Abstract
Envisioning service-learning for the digital age has been limited by our assumption that service-learning must occur face-to-face. In this chapter, I argue that digital service-learning is both possible and productive. By bringing an internet studies perspective to bear on service-learning scholarship, I envision digital service-learning as serving online communities through online civic action. I argue that digital service-learning offers three advantages: meeting the needs of communities outside of college towns, teaching students new civic habits, and maintaining service-learning’s relevance for young adults. Digital service-learning practitioners must maintain a commitment to service-learning best practices like reflection, respect, reciprocity, and relevance, while also recognizing that digital tools offer particular obstacles and opportunities to achieving those goals. Lastly, I offer actionable steps for practitioners to enact digital service-learning.
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© 2014 Ashley Hinck
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Hinck, A. (2014). Serving Online Communities: Service-Learning, Internet Studies, and Online Education. In: Crabill, S.L., Butin, D. (eds) Community Engagement 2.0?: Dialogues on the Future of the Civic in the Disrupted University. Community Engagement in Higher Education. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137441065_3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137441065_3
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