Young children are natural "hackers" who challenge norms imposed by adults through play and exploration. Their messy play, experiments with sounds and spaces, and play with food can be seen as a form of "hacking" - altering situations to produce unexpected outcomes. This spirit of playful experimentation is at the root of the "maker" mindset in DIY culture. However, threats like parental control, commercialization of toys, and a focus on institutional education can discourage this informal learning process in children. The talk argues for recognizing childhood hacking and play as an important form of learning and creativity.

1. The young child as hacker:Exploring the foundations of DIY culture in the early years By Yukari Seko November 14, 2010 DIY Citizenship Conference

2. Young children in DIY culture Growing up with user-generated media techs, “Digital Natives” constantly engage in participatory mode of production, interaction and community building Transformation of learning environment requires new conceptual framework for understanding young children’s citizenship in DIY culture From adult-centered to child-centered approach

3. Children as Hackers Young children are “hackers” who challenge against norms and orders imposed by adults The spirit of the hack is deeply rooted in the life of young children The foundations of “maker” identities in the DIY culturecan be found in early years

4. Changing definition of the “Hack” Originally emerged at MIT in the 1950s Often coined “security cracker” who breaks into computer systems for invasion of privacy/property From the regime of “hacker elites” to the era of “Mass Hacking”: Rebellious act against capitalist digital enclosure (Dyer-Witheford, 2002) The hack as an act of “altering a pre-existing situation to produce something new” (Jordan, 2008)

5. Hacker approach vs. Architect Approach Hacker Approach Architect Approach Top-down General-case Theoretical Grand vision Master plan Unlimited resources Question-the-problem Start-from-scratch Bottom-up Special-case Practical Nonstandard Unschooled Unexpected Solve-the-problem Build-on-what-exists Kulikauskas (2004)

6. The “Hack” in early years An act to produce unexpected outcomes out of what is already given Children progress from heteronomous dependence upon adults to increasing independence and autonomy “Misbehaviors” such as making a mess, playing with food are examples of hacking

7. When do children hack? When they’re exploring physical knowledge Building theories about the world around them Testing the theories they create Reflecting on the results of their tests Repeating the process with ever increasing levels of complexity

8. Playing with food… Flickr Photo credit: Andre Natta

9. Making a mess… some one is probably grounded until their 35th birthday… Flickr Photo credit: Nicolas Carey

10. Making a mess with food… Flickr Photo credit: RI Pizzo

11. Experimenting sounds Flickr Photo credit: Ernst Vikne

12. Remaking space Flickr Photo credit: amygwen

13. Hacking as informal learning Through hacking children are engaging in the form of informal learning Informal learning: "any activity involving the pursuit of understanding, knowledge or skill which occurs outside the curricula of educational institutions, or the courses or workshops offered by educational or social agencies” (Livingstone, 1999) Informal learning occurs in various “liminal spaces”

14. All grown-ups were once Hackers – although few of them remember it…

15. Potential Threats to the Hack Parental heteronomy Imposes norms of behaviour in safe and surveilled spaces Commodification of DIY childhood Displaces critical making with consumption of ready-made commodities Institutional mode of education Denies the importance of social learning

16. References Dyer-Witheford, Nick. (2002). “E-Capital and the Many-Headed Hydra.” In Greg Elmer (Ed.). Critical Perspectives on the Internet. Chapter 7, pp.129-163. Lanham Maryland: Rowman and Littlefield. Jordan, Tim (2008). Hacking: Digital Media and Technological Determinism. Cambridge: Polity Press. Kulikauskas, Andrius (2004). Social Hacking: The Need for an Ethics. Journal of Hyper(+)drome. Manifestation, Issue 1 – September, Accessed at http://journal.hyperdrome.net/issues/issue1/kulikauskas.html Livingstone, David. (1999). Exploring the icebergs of adult learning: Findings of the first Canadian survey of informal learning practices. Canadian Journal for Studies of Adult Education. 13 (2), 49-72.

17. Thank you! Yukari Seko yukaseko@yorku.ca Twitter: doggyjelly