Multimedia Programs Expose Students to New Careers

By Linda Seida at Bridges.com

A lot of times, kids have their books packed way in advance of the bell, looking like sprinters at a starting block. But some teachers have the opposite problem. Their students are actually begging for more time to finish their work.

How did those teachers pull off that level of excitement? They stepped into the relatively new arena of a multimedia classroom.

Their students are becoming intimately acquainted with computers. The teens learn everything from Web design, graphic design and video production to animation, filmmaking and script writing.

"Teachers would be surprised by the level of quality of many of the students -- not all, though. Their dedication and drive to do an excellent job is quite amazing," says Paul Doyle, a department head at a high school.

"You don't often see this in other areas. In fact, it is hard to get them out of the class sometimes!"

Some schools, such as New Technology High School in Napa, California, actively seek to overlap newly learned computer skills with other subjects. The kids are responding with enthusiasm.

Multimedia instructors talk enthusiastically about their success stories. Art Wolinsky, a retired teacher from New Jersey who works as a staff developer, still recalls one incident that happened about a decade ago.

"I had just loaded the project of a student I'll call Max. His English teacher just happened to walk into the room and saw Max's opening screen and said, 'Oh, Max. Getting a sentence out of him is like pulling teeth.' I began clicking on the screen and watched the changes of expression on the teacher's face as I moved through 20 screens of text and pictures."

In Michigan, Joe Elliott's students are knocking the socks off admissions officers. He teaches at Henry Ford II High School in Sterling Heights. Even the bigwigs behind Apple Computers are impressed with what his kids are doing.

"I have been fortunate enough to have taught a student in the visual arts system for the full four years that he was at our high school. The growth and learning factor for this student was off the charts," he says.

"He has completed the program well above the other students and has authored a DVD digital portfolio that is truly amazing. When he went to show it to colleges for scholarship consideration, they had to ask people if they could even view DVD at their school before accepting.

"Also, Apple Computers was very interested in this because they are responsible for the technology that allows high school students authoring capabilities. They actually asked for a copy to show Steven Jobs [president of Apple]."

None of these advancements come cheap. Almost $7.5 million was doled out for public school computers in 1998 alone, according to the New York Times. Instructional technology for kindergarten through high school increased $3 billion in six years starting in 1992, hitting $5 billion before the end of the decade.

If you think only the best and brightest students benefit from these changes, think again. Elliott notes that special needs students also benefit from technology. "We have experienced a breakthrough in communication with special education students," he says.

"Our school system has a very strong inclusion program for special education. All students are afforded the opportunity to use the school technology as well as take electives that might seem inhibiting to students of special needs. The breakthrough has come in the students' ability to communicate.

"Using the technology has opened up an unbelievable ability for storytelling and creative writing."

Technology also motivates kids who are borderline or poor scholars. "I have kids who are falling through the cracks in regular studies come to school so that they won't miss these classes," Elliott says.

"Some of the students have told me that they enjoy using the technology more than sitting in a room listening to a lecture. I tell them that they have to pass their regular classes to stay in technology classes. It drives those students."

All of these high points demand some flexibility from teachers. Some of your students will know more about the technology and software than you do. Others will surpass you and leave you in the dust. Classroom time will not be orderly.

Elliott describes such a class as organized chaos.

"Most teachers aren't ready for what it might take to run multiple forms of communication and technology at the same time. Preparation and organization are critical, but the true nature of multimedia is chaos under control," he says.

Ferdi Serim spent 15 years as a technology instructor in New Jersey schools. He now lives in New Mexico and is the author of From Computers to Community: Unlocking the Potential of the Wired Classroom. He also co-authored NetLearning: Why Teachers Use the Internet. He serves as the director of the Online Internet Institute and editor of the magazine Multimedia Schools.

"The hardest project is your first project," he says. "Learning in a digital age is a team sport...so don't try this alone! There are many places you can find help and partners."

The cost of keeping up to date is another headache. "It is really a rather rewarding experience in general to see students who genuinely enjoy working in your class," says Tony VanderLee, a high school teacher.

"It can, however, be a bit daunting in that you need to work hard at trying to keep up with the latest software and techniques being used in the industry," he adds.

"It can be an uphill battle to try to get the hardware and software that you need to do a decent job as it can be quite costly, and once you get it, it is even harder to try and stay current or keep up with trends in multimedia, upgrades in software, repairs of equipment, etc. It is, however, generally a very personally challenging but rewarding and energizing experience."

At Eastview High School in Apple Valley, Minnesota, textbooks are another issue. The multimedia program doesn't use them. The nontraditional method seems to be working. Newsweek named the school one of the top 500 in the U.S. in 2000.

Tyler Krebs, the school's video and multimedia specialist, explains how he goes about instructing students without a textbook.

"I need to sit down and learn the software and then figure out how to teach it to my students. I learn as much from them as they do from me," he says.

"They are given the freedom to explore the software on their own. I often ask them how they did certain steps and we work through the software together. You can't pretend to be an expert because the students know so much."

What kinds of careers will these students be prepared for? "Since the Internet has become so prevalent in all fields, a person with Web design experience can work almost anywhere," says Krebs.

"More specifically, these students are getting a great foundation for a marketing or advertising career. The most direct careers would be graphic arts, graphic design, video production, animation and Web design."

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