Abstract:

Ivan Illich's work on the deschooling of society today connects to the question of reconfiguring learning paradigms to include the digital, and is part of contemporary educational discourse. This abstract combines Illich's deschooling principles with the digital zeitgeist, focusing in particular on the transformative potential in non-formal learning environments such as the Digital Impact Lab Bremen. It explores participatory and creative live media jams, such as those practiced by the artist network Share New York, in terms of their significance for participatory and creative learning practices.

Illich's visionary critique of traditional education systems poses a profound question about the nature of learning and urges a shift towards learner-centered, autonomous and community-driven models of education. The Digital Impact Lab Bremen is an example of this change. It embodies a space where digital tools and participatory practices come together to create a dynamic and inclusive learning environment. Here, the principles of collaboration and aesthetic work are applied not only as artistic endeavors, but also as pedagogical strategies that engage participants in a collective, creative process of knowledge construction and exchange, mirroring in part the participatory culture of Share New York.

Looking at the broader context of Flusser's telematic society, in which information and communication technologies enable new forms of social relations and knowledge dissemination, illustrates a path towards a networked learning ecosystem. This ecosystem transcends geographical and institutional boundaries and embodies Illich's idea of deschooling by democratizing access to learning and empowering individuals to take up and master their educational journey through collaborative exploration and creation.

As an art form, VJing has multiple traditions of visual and digital production and manipulation that consciously reference older art forms and other artistic practices, and hark back to earlier avant-garde arts. Through the synthesis of creativity, technology and education, such approaches can be seen as a holistic, experience-oriented process, as "aesthetic laboratories" of non-formal education. In this context, the Digital Impact Lab Bremen becomes a microcosm that shows how places of digital culture can facilitate not only the acquisition of knowledge, but also the aesthetic, participatory creation of knowledge. The potential of digital technologies, participatory art practices and networked communication are realized here in the sense of Illich's vision of a deschooling society, in which the Digital Impact Lab Bremen, with its collaborative approach, develops learning environments in which education is a shared, creative and deeply human endeavor.

Keywords:

Digital Media, creative learning, education, collaboration, transformation.