The Compton Bulletin Online

Last Updated 8/23/06

Our Town
Retired Lawyer Dedicated To Serving Underserved Honored at Luncheon

Joseph Philips:
The Price of Peace in the Middle East

Letters to
the Editor

City Attorney Sets Record Straight on Gang Injunction

Local Church Member Speaks Out About BMX Bike Park

Compton Traffic Improvements Included in I-710 Corridor Strategy

Post Office Renamed for Fallen South L.A. Soldier

Council Member Aids Lobbying Effort for Extension of Statewide Card Club Moratorium

Bobby Jones Jr. is Compton’s Newest NBA Player

R&B Star Usher Talks About His Broadway Debut in ‘Chicago

From HepB to Tdap, School Vaccine Season More Complex Than Ever

Classifieds

HOME

Program Empowering Local Teachers To Use Technology in the Classroom

By Robert Meeks
Bulletin Staff Writer

It’s going to be lights, camera and action for students at Longfellow Elementary School this year.

Teachers Khalia Lindsay and Jeanine Taylor were among 58 educators selected to participate in the Digital Video Voice program sponsored by the Los Angeles County Office of Education (LACOE) and Instructional Technical Outreach (ITO).

The program will enable teachers with techniques and equipment to help their students learn by using multimedia devices such as video cameras, lights and laptop computers. Lindsay and Taylor were part of a contingent of teachers from 30 schools who attended a three-day introductory session in July at the American Film Institute (AFI) in Hollywood to receive creative direction from industry professionals.

“Whenever LACOE has something they always send it through the school; we just thought it would be a good program to be involved in,” Lindsay said.

Lindsay, who has had some multimedia experience, said her students have somewhat practiced their video skills by producing plays and visual interpretations of in-class assignments. Lindsay believes her students will benefit even more from what she picked up at AFI.

“I had already been making movies, and we did six movies throughout the year on different subject matters,” Lindsay said. “We really learned more about how to shoot and make a better product.”

Lindsay said she was bowled over being at the AFI’s Screen Education Center in July and admitted that she was a little star struck by their surroundings.

“It’s cool because you go up into the AFI campus and it’s in the Hollywood Hills. We go in the library and there’s Al Pacino and just about anyone you can imagine — their posters are throughout the library,” she said.

Wayne Borders, marketing coordinator for the DV Voice Initiative, said there were more than 1,800 applications that went out to schools describing the program. After applications came back in March and April and a review process, the initial group of 30 schools were selected with an average of two teachers from each.

“Teachers are very excited to be a part of the program; it’s also a learning experience for the instructors too,” Borders said. “This is not often done in our classrooms. The technology is there but how to use it in the classroom is not always there.”

Borders explained that video, digital photography and podcasts are part of the everyday world and the program is designed to help “empower” students to find their voice using these tools.

There will be two additional training days in October, and after that the DV Voice teachers are expected to be issued laptops, video cameras and software to utilize in the classroom. Assistance in sponsorship for computers and cameras is coming from companies such as Epson and Sony, said Borders.

Although both Longfellow educators teach grades three through five, Lindsay said she and partner teacher Taylor are planning to get as many students involved as possible at the school by starting an audio-visual program on campus.

According to the office of education, there are plans next year to select another class of teachers for the program.

Borders said he believes the program will be a huge success with students, especially those that may have difficulty being reached by traditional means of education.

“It benefits students — it gives students the opportunity to work with multimedia, video cameras and tools that help instruction,” he said. “It helps them to examine their world around them; they have an opportunity to share their voice and share their ideas.”