Are you a teacher that likes to use the media with your 13-19 year old students? If so, please think about joining our upcoming Adobe Youth Voices programme with a group of students – even if you need to form an after school club in order to do this. The great thing about it is that you’ll learn to create media with the free products and free online training from Adobe headquarters that we supply. All teachers and learners who meet all expectations will go into a prize draw to win great prizes and a trip to the next IEARN International conference.
How to apply
SchoolNet is offering only twelve places to South African teacherrs on this free course starting in September. If you are interested then:
1. Download the Application form from this link:
2. Send Ms Omashani Naidoo (omashani@schoolnet.org.za) an email to express interest in participating in the upcoming Adobe Youth Voices project.
If you would like to join SchoolNet’s offer for this course please write immediately to
What is this programme all about?
Adobe Youth Voices enables middle and high school age youth to use digital tools to “create with purpose” – to express their ideas about issues important to their lives and have their voices heard by a wide range of audiences. iEARN was one of the founding non-profit partners that helped to launch the Adobe Youth Voices program in 2006, and is currently administering AYV programs in 23 countries.
Donation of Adobe Photoshop and Premier Elements to participants
Participating iEARN Adobe Youth Voices sites receive donations of Adobe Photoshop and Premiere Elements software, and participating educators agree to the following:
Commitment requirements for you to participate
1. Complete an 8-week online Adobe Youth Voices (AYV) core training course, during which you will:
• Get an overview of the philosophy of the AYV program and what’s expected of them, their sites and their youth as part of the program
• Gain an understanding of the value and methodologies of youth media making and the youth media tradition
• Explore various media forms and formats in which youth work can be created
• Learn about the steps and stages to facilitating effective youth media making practice
• Explore community connections and think about strategies for building and engaging audiences
• Discover models of instructional practice as it relates to working with media and youth
2. Develop a work plan and timeline by the conclusion of the core training for integrating AYV into your instruction over the coming year.
3. Participate in the AYV Online Community, sharing stories and project progress
4. Support youth to use donated Adobe Photoshop and/or Premiere Elements software to produce original works
5. Collect necessary paperwork and signatures to allow Adobe Foundation to exhibit and celebrate the youth-produced work from your site:
Non-exclusive Licensing Agreement Form (NELA) – The non-exclusive licensing agreement (NELA) must be signed by all Adobe Youth Voices Awards participants & if they are under the age of 18 his/her parent/ guardian. This document states that the youth artist is the owner of his/her work but that they give the Adobe Foundation permission to distribute the work. Please click here to download the NELA Form.
Model Release Form – The Model Release Form permits the Adobe Foundation to use the artists’ image and should be signed by all youth (if under 18 their parents) that are participants in the AYV program. Please click here to download the Model Release Form.
6. Contribute youth media work to the iEARN AYV collection by June 5, 2015 to be exhibited locally, online, and globally
Dates
Adobe Youth Voices Online Course Session One: September 26 – November 24, 2014
Adobe Youth Voices Online Educator Course Syllabus
The Adobe Youth Voices (AYV) online course is designed to introduce you to the Adobe Youth Voices program and to help you, as educators, more effectively support youth media making.
During the 8 weeks of the course, you will be building on your knowledge and skills to create media with young people. Example topics covered in this course include media forms and formats; process product and presentation; community collaboration and exhibition, and technical skills necessary to use Adobe media making software. Throughout the course, you will have two experienced facilitators to guide you along the way. It is expected that by the end of this course you will be able to guide young people to truly Create Media with Purpose.
Goals
By the end of this course you will understand:
- The philosophy of the Adobe Youth Voices program and what is expected of you, your sites and the youth you are working with as part of the program.
- Models of instructional practice as they relate to working with youth and media.
- The value and methodologies of youth media making.
- The various media formats in which youth work can be created.
- Steps and strategies to facilitating effective youth media making.
- Community connections and strategies for building and engaging audiences.
Prerequisites
- Reliable access to a computer and Internet
- Availability to commit at least four hours per week to course activities
- Working knowledge of English (Course are available in English, Portuguese, Spanish, and Russian)
Feedback and Assessment
Course facilitators will review and assess your progress throughout the course. At the conclusion of each session, the facilitator will update the course Gradebook noting whether you met discussion board expectations and completed any required assignments. Upon successful completion of this course, participants will receive a Certificate of Completion, which verifies completion of the course requirements.
Technical Requirements
- Internet Access. You must have Internet access with an updated web browser, preferably FireFox.
- Active Email Account. You must have an active email account that you check regularly. Course facilitators will communicate with you both through the course and through your email account.
- Adobe Flash Player 9. You must have Adobe Flash Player 9 or higher installed on your computer. Adobe Flash Player is needed to view the youth media samples on the AYV site.
- Adobe Reader. To read many of the files (PDF) you will need an updated version of Adobe Reader.
- Adobe Photoshop and Premiere Elements. This software will be provided to you through your iEARN/Adobe Youth Voices Country Program Managers, and should be installed in advance of the course start date.
Program Materials and Guide
- Once you have been given access to the course platform, you may want to download the Adobe Youth Voices Program Guide, a comprehensive youth media guide for educators that will be referenced and used throughout the course. This and other materials that you will use in the course are available via a link called “Program Materials & Guide” in the top orientation block of your Adobe Youth Voices Program Training course platform.
- All sample youth-media shown in the course is available via online streaming as you move throughout the course, but if you have a slow Internet connection, you may also want to download the media ahead of time to have available when it is featured in the course. Course media can be downloaded via a link called “Downloadable Course Videos” in the top orientation block of your Adobe Youth Voices Program Training course platform.
Course Overview
Week One: Orientation. During this orientation period you will get acquainted with our online learning environment, meet your peers and facilitators and become familiar with the Adobe Youth Voices (AYV) program goals and outcomes.
Week Two: Youth Media Defined. In this session you will be introduced to the theory and value of youth media making, a practice that gives young people the opportunity to build meaningful skills and express their unique perspectives on the world around them. You will also begin exploring a selection of the Adobe software that you have received, Photoshop Elements, a powerful tool for editing and organizing images.
Week Three: Youth Centered Instruction. In this session you will focus on how to use youth centered instructional strategies to create media for personal and social change. Regardless of the tools or media format used, youth media requires meaningful engagement and inquiry-based experiences – as an educator, you will ultimately be guiding youth through this process. You will also explore organizational and workflow aspects of Adobe media making software.
Week Four: Process, Product, Presentation. In this session you will learn the different production stages in the media making process. Educators and young artists need to be aware of these stages from the onset so that everyone is involved in moving the process forward. A particular focus during this session will be on the Critique and Review stages. You will also explore strategies for integrating youth media into existing curriculum and programming.
Starting in this session, and working over the next four sessions, you will also begin a media making production cycle through an “Inside/Out” production scaffolding exercise. The Inside/Out activities will provide you with hands-on experience working on a photo project, expose you to Adobe software, and give you a chance to practice using media making equipment. This activity can be done using either Adobe Photoshop or Premiere Elements.
Week Five: Media Forms and Formats. In this session you will learn about potential forms (e.g. audio, print, video) and formats (e.g. journalistic, poetic, self-portrait) to consider when engaging youth in media work. Examining the creative potential of the different forms and formats will help you determine the best fit, given your resources and the interests of your youth.
Week Six: Youth Media Making Tools. In this session you will dig deeper into Adobe software tools. Computer-based media making tools have completely transformed the youth media field in the last ten years. Tools that used to be incredibly expensive and out of reach of most youth and educators are now widely available.
Week Seven: Connecting With Your Audience. In this session you will learn about distribution options and planning to best showcase media created by the youth with whom you work. You will also examine issues related to ownership and copyright. From the very beginning, young media artists should identify the impact they wish to have on their audience and the best way to distribute their work to insure the desired impact. Ultimately, youth media is about bringing a youth perspective to a broader audience.
Week Eight: Going Forward and Resources. In this session you will set your own professional development goals beyond this training, learn to connect with other sites and educators, and become familiar with additional valuable resources on youth media making.
More info about Adobe Youth Voices can be found at http://youthvoices.adobe.com/