted, fun projects to socially significant end results. Members can communicate in real time, download and upload video/audio, or use chat room. Kids are thus exposed to a wider variety of viewpoints, perspectives, and opportunities that they might not normally have access to in their own local areas.