Nov 19, 2008 8:05 pm US/Pacific
High-Tech Media Skills for Modern Kids
Jefferson Award Winner: Elana Rosen
Whether it's watching television, surfing the internet, or listening to their iPods, most kids today spend about 45 hours a week with media. So when Elena Rosen co-founded the non-profit "Just Think," she had a very specific goal in mind: to get kids to think critically about what they see and hear.
"In a media-rich environment, it means understanding the impact of media," Elana explains. "We feel the best way of understanding that impact is by making your own."
Twice a week at after-school programs like one at Marina Middle School in San Francisco, students learn to make their own media messages, using video, computer animation, and claymation. Just Think supplies equipment and teacher support.
Marina Middle School program leader Chris Palitz says, "It inspires the kids, 'cause we have a lot of technology available and you know, I'm here to help teach them story-telling and how to make great stories."
In the process of creating media, students learn how to critique it, something Elana says is vital in today's world. She cites our recent election as a good example.
"I don't believe you can have a functioning democracy without a media-literate community, because so much for the information we have received from this election has been powerful media," Elana says.
Since its inception in 1995, Just Think has created a curriculum for schools that teaches media literacy and brings the 21st century into the classroom. Thousands of students ages 8-18, from 30 states have participated. Many are from low-income communities.
Thirteen years later, student work has appeared everywhere from YouTube to the Sundance Film Festival.
"I think it's really fun, says seventh grader Ethan. "I get to know how to do all this computer work and animation!"
Elana adds, "Our mission was not simply to teach them how to make a piece of media, it was predominately how do you think critically about all the messages around you, and for us the most important piece is to understand the impact of all the media."
So for helping children find a voice in the 21st century through production training and media literacy, this week's Jefferson Award in the Bay Area goes to Elena Rosen.
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