Students Showing Progress

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I’m pleased with the progress these students are making in their first media mash up. To qualify for our upcoming Media Boot Camp in June, students must complete a series of six media mash ups that show mastery of key concepts. The 1st concept is the Scientific method.  It was due on Monday and many of our boot camp candidates had not completed their mash up. So, I showed up at the school Tuesday afternoon to check in. These two gentlemen, Chris and Irving had not completed their mash up. In fact, neither of them could explain the scientific method to me when I asked either. 

The key to my approach is that a student can make whatever type of media product they can imagine as long as they show mastery of the concept. Both of these young men are very creative and last week they told me that they would write a song and make a music video all about the scientific method. I said, “Great. As long as you show mastery of the concept, you can do whatever you like”. I use this approach because I want students to use their creativity with an actual purpose in mind. 

What they realized is that to learn the content, make a song and a video are all time consuming processes and require real planning to be successful. With the deadline passed and my confirmation that if they don’t do the work, they will not participate in the boot camp, they began to prioritize their approach. They searched on the web for info and synthesized it into an actual script. They planned and executed the production  and then uploaded to the site all within a few hours. And as you can see, they show a good grasp of the scientific method.

Now, as they do more assignments and utilize their time better, I look forward to seeing what they come up with. They are learning to use creativity to solve problems. That’s the essence of Reel Campaigns 4 A Change. During the June boot camp, students will go through a series of job shadow and workshop experiences as they develop media campaigns for non-profits. More info that soon!