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Urban sketching is not a new phenomenon, however, through the affordances of technology that have “reorganised how we live...communicate, and ...learn” (Siemens, 2005), the art practice has dynamically evolved .  From its humble conception, the Urban Sketchers (USk) community now boasts a major global presence. Access is through the USk central website with links to multiple social media groups, including Twitter, Facebook and Flickr, which in turn, all have their own access entry-point.  This feature of open access, so that everyone can participate, is one of the many connected learning attributes, of the USk community, that will be discussed here (Ito et at.,2013).

 

Local ‘Chapters’, such as USk Brisbane, have their own individual Facebook site, meet in face-to-face (f2f) situations and may have additional online presences, such as blogs, Pinterest or Google+ sites.  In fact, the USk community is quite complex, intersecting what Dron and Anderson (2014) describe as groups and networks and possibly sets of people.  To become a listable group member (Dron and Anderson), you are required to ‘join’ the main USk group, or a Chapter’s group, on Facebook .  An active group member would generally engage in participatory activities that may include meeting with fellow members to sketch together (such as ‘sketchcrawls’) and uploading images for discussion.  Everyone works to the same overarching USk mission and manifesto with a few ‘local laws’ that may guide a particular Chapter.  Each Chapter is motivated to draw so as to promote the unique identity of their regional area fostering a sense of “trust and commitment” (Dron and Anderson, 2014, p 58) through face-to-face and digital social connections that adhere to common boundaries, goals and etiquette.  Furthermore, each group member can also be part of the greater networked community of Urban Sketchers.

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As a group, the global community of Urban Sketchers has developed its own unique identity. The USk acronym and logo is a recognisable identifier for all sites connected to USk, yet the community actively promotes its dynamic network characteristics. Boundary crossing and spontaneous connections to other communities and people are both encouraged and celebrated bringing enrichment and diversity to all interacting communities (Wenger, 1998; Wenger et al., 2011).  Active learning, reflection and creation is only possible because of the open network of people, resources, tools and information. Through USk connections, one can talk to like-minded peers, some of whom are professional artists; find out what are the best journals to use for travel sketching; how to use devices to record a moving flip-through their visual journal and what is the best vantage point for drawing a particular building.  Most importantly, these co-operative freedoms (Paulsen, 2003 as cited in Dron and Anderson, 2014; Dron and Anderson, 2014) allow individuals to discover and learn in their own chosen time, place, pace, medium and make decisions of how, what, where and from whom they want to learn, disclose and build vital relationships with. It is these freedoms and ability to openly connect and participate with others, through digital affordances, that illustrate how USk has combined many of the features as outlined in Ito et al.’s framework for connected learning.

 

Interest Powered

The passion to learn about an interest, in this case, on-location drawing, is where it begins and finding others that share those same passions, is at the core of connected learning (Richardson & Mancabelli, 2011).  Sharing that appetite to explore and discover more about a real interest that excites and motivates us, makes the learning an authentic experience and thus the discovery more powerful and sustaining (Ito et al., 2013).  Storytelling is the other dominant interest driver of the USk community. Every drawing has a story to tell. It may simply be to convey a personal illustration of a place in time or it could tell a politically motivated story.  Many other interests motivate the USk community as well, including interests in other’s travel and geographical locations and finding therapy through the engagement in art-making.

 

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These core interests of on-location drawing and storytelling are the common ties that brings the USk community together, yet individually, the members are quite diverse.  This diversity is a positive attribute of the community as the possibilities of exposure to and expanding upon one’s own expertise is greatly enhanced through encountering such diverse knowledge (Larson et al., 2013; Richardson & Mancabelli, 2011).  Novices are given the freedom to just keep watch or lurk with many opportunities to improve their knowledge and skills by watching others share and discuss their work and view tutorials and demonstrations.  During my own investigations, hot topics such as the ‘Marching for Our Lives’ campaign and the spotlight on world natural disasters, opened up and extended a whole new interest for me in visual journalism.  This awoken curiosity and extension of my knowledge can be directly credited to the value found in the interests and expertise of other individuals in the USk community (Ito et al., 2013).

 

Peer Supported

Opportunity to learn and grow is provided to all USk community members by allowing each individual a voice and provision to contribute to a variety of shared experiences.  As in many connected learning communities, the USk peer culture derives from the interests and goals that connected them in the first instance, not age, culture or geographical factors.  Most significantly, the success and growth of an individual is intrinsically tied to how their community of peers interact and the development of their collective goals (Ito et al., 2013).   Technology also plays an important role, in providing the means necessary to connect like-minded people but fundamentally, we are connecting to people, not tools and media (Nussbaum-Beach & Hall, 2012).  

 

In the USk community, members are able to interact with each other on different levels, including face-to-face (f2f) groups if their area has a functioning Chapter.  Each of these Chapter groups are set up around a Facebook nucleus where members interact online and it is certainly possible to be a part of these Chapters without ever meeting f2f.  Many Chapter members meet up through regular sketchcrawls and workshops, providing mentoring and social experiences and also allowing the opportunity for co-creation in their collective goals and production of work.  These more intimate group settings may also provide a more welcoming and safe environment through one-to-one interactions with peers with the potential to develop closer social bonds (Larson et al., 2013; Vaclavik et al., 2017).  Some Chapters are definitely more active than others in their engagement and ability to dynamically exchange thoughts and ideas but everyone is given equal voice and opportunity to contribute (Ito et al., 2013 as cited in Garcia et al., 2014).

 

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On the more global scale, USk members can interact with other peers in various social site contexts, taking advantage of new media opportunities to learn from one another.  There are also opportunities for f2f interactions through the annual Symposium, 10x10 Workshops and other organised events, however, there is generally a cost associated with these experiences.  Again, certain USk sites can be more dynamic in their interactions than others but the variety and volume of experiences give the individual choice as to how they want to interact and with whom.  A feature of the central web site is the promotion of what USk term as ‘Correspondents’.  They are peers from within the community, who have qualities that are deemed valuable by the organisational hierarchy. They often come from professional artist backgrounds such as Illustration and Architecture.  The Correspondents freely provide images and information about themselves and their work, often featuring on uploaded videos posted to USk’s Youtube channel.  By acting in a mentoring role, the Correspondents allow other "learners [to] capitalise on the individual strengths and knowledge" (Garcia et al., 2014, p 25) from within the community. The rich “depth and breadth” (Ito et al., 2013, p 56), of the USk community, is also found in the links and connections to outsider's web pages, blogs and social sites, all of which is promoted on the USk website, thus allowing members to pursue and interact with peers for their own tailored learning experiences.

 

Learning (Academically) Oriented

Learning potential, for USk members, is acutely linked to the quality relationships developed with their peers.  Without others to draw expertise from, the learner would have little opportunity to build upon their knowledge. At any stage, USk members have the ability to lurk, deepening their understanding by watching in the background; immerse themselves in the many interconnected avenues provided, such as blogs, to seek understanding for specific information; experiment with new ideas and techniques and receive feedback on in the process; and participate and co-create artefacts with others (Garcia et al., 2014).  There is no sole authority or one pathway to success, however, guiding mentors, such as the Correspondents, are identifiable and available through many channels (Garcia et al., 2014). Ultimately, the individual explores, directs and curates their own learning, drawing on the collective intelligence of the community, to enable growth and prosperity in their goals (Ito et al., 2009, as cited in Ito et al., 2013; Chen, 2018).

 

Learning flourishes when individuals can see meaning and relevance in what they are learning and the potential for greater outcomes (Ito et al. 2013 as cited in Garcia et al., 2014).  USk members may simply want to improve their drawing abilities by learning new techniques or using sketching materials more effectively. Opportunities to extend knowledge about architecture styles or art trends may also be facilitated through the discussions and tutorials shared between peers.  There is also the opportunity to engage in civically-oriented ventures, such as visual journalism, in response to global events and issues. Other opportunities have arisen where members have gone on to extend and diversify their careers as a result of exposure to varied community experiences (Martin, 2015) and connections within the community, using new media to amplify their voice and achievements (Garcia et al., 2014).  

 

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Shared Purpose

Members of the Urban Sketcher community share a strong purpose which is clear and well defined in their mission statement.  That is, members wish “to raise the artistic, storytelling and educational value of on-location drawing, promoting its practice and connecting people around the world who draw on location where they live and travel.” (Urban Sketchers, Web: Mission Statement). Although, the shared purpose is explicitly visible on the website, it is within the relationships developed between members and the everyday practices, that we can authentically see it at work. Ito et al. (2013) characterises learning, that is “part of purposeful activity and inquiry, embedded in meaningful relationships and practices, as engaging and resilient” (p 74).  The prolific exchange, support, mentoring and creations made are witnessed, on a daily basis, through the various USk social sites and in f2f scenarios. Furthermore, constant challenge through group exhibitions, online challenges and spotlights on current issues, greatly motivate and mobilise the community to collaborate, and in some instances, co-create artefacts to reach a shared goal (Ito et al., 2013).

 

Openly Networked

Essentially, the individual learner is the nucleus of their own learning environment (Reynolds, 2015).  Flexible and fluid networks, with low barriers and easy access, greatly improve the learner’s ability to connect to essential peer support and thus enhance learning outcomes.  Garcia et al. (2014) summarises that “when we learn together, in community, we learn better, deeper, and in more lasting ways” (p 85). USk facilitates this open network well by having multiple access points and low boundaries to enter the community. The community also actively encourages its members to diversify their learning pathways by reaching out to other communities and individuals through the provisions of digital links such as hyperlinks and hashtag connections (Ito et al., 2013).

 

The USk model works at its best when using the hybridisation of online and physical networking to create a deep vertical and horizontal community of expertise (Ito et al., 2013).  The online community provides ubiquitous connectivity and dynamic learning access, however, the f2f events may deepen relationships further, demonstrate strength and identity in individual Chapters and often give rise to social celebration.  These physical celebrations are then documented, uploaded and reconnected to the greater online communities of Urban Sketchers for discussion and reinvention. USk utilises many online social spaces including Flickr, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and Youtube.  Individuals may take advantage of several of these spaces or only a few and utilise curation tools such as Pinterest, which a number of Chapters have, to curate desirable information and links.

 

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Production Centred

Whist the volume, variety and quality of artworks produced by the Urban Sketchers community is impressive in itself, the creative use of digital tools to present and converse with others is also inspiring.  Members are able to use infinite ways to express their individual work in order to improve upon their display and extend the meaning of their stories. Most individuals, that have access to a computer, mobile device and social media would, also have access to the many opportunities that applications and programs provide for uploading, remixing and redefining the original context of the work (Ito et al., 2013).  A great deal of the artefacts shared are more low level production such as photographing a finished image and posting it to one of the image sharing sites with participatory responses that include affirmation, discussion of processes and advice. Higher level digital production also exists in these social sites but can be more readily found during special events and on linked member’s individual websites and blogs. Although it would be easy to assume that individuals are only working collaboratively rather than co-creatively, on a day to day basis, there is a commonality of production within the USk community where members produce work as a collective voice to the world (Garcia et al., 2014).

 

Collaboration and co-creation is acutely intensified during times of more defined common goals such as in challenges and specific events (Nussbaum-Beach & Hall, 2012). During the recent “#oneweek100people2018” challenge, prolific use of digital tools and applications could be seen through member’s public sharing, discussion, remodelling and presentation on social sites.  The frenzy to achieve the common goal allowed for many “contexts for circulation and publicity” (Ito et al., 2013, p 76) to be explored and co-created. Exploring these various contexts in production, extend the individual’s purpose in what they create and in turn, learners “develop voice, agency, and social and cultural capital” (Garcia et al., 2014, p 57).

 

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Recommendations and Risks

Hunt (in Garcia et al., 2014) describes the “serendipity of openness” (p 71) as being a strong attribute for discovery, especially in the pursuit of "negotiating aesthetic" (Harlan, 2016, p 116) for oneself, even more relevant, in a creative context such as the USk environment.  This attribute is a deliberate feature of the USk community, however, novices could benefit from some more initial, guided direction on the central website.  With more mentored guidance, less confident individuals could, more easily, navigate the plethora of knowledge and information until they develop increased resilience in their discovery processes.

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Generally, the hybrid model of USk works effectively, though restrained exploration could exist within regional Chapters.  Without strong and consistent challenge, these more localised groups could easily not take advantage of the affordances of digital media to foster and extend their learning.  Additional direction and support from the central USk hub may help to facilitate more creative endeavours.

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Conclusion
Central to the USk community is the individual learner, however, it is the cumulative voice of Urban Sketchers that achieves the primary goal of “seeing the world one drawing at a time” (Urban Sketchers, Web).  The collective of individuals not only allows for a dynamic exchange of ideas and motivation but creates a celebrational context for the community’s existence. Urban Sketchers is an impressive example of a “human network” (Cisco, 2007 as cited in Nussbaum-Beach & Hall, 2012, p 10), promoting lifelong learning skills in their ‘doing’ practices, that effectively use the digital affordances of the 21st century.