Multimodal composing using digital media has long emphasized forms of meaning making that extend beyond printed text to include a wider range of available semiotic resources. However, recent research has complicated this notion by highlighting how this availability does not follow inevitably from digital tools but arises from the interplay of their often invisible infrastructures (e.g., hardware, interfaces, algorithms, code). Using data from a technology‐rich humanities classroom, the authors explore three frictions that surfaced as students worked within and against these infrastructures to create a collaborative digital story. The authors show how attending to such frictions can open opportunities for inquiry and instruction related to the hidden infrastructures that condition multimodal composing in digital environments. Critical understandings of these infrastructures can support educators in creating more equitable conditions for multimodal literacy learning.

This research sought to uncover challenges that arose in the implementation of the Reflective Educational Approach to Character and Health (REACH) after-school programme in a low-income public school in New York City. Additionally, we wanted to find and share some of the lessons learned, to help others avoid our pitfalls when implementing quality after-school programming. At the conclusion of the year-long REACH programme that was preceded by a year-long pilot, the lead researcher interviewed six key stakeholders: (a) the coach; (b) an academic tutor; (c) the director of REACH; (d) two after-school teachers/leaders within the school; and (e) the assistant principal of P.S. 780 (pseudonym). We employed a qualitative case study approach. Field notes from observations, researcher journals, emails, and multiple interviews were used to triangulate data. Two coders first independently coded and analyzed the data using the constant comparison method, followed by a peer reviewer to further establish credibility and trustworthiness. Three themes are presented from the data analysis: (a) bridging community dynamics and REACH; (b) needing community involvement; and (c) role modeling through cultural competence. These three themes are analyzed through a lens of culturally responsive pedagogy and a new theory of positive youth development through sport. These data present a detailed account of the implementation of a sport-based after-school programme in an urban environment. The paper presents the challenges faced in the implementation of such programmes as well as lessons learned in the process.

School-age youth of low-income, urban communities frequently experience systemic inequities, such as limited access to healthy foods, lack of space for physical activity, higher drop-out rates, lower academic performance, and escalating rates of neighborhood violence. These inequities are often exacerbated for girls of color. After-school programs hold great potential for countering these issues, particularly when guided by a positive youth development (PYD) model. This qualitative study examined girls' experiences in one after-school PYD program called REACH (Reflective Educational Approach to Character and Health). The authors discuss the ways in which the co-creation of a participant-centered space and interrelated connections between participants and program elements contributed to the girls' experiences of the program in particular ways. These findings enhance understandings on how girls' experiences shape relational dimensions of the PYD model, particularly PYD through sport. The authors conclude with implications for future research, suggesting enhancing the PYD through sport framework through activistbased research as a particularized means for further researching girls' experiences in after-school PYD programs seeking interdisciplinary integration.

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