Chicago High School Teachers: Apply Now to Join the Midwest Journalism Education Initiative

A McCormick Foundation-funded project can help your high school reporters create a comprehensive media package that will address and critically analyze a topic of great interest to teen readers.Teachers will select the topic prior to the 2012-13 school year and student journalists will produce a print, broadcast or digital report that analyzes the topic and how it impacts their audiences.

The project is open to 12 Chicago-area high schools. Teachers will attend an in-service prior to the 2012-2013 school year to learn how to apply news literacy to their journalism curriculum. Regular interaction between the student journalists is included in this program.

During this one-year collaboration, journalism and media advisers from across the city and suburbs – print and broadcast alike - will decide on the timely topic to cover. Participating journalism programs will go about their usual reporting, but also produce a special report on the topic chosen by the group. Stories will be due in early 2013 and compiled on a dedicated website and disseminated to mainstream news organization partners.


This project is coordinated by the Midwest Journalism Education Initiative, which supports and promotes journalism education through advocacy, outreach and resources. Letters of application should be sent to the Midwest Journalism Education Initiative at MidwestJEI@gmail.com by April 30, 2012.


Download the flyer and application instructions>

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Spotlight On Digital Learning

Last month, we attended the MacArthur Foundation’s event on Reimagining Learning, which featured innovative pilot projects and advancements in digital learning. About 250 educators, members of the nonprofit community and community leaders, including incoming mayor Rahm Emanuel attended the event. We were especially intrigued by the applications of digital media in the classroom. Here are some of the highlights from the event: 

One of the main ideas posed was educators need to teach and prepare students for jobs that don’t even exist yet, using tools that aren’t even invented yet. Digital Youth Network’s success in partnering with Chicago Public Library’s You Media was highlighted as a promising model. This collaboration allows students access to You Media where they can use technology and media to develop skills and share and critique each other’s work in a unique space online community.

Video game design as an effective teaching tool was also highlighted. Quest to Learn, a school for “digital kids,” is a model of this kind of learning. Quest to Learn uses games as rules-based systems, where students have to use critical thinking skills, create new worlds, make complex decisions and receive feedback. A Quest to Learn charter school will open in Chicago this fall.Read more about Chicago’s Quest to Learn school here.

To learn more about digital learning, click here to watch a PBS documentary on new leaders of 21^st century learning.

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Hats off to Chicago’s Best Student Journalists

We were very excited to host the McCormick Foundation High School Media Awards this past Friday, where the best high school journalism in the Chicago area was recognized. The luncheon at the Chicago Cultural Center honored 12 schools in 24 categories. Lane Tech College Prep High School won the most awards, and Mike Stanton of Whitney Young Magnet High School was named High School Journalist of the Year. For the first time in the event’s 19-year history, two principals were acknowledged for their leadership in protecting and defending press freedoms. Prior to the awards luncheon, the morning featured dozens of workshops for the HS journalists, with presenters from a variety of media and topics ranging from "hunting for good stories" to "making your blog buzz."

The Scholastic Press Association of Chicago, which is based at Roosevelt University, coordinated the event.

For a list of all the winners, click here.

Check out an interview with one of the 2011 principals of the year, Juan Carlos Ocon, principal of Benito Juarez Community Academy.

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Grantee Spotlight: The News Literacy Project on Empowering Teens Through News Literacy

At a brown bag lunch session for After School Matters staff on March 30, 2011, Peter Adams from The News Literacy Project offered an overview of the field of news literacy; explained why it is an essential part of developing empowered, responsible digital citizens; and offered some relevant ways that this content may be used in after school settings.

The area of news literacy has gained important attention in recent years as the news and information landscape continues to undergo rapid and radical changes. Ever since the rise of cable news networks, and the 24-hour news cycle, consumers have experienced an explosion of sources for information, especially on the Internet. But navigating these sources, and understanding the varying levels of bias and credibility that they employ, pose significant challenges for everyone.

As so-called “digital natives,” the current generation of young people arguably has more opportunities for meaningful civic engagement than any other, but it likely also faces unprecedented levels of misinformation and distortion as well. Learning to separate fact from fiction in the digital age is an essential skill set—one that can be incredibly empowering for rising citizens.

The News Literacy Project partners with schools and youth organizations to help students sort fact from fiction, evaluate information sources and learn why quality journalism is important to a healthy democracy.

To learn more about The News Literacy Project, click here.

Check out their blog for ideas on how to use news literacy in the classroom.

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Chicago Journalism, Art and Media Project and Equipment Fund

The Education Development Center, Inc. (EDC), through its new Chicago Journalism, Art and Media Project (C-JAM), is pleased to announce the creation of the C-JAM Educator Equipment Fund. The goal of this fund, sponsored by the McCormick Foundation’s Journalism Program, is to help educators gain access to the technology they need to better integrate journalism and media making into learning. The fund was previously known as the Chicago Youth Media Technology fund and was administered by Roosevelt University’s Communications Department.

This initiative grows out of the McCormick Foundation’s commitment to youth media and news literacy work both inside and outside of schools. Equipment package grants are intended to further Chicago-area educators’ use of media with young people (for news gathering, interviewing, documentary, community exploration, etc.) both in schools and community-based settings.

The grants are available as equipment packages and interested applicants can select the package that best matches their needs and project ideas. Potential applicants are educators who currently incorporate media production in their classrooms or in their youth programs (for example, to produce audio podcasts on community issues or videos on the environment).

The three equipment packages are:
• Video Production
• Audio Production
• Print/Photo/Graphic Production & Design

The C-JAM project team and advisory committee with education, journalistic, and youth media expertise will determine awards based on the stated need and compelling nature of the application. The project team may follow up with further questions.

Technology awarded through this program will be for the use of the applicant but will become the property of the school or nonprofit where applicants work. Winning educators will join a community of like-minded educators from across the metropolitan area for on-going professional development to support their integration of media making. Activities will include workshops on production techniques, digital/news
literacy, curriculum development, etc. Participating educators will have access to an online community to request assistance, post related events, connect with peers in their vicinity and other networking opportunities.

To apply for the Equipment Fund, visit the C-JAM Equipment Fund Application:  http://cjam.edc.org/equipment_fund  You will be asked to complete the application online, it is recommended that you compile all the information necessary to apply before filling out the application.   Deadline to apply is March 21, 2011.
 

Photo credit: Jason Reblando

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