Tag Archives: education
Mentoring & College Readiness
Over the last 2 years, I have driven across Texas offering diverse students free tours of media and communications companies is 4 cities – Austin, Dallas, San Antonio and Houston. I launched a web site called Media Xperiments, based on the social networking platform called Ning. Students could sign up at no charge for tours of highly regarded ad agencies such as GSD&M Idea City and Sanders Wingo, media production houses like AMS Pictures, video game companies, radio stations, recording studios, etc. My original intent was to have the students build on-line portfolios that were reviewed by professionals in their field and then find them paid internships with local media companies. Of course, it was 2008 and the bottom had truly fallen out of the economy making it very difficult to place my first class of students.
So, I had to make other plans. We would meet each week at different locations across the city. Offices, community centers anywhere we could. The Media Proteges, as I decided to name them, would meet entrepreneurs, work on advocacy projects for local organizations and continue to interact with a wide array of media professionals. They were gaining what I term as Cultural Capital – the sum of experiences needed put them on the bleeding edge of media, technology and entrepreneurship. There were several false starts and stumbles but after a while, we found our stride.
One of the proteges got to shoot and edit video for a local entertainment company (see video above) and then we got do some work for Texas Parks & Wildlife. Having completed year 1 with 4 proteges, I’m happy to say that now we have 12 with a broad range of skills and interests. I’m now confident that our approach of engaging students can be effective at accelerating literacy and critical thinking skills. Now, it’s time for them to serve others as they continue hone their skills and work out an educational plan for achieving their goals. As the pool grows larger, we are seeing a multiplier effect.
Video and Social Media In the Classroom Presentation
My methodology is based on what I call the “Mash Up” approach. I ask students to show mastery of key concepts and terms using media and communications skills. It could be a blog, a podcast, a song, a survey or in these cases videos. The mash up approach allows students to think critically and then take ownership of a concept. They move beyond simply parroting definitions to in depth analysis, synthesis and evaluation – all higher level thinking skills.
Find more videos like this on Media Xperiments
Find more videos like this on Media Xperiments
Democracy Incorporated: Writer Ed Burns on education, totalitarianism, and the possibility of community Austin News
Ed Burns hasn’t had what you would call a traditional career path. Working for the Baltimore Police Department, then as a public school teacher, he eventually partnered with David Simon in creating The Wire, one of the most acclaimed dramatic series in television history. His acute, jaundiced eye was trained upon Charm City’s institutional failings as a metaphor for America’s and arguably was at its sharpest during season four, which delved into the dysfunction of the school system. It’s due to his take on education that the Texas chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union invited Burns to speak at its annual meeting this weekend, themed Youth Rights in Texas: Sensible School Discipline. The Chronicle recently spoke with Burns about education in the 21st century, the unabated rise of the surveillance state, and more.
Read more in the Austin Chroncile.