DIY, IRL & URL

One of the readings this week, “You Should Have Been There, Man” by Lingel and Naaman (2011), made me reflect on the world of DIY music culture and how fans and performers use Web 2.0 tools to share, preserve, and extend live experiences. These online artifacts like shaky phone videos, Tumblr posts, Flickr photo albums, aren’t just casual memories. They are curated pieces of a community’s collective learning and identity.

Reading this reminded me of what I now see as the DIY learning scenes my students are a part of every day. For example, one of my students, who wanted to learn guitar but couldn’t afford lessons, began teaching himself through YouTube tutorials. He found creators who explained techniques in ways that felt personal and authentic, often more accessible than formal instruction. Now he writes his own songs, shares snippets online, and even gives informal lessons to classmates. He didn’t just learn about music, he learned with and through a network.

Then there’s my student who turned to baking tutorials during the pandemic. She didn’t just consume the content. She tested recipes, innovated her own, and started selling cupcakes through Instagram. Her learning unfolded through trial, feedback, reposts, and reels. Her DIY learning was rich with digital literacy, problem-solving, and entrepreneurial thinking.

Lingel and Naaman’s work helped me realize how Web 2.0 allows learning to move beyond the typical institutional walls. Students don't have to be passively watching or lurking. They can engage in “produsage,” where participation, creation, and knowledge-building happen simultaneously.

If we can recognize these digital DIY spaces as valid learning environments, we can better support our students by validating and building on the skills they already practice outside of class. Whether it’s a punk show or a baking video, learning today is networked, creative, and deeply personal.