Saturday, May 31, 2008

Our MySpace Presentation

We're so living "in the now" that it's easy to almost forget that we all enjoyed and appreciated an expertly orchestrated, impressively informative presentation on "MySpace-the Generation Gap" hosted by a diligent group of 8th graders. The presentation opened with an amusing depiction of "The Authoritarian Parent" by "Mother" Clara Jessup, "Daughter" Gemma O'Neil and "Narrator" Lilly Cazier. From there, "MySpace Experts" - Emma McCune, Sam Skidmore and Jackie Greer took us on an informative tour of MySpace World...harkening to two contrasting pages: the Good Sally versus the Bad Sally! We were shown how to insure privacy and safe practice on MySpace and learned about the various modes of communication within that system (comments, messages, IMs...) T-Mike and Emily moderated a thought-provoking panel discussion on the generation gap created by MySpace tensions. The panel consisted of Phil McCune (Emma's dad), Stephanie Solien (Jackie's mom), and Tracie Holiday-Robinson (T'Mike's mom) as well as students Gillian, Maya, Le'Jayah and Maddy. Provocative questions about parent/child communication, cyber-fears, psychic safety and acceptable family ground rules held the audience's attention and spawned further questions during a brief Q&A period, moderated by Anja. Interspersed throughout the program were vignettes on Cyberspace Parenting Techniques by Troupe Clara/Gemma/Lilly: "The Negligent Parent," "The Indulgent Parent" and finally, "The Authoritative Parent."

I've passed on to our students the many rave reviews I received verbally right after the event and through emails in the days that followed. Like you, Bert and I were very impressed with our students' depth and intelligence as they crafted this informative experience for the SGS adult community. One audience member suggested we take our show on the road - to other schools! Now there's a thought...!

On Location!

Friday saw the entire 8th grade class "on location" at West Seattle's "Camp Long" - where we managed to orchestrate a full day of filming - capturing more than thirty discrete scene segments. Taking into consideration that each scene typically involves five to ten takes, we can be justifiably proud of our day's work!! Our students are to be commended for their impressive focus, hustle and good humor as we played a fairly consistent game of "Hurry Up and Wait!" - sharing tech resources as well as student talent. On Monday, in addition to a couple of re-takes of problematical shots, we'll dive right into scene editing as well as final editing - as we push towards our World Premiere on Friday, June 6th! (at the Museum of Flight's Allen Theater...doors open at 6 pm/curtain at 6:30...remember??)

More as it happens...

Friday, May 23, 2008

And the beat goes on!! (...til the very end!)

We're continuing to make progress on the several salient projects that should carry us to the brink of graduation - most notably the 8th Grade Production (Friday, June 6, 6 pm) and our up-coming MySpace Workshop/Presentation (May 28th 6:30-7:30) To these ends, we have averaged about 5 to 8 "on location" shots per afternoon - all the while maintaining the mornings for our core academics: Math - both Algebra and Geometry - Spanish, Health & Fitness, and MySpace considerations.
The Production involves more and more applied technology these days as students film their segments and then edit them, using both iMovie and a new program we've purchased called "Final Cut Pro." We still have three fairly large "shoots" to orchestrate before we can focus completely on our final edit! We'll carpool to West Seattle's "Camp Long" midday next Thursday (May 29th) and then all day on Friday (May 30th.) We're definitely in "Little Engine That Could" mode when it comes to the Production!!
Our MySpace Presentation is coming along as well. Not only are we crafting and rehearsing the various segments that will come together to constitute what we envision will be an entertaining as well as informative event, but we're also continuing to hone our critical thinking and close reading skills as we work with articles and various online resources. Both Bert and I were favorably impressed with our students' ability to read, annotate and discuss meaningful points in our ongoing effort to wax "clear, cogent and convincing" in our preparations - as the lawyerly among us might say!
Thanks in advance to our carpoolers for next Thursday's "shoot" - "the Colleens" - McQueen and Tremaine-Nelson, Jean Carter, Anne Fote, Grace Schuman, Stephanie Solien, Anne Hartley-Willis...oh and Marja's van!! We couldn't do it without you!! Also, a reminder that all 8th graders should be delivered to "Camp Long" in West Seattle by 9 am on Friday, May 30th...and retrieved at 3:30 that same day! We leave those transportation arrangements up to you! (5200 35th Ave SW, Seattle 98126 (206) 684-7434...Google Camp Long, Seattle for directions!)

More as it happens...

Thursday, May 15, 2008

MySpace Research

In preparation for our MySpace workshop for all of you, the girls are sinking their teeth into current research on predator and privacy dangers, both the realities and the myths. Their goal is to come to the workshop prepared with specific recommendations for parents on how to engage with them around these issues. The articles they are reading come from a variety of perspectives in the national community, including the Crimes Against Children Research Center, the National School Boards Association, the American Psychological Association, and a study on parenting styles from California State University. Feel free to click on the above links to access the articles they are reading, get up to speed for the workshop and follow up with your daughter.

Making Movies Like the Pros

We have been had a variety of activities over the last few weeks to support our production work and to give the girls both a conceptual and technical grasp of how to make a movie like the professionals do. First, we spent a few days getting back up to speed on our iMovie and camera skills and also introduced the basics of our video and lighting equipment. We are excited to add this year not only professional lights for our indoor scenes, but also a full complement of cameras capable of shooting in High Definition (HD). We have already shot several scenes, and for those of you who have HDTV at home, you know - it looks beautiful!

We also were privileged last week to host SaraJennifer (SJ) Chiro, a renowned local director who has created several award winning film shorts and is also world premiering her latest film at the Seattle International Film Festival. She continued the work we started last week on techniques for framing shots and also worked with the girls on how to direct a scene and get down to the essence to the emotional needs of the whole film. She also showed us her short film "Little Red Riding Hood" which was a wonderful reinterpretation of the classic tale.

Lastly, SIFF gave us the wonderful opportunity to attend the press screening for a film by Nina Paley called Sita Sings the Blues. Not only was this an wonderful and funny film that used a variety of animation techniques, it wove in a number of the themes we have been working with this year including ancient and modern Hinduism, the continued relevance of historical blues music, and even the dangers of digital love letters. If this sounds eclectic, this movie was all that and more. Make sure to ask your daughter about her impressions.

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Production Woes and Wows!

So the beat definitely goes on in "Production Central" - aka our 8th grade afternoons. While we devote our mornings to the continuation of ongoing academic endeavors - Spanish, Health & Fitness (which has currently hosted a series of guest speakers on various "hot topics" - ask your 8th grader!) Reading Workshop, Art, Algebra and recently Geometry with cameo appearances by Rafael...OH! and then there's the "Road Less Traveled Project" (see Sally's LA Blog), daily WOD expectations and our upcoming "MySpace Workshop"...we devote our afternoons to continued work and progress on "The 8th Grade Production."
As the title of this blog entry indicates, we've had our ups and downs. Of late they've been of a technical nature. One of our high definition cameras had been acting strangely, so it was sent in for emergency repairs, only to return to us ultimately unimproved! :-( A second HD camcorder met with an unfortunate too-close encounter with the floor on Friday and now is in the shop as well! That left us with one new camera with which to work - a planned purchase we'd made through our yearly 8th grade budget. Another $800 camcorder is on its way, thanks to the timely gift of $500 from our generous CAP - ie you!! In addition, we've "lost" a camcorder tripod as well as a tripod and special connecting chord to our brand-new lighting system. Needless to say, we've had some fairly serious all-group discussions about the proper care and vigilant maintenance of expensive gear!
Our WOWs continue to inspire us, however! On Friday we welcomed filmmakers from SIFF (Seattle International Film Festival) who, among other things, discussed "best practices" with us (more on this from Bert when he can surface from all the tech workshops he's conducting!) Besides in depth, written scripts generated and refined by our Production small groups, we've crafted a complete shot list, noting locations and filming details...AND, we've filmed our first few segments! (Not an easy feat with only one functioning camcorder!) Much like that first plunge off the proverbial high dive, we've taken the leap, and there's no stopping us now!
Needless to say, group dynamics being what they are, our 8th graders have grappled with aspects of coordinating and choreographing their vision. While a critical number of them continue to bog down and even check out during large group discussions, they still manage to move in the right direction with our shared goal. When all is said and (hopefully) done, the Production is all about process afterall! It constitutes a real life experience with a myriad of challenges that mirror the reality of group work that most of us don't fully encounter until we enter the adult work force:

•the crafting of a shared vision (not to mention the sustaining of that vision)
•the breaking down of a lofty goal into manageable increments
•the coordination of diverse ideas and inspirations into a unified whole that makes sense
•the ongoing cooperation with people who think differently than we do
•the potentially tenuous direction as well as critique of peer performance
•the on-the-job training in unfamiliar technology (thank you Uncle Bert!!!)
•the setting of and MEETING deadlines (we're still working to perfect this one!!)
•the recognition that it's one part aptitude to ninety-nine parts attitude!

...to mention only a few of the many lessons we're busily learning.

To paraphrase Marshall McLuhan's famous observation - The medium IS the message... we fully acknowledge as well as respect that the process IS the Production! And now...onward!

Saturday, May 10, 2008

MySpace Workshop / Presentation: May 28th, 6:30-7:30

On most Fridays for the past six weeks we've been meeting as cores to examine and discuss various aspects of online social networking, which could be called the "MySpace phenomenon." You know...the hours your teen seems to be able to spend online, completely engrossed in a cyberworld that may befuddle if not downright scare you! We began this investigation back in winter after reading a sensational article about a girl who'd committed suicide because of a misguided hoax perpetrated by the disturbed mother of a classmate. This got us to discussing the generational divide that exists between teens and their parents on the issue of technology-assisted social networking (better known as texting, instant messaging, as well as living in MySpace/Facebook.) We viewed and critiqued PBS/Frontline's program "Growing Up Online" (...see my January 30th blog, "Making MySpace YOUR Space" to jog your memory!) We then spent a rich ninety minutes in our ubiquitous "all group circle" sharing with local playright, Joy McCullough-Carranza, who is crafting a dramatic presentation on cyberbullying as an educational awareness piece. The next week each 8th grader engaged in an hour-long "timed write," responding to the following writing prompts:

Tell about a time you were hurt by a friend online - whether they knew it or not, whether they intended to do something hurtful or not.

Tell about a time you used electronic communication to strike back at someone when upset with her.

Tell about a MySpace-related "drama" you have been a part of. (This can be something that ended up being funny in retrospect or something that really affected you - like someone copying your layout or forwarding something you'd said on to someone else or someone saying untrue things about you online.)

If you are not active on MySpace or other social networking sites - why not? Do you feel left out?

The girls responded anonymously and avoided using real names in order to feel comfortable and capable of reflecting candidly and in depth about what can amount to a rather delicate if not painful issue. Their answers were forwarded to Joy as further research for her project as well as perused by Bert and me as we determined directions to explore in this ongoing investigation.
As our idea to craft a workshop or presentation on this timely topic for the significant adults in our lives (i.e. YOU!) grew, we strove to "get into our parents' heads" with regards to this somewhat volatile topic! To that end, we welcomed "Dad" into our midst - aka Bert who rendered a dramatic interpretation of a concerned father (complete with teary eyes and misguided frustration) who couldn't quite understand why
his daughter spent so many hours glued to the computer screen, effectively shutting him and the rest of the family out of her "secret life!" Readily joining in the role play, our students sought to explain to "Dad" why his impressions and fears are not in sync with their online reality, and in this manner, we were able to itemize the issues that seem to widen the generation gap that the "online life" has illuminated.
This week we reviewed several different newscasts and presentations on the topic of online predators and the dangers of MySpace-esque sites...

(see examples at Msnbc.com’s MySpace news cast: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/11166731#11166731
or “Why parents must mind MySpace - Your kid’s cyber secret” http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/11066322#11066322 or “What you don’t know can hurt kids” http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/6903341#6903341)


...in an effort to more fully understand the magnitude of the fear and concern that can motivate parental responses to online issues. We discussed empathy and sought to relate to our parents' need for information as well as reassurances. We then deconstructed the effective techniques used in news reports and advertisements that heighten fears without truly educating. We highlighted vocabulary, voice tone, filming and editing techniques as well as effective manipulations of point of view as we listed the points that are driven home in such exposés. Acknowledging the need for a more reasoned, dispassionate discourse, we assigned the girls the task of researching articles and online sites that offer differing opinions and substantiated facts on the topic of social networking.
When next we meet, Bert and I will guide our students as they investigate current findings on the influences inherent in the "online life" - with particular attention paid to predators, cyberbullying, "screen time," and identity development.
From there we'll actively craft the inter-active presentation on social networking that we will share with 7th and 8th grade families on Wednesday, May 28th from 6:30 to 7:30. Much like the various anti-bias workshops that 8th graders have hosted throughout the year, this will be a student-led event and should prove both educational as well as reassuring! Please mark your calendars and plan to attend if it fits into your busy schedules.

...More on this as it happens!