Tag Archives: curriculum outreach
Teachers – Media Xperiments
Media Communications Council Teacher/Student Training & Support
The Media Communications Council is looking for tech savvy teachers and after school enrichment instructors in greater Austin interested in leveraging video and social media tools in the classroom via the program and web portal Media Xperiments www.MediaXperiments.com. Teachers must serve youth that attend Reagan, LBJ, Travis, Lanier, Eastside and/or Manor high schools. You will receive hands on media and curriculum instruction, support for student educational planning and portfolio development, access to student tours of local businesses and expert mentors across a broad range of industries. Participating teachers will receive stipends of up to $1000.
The program runs January through April 2011 and aligns well with the TEKS Texas Essential Knowledge & Skills for both core curriculum and elective classes. Teachers must be willing to engage a minimum of 20 students in a variety of on-line and in person activities including but not limited to blogging, video, field trips, portfolio reviews and educational planning. Teachers may participate in up to 5 training and support sessions. These sessions can be conducted on your campus and will provide strategies for leveraging media to drive critical thinking and career planning for students.
- Register On-line – Teachers and the students must register as members of www.MediaXperiments.com. During on-line registration, encourage your students to fill out the questions thoughtfully as this will be the beginning of their on-line portfolios. Also, have your students list you as their adviser. We will approve your memberships promptly.
- Create Groups – Groups are the primary way we create virtual workspaces within the Media Xperiments site. You can collaborate on projects, give assignments and exchange feedback directly with your students and/or other teachers. You will need to establish a group for each of your classes participating in the project. Go to the Groups (click) section of the site and click on the Add A Group link in the upper right hand corner. You can name the groups however you choose.
- Students Declare a Field of Interest – Each student shall declare a field of interest which informs their approach to the completing the on-line curriculum assignments. Students may choose one of four broad categories of fields – Media/Communications, STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics), Entrepreneurship/Financial Services and Music/Arts.
- Administer On-line Curriculum – Use the groups you’ve created to assign Media Xperiments’ on-line curriculum concepts. Each student will make six media pieces or “mash ups” based on key concepts. Mash ups and the concepts they explore are building blocks that provide students with key knowledge and processes while helping them build quality portfolios. Students can choose to make a broad range of media such as blogs, videos, podcasts, songs, poems, cartoons and/or graphics. Students learn to evaluate and defend their work based on a rubric.
- Score Student Mash Ups – Each of the student mash ups (click for examples) is to be scored based on a rubric of 1 – 5 with 5 being the highest score. The MX Rubric (click for details) is based on two criteria Critical Thinking and Artistic Merit. We utilize Bloom’s Taxonomy Wheel as a guide for measuring critical thinking while artistic merit allows recognition for style and originality. Students must average a score of 3 or better on the six mash ups for a cumulative score of 18 or better in order to qualify for 30 – 60hr summer institutes next summer. Field Trips
- Field Trips – During the month of February, the MCC will offer 8 – 12 field trips across a broad range of industries including media/communications, STEM (science, technology, engineering & mathematics), entrepreneurship/financial services and music/arts. Teachers and students may view the schedule and RSVP for field trips on-line at www.MediaXperiments.com. Teachers are responsible for facilitating transportation, parent permission, etc for their students. The MCC will provide limited transportation to these events and will attempt to work with teachers whenever possible to transport students.
- Submit Portfolios – Students will submit portfolios based on their fields of interest by March 1, 2011. Portfolios are all submitted online at Media Xperiments and will be comprised of the students’ mash ups along with any other examples of work and bio information they choose. Portfolios will be reviewed by professionals within the students’ respective field of choice. The best work will be recognized at the 2011 Show Your Reel Awards March 16, 2011 with students receiving written feedback by the end of March.
- Educational Plan – Based on their fields of interest and portfolio assessments, students will develop a written educational plan describing their goals and steps they will take to achieve them. The MCC is working with the University of Texas at Austin to provide access to graduate student mentors to assist students in their educational planning.
- Summer Institutes – Each year, the MCC invites its best students to participate in summer institutes. In June 2011, the MCC is providing up to four summer institutes in which students will work with graduate students, local business leaders and non-profits to complete 30 – 60 hour service leaning projects. Summer Institutes will be in the fields of Media/Communications, STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics), Entrepreneurship/Financial Services and Music/Arts. In 2010, students worked to develop a media campaign for local restaurant chain Hoover’s Cooking creating a web site and soon to premiere on-line cooking show. *Teachers will facilitate enrollment for invited students.
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