August 29, 2008
TECHNOS QUARTERLY Spring 1997 Vol. 6 No. 1
Multimedia and the Curriculum
By George McBroom
The
fledgling Academy of Communications and Multimedia Technology is the latest
in a long line of accomplishments and innovations for Mainland High School
in Daytona Beach, Florida, a three-time National Blue Ribbon School of Excellence
winner. Mainland has successfully transferred the excitement, immediacy, and
real-world applications of today's technology to traditional core curricula—and
students love it.
When I began teaching multimedia courses on a full time basis two years ago, I noticed that many students arrived for third period before the bell ending second period ceased. Competition for the best computers was fierce, and my room was full of eager students during lunch and after school. From the beginning, their multimedia products exceeded my expectations, and I knew that Mainland High School had to find a way to extend this excitement to core curriculum classes. Obviously, we needed to restructure some aspects of our curriculum to accommodate multimedia technologies.
Background
In 1988, Mainland High School in Daytona Beach, FL, was selected as one of
five Florida Model Technology Schools, which brought it significant grant
funds until 1995. Committed faculty and administrators used those funds to
create an environment that permitted those with energy and new ideas to take
some risks with technology. Programs in language arts, physics, art, special
education, business, biology, and other subjects flourished. Labs were set
up that gave students as much “hands-on” computer time as possible.
I came to Mainland in 1990 to teach gifted and advanced English classes and as yearbook advisor. Although I used technology in my classes, it was the BUCCANEER yearbook that precipitated our entry into multimedia. Our first year, the BUCCANEER staff used a computer-based typesetting program. In 1991, Marshall Ransom, our Model School Facilitator, purchased four Macintosh computers so that the 1992 BUCCANEER staff could utilize desktop publishing. Our publisher, Jostens, advised us to try only 16 or 32 pages our first year, but a determined staff completed the entire 324-page book (with more than 100 color pages). I was impressed, considering that no staff member knew anything about Adobe PageMaker or desktop publishing at the beginning of that school year.
Jostens took notice of our efforts. Dick Ruddy, Director of Graphics Research, visited us in spring 1992 and invited us to participate in a project with Eastman Kodak to create yearbook pages using digital images. Although several schools were being considered for this project by both Jostens and Eastman Kodak, Mainland was eventually selected as the only site. Kodak brought a video crew and spent a day interviewing and recording students, using Kodak Photo CDs to place digital images into our layouts. Two of our students ended up on CNN's Science and Technology Week. This first experience with beta testing and corporate partners was a resounding success and whetted our appetites for more.
The 1993 BUCCANEER brought requests for presentations. Cindy Fisher, our new Model School Facilitator, and I, assisted by several journalism students, began using Adobe Persuasion to assemble our presentations. Some students were inspired to develop their own multimedia projects, which led us to offer multimedia courses during the 1994-95 school year. By now, our computer inventory included 16 multimedia-capable Macintoshes. Then several energizing events accelerated the program.
In October 1994, we acquired a new business partner, Digital Connectivity, Inc., of Atlanta. President Cammie Browning, who became our number one cheerleader, gave us technical support through her staff of engineers. Our relationship with Kodak had slowed considerably as original company contacts were transferred or left the company. In January 1995, Cindy Fisher and I (supported by Cammie Browning) made a four-hour presentation of student work to Kodak executives in Rochester, NY. As a result, Dr. Anne Miller, Segment Manager for K-12 Digital Imaging, was assigned to work with Mainland. Our partnership with Kodak became and continues to be one of our most important business relationships.
Because of Mainland's status as a Florida Model Technology School, hundreds of teachers, administrators, and state officials visited our lab, where students continued to produce impressive multimedia materials. These visits, which students greatly enjoyed, led to additional speaking opportunities that boosted the program. We had used Adobe products from the beginning; and in June 1995, I began making presentations at national education conferences for Adobe Systems, Inc. This natural partnership has been of enormous assistance.
Business Week magazine had named Mainland one of five Schools in the Age of Technology, which caught the interest of Robert Carlson of the Council of the Great City Schools. Dr. Carlson and a group of interested educators and business partners were planning to build a national education intranet. Since we wanted to expand our curriculum by adding a telecommunications module, we joined their consortium and became active participants. In October 1995, the consortium hosted a three-day demonstration of telecommunications power from the Rayburn Building in Washington, D.C. Aided by two new partners, BellSouth and LiveWorks, we were able to install ISDN lines and obtain conferencing equipment with only five days notice. Several of our physics and multimedia students, along with Mainland's superintendent and principal, participated in a large-screen video conference with students from Virginia high schools and Congressional staff members. The resultant publicity increased awareness and interest in our multimedia program.
In February 1996, Mainland won its third National Blue Ribbon School of Excellence award, along with special recognition for excellence in the use of technology. The Department of Education wanted to establish a special web site for the 29 Blue Ribbon School winners. Planning for this site was to be a student project, with schools that had won special recognition in technology invited to submit plans. Dr. Alan Schmieder of DOE instructed our student committee to evaluate Mainland's Blue Ribbon application as it pertained to the conditions of effective schooling. A group of our multimedia students had just finished constructing Mainland's web site, so we spent two days examining the Blue Ribbon application and compiling a list of ideas. [One of my more interesting experiences in education was observing these students studying the conditions of effective schooling. Their frank discussions led our administration to make some positive changes relating to student life at Mainland.] This student committee planned the proposed web site and assigned each member a specific task. After spending Saturday morning putting the pieces together, we mailed our plan to DOE.
One week before the Blue Ribbon Awards Ceremony, Dr. Schmieder told me that three schools had been declared joint winners of the competition: Mainland, Eagan (MN) High School, and Hellgate Middle School of Missoula, MT. Winners were permitted to add one student to their Blue Ribbon delegation for the Washington, DC, ceremony. We selected sophomore Jill Mahler, who had distinguished herself by her work on the plan. After several calls from DOE and the White House, Jill was chosen to speak and to introduce President Clinton at the ceremony; she did a marvelous job of representing Mainland from the presidential podium. Our delegation had a White House tour, then met President Clinton, Vice President Gore, and Secretary of Education Riley.
The Academy Is Born
Mainland had established an Academy of Design and Manufacturing, a school-to-work
program, in 1994. In fall 1995, Patricia Graham, Associate Principal for Curriculum
who had worked closely with that Academy, and I began to discuss the possibility
of forming the Academy of Communications and Multimedia Technology. Students
in the existing design academy worked in teams of four to design and implement
projects that related to manufacturing environments. Science, math, and English
teachers worked with drafting and construction teachers to develop the interdisciplinary
materials that formed the basis of the Academy's instructional program. Mrs.
Graham and Principal Carol Kelley enlisted Mary Bruno, Director of Volusia
County's Applied Technology Programs, whose support was crucial and who helped
us move from talk to action.
Outstanding television production and electronic graphic arts programs already existed at Mainland. These became natural partners in the new academy. In January 1996, a steering committee of administrators, faculty, students, and district personnel produced the vision and preliminary structure for the new program. English, social studies, and mathematics courses would be integrated with existing multimedia, art, and television production offerings to form the basic curriculum. Several important tenets were adopted:
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A constructivist approach would give students the opportunity to develop multimedia projects that would support peer learning and individual expression.
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Whenever practical, student “seat time” would be replaced by “hands on” learning activities.
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School-to-work concepts would be used, including heavy involvement by business partners. Each student would have a business mentor who would offer a “real world” view of multimedia projects.
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Interdisciplinary units would be used as often as possible.
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Classroom standards would emulate current business practices by requiring final papers and projects to be free of spelling and grammatical errors.
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Flexible classroom schedules would maximize the opportunity for effective implementation of our constructivist approach.
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MAINLAND PROFILE Mainland High School is located in Daytona Beach, FL, population 175,000 |
The committee constructed several learning scenarios, including one based on the study of Shakespeare. The academy structure seemed ideal for a “Shakespeare Festival.” Naturally, the primary instruction for this unit would begin in language arts classes. World history classes would study Tudor England. Graphic arts classes would design and display period costumes, models of castles, coats of arms, or other appropriate visual interpretations. Television production students could compare videos of Shakespeare's plays performed in modern settings to those with period costumes and traditional locations, then produce videos based on their critical studies. Multimedia computer students would use CD and telecommunications resources to construct presentations about Shakespeare's life and times. These activities would culminate in a festival where all students would share their projects.
Our program's focus turned from design to recruitment. We began by inviting honor roll students and their parents from our feeder middle schools to attend an evening session. A long-time associate, Glenn Bottomly of Jostens, spoke to our audience from Minneapolis, using a teleconferencing setup. This demonstrated our commitment to use the latest technology in our program. After the school board approved a magnet status for our academy, we extended our recruiting efforts to all county middle schools. Although we had a late start, our efforts yielded well over 100 applications from prospective students.
In addition to academic records, we screened applications for several key factors. We were looking for students who had an interest in computers, television, or art; and we asked applicants to address those interests in an essay. Since our project-driven environment would require independent study, we were also looking for students who had demonstrated the ability to work independently. Aided by teachers and guidance counselors, we finally selected 106 students, 50 of them entering freshmen, who would be charter members of our academy.
In addition to core curriculum courses in English, social studies, and mathematics, several courses were identified as special academy courses. All courses and levels of television production, journalism, desktop publishing, and computer art were included. Emerging technologies, a survey course for students new to the academy, was expanded to include units in television production and graphic arts. Multimedia authoring provides advanced instruction for students who have previously taken emerging technologies. Although most students will specialize in television production, graphic arts, journalism, or multimedia computing after their first year, such specialization is not required.
Scheduling
students for the four-period academy turned out to be more difficult than
expected. The Academy of Design and Manufacturing had started their program
with freshmen and sophomores who all followed the same schedule. Our situation
was different: we were dependent upon experienced and talented upperclassmen
to maintain computers and act as peer tutors for incoming students. These
upperclassmen had other interests and obligations, and we couldn't expect
them to drop sports, cheerleading, or advanced placement classes to be part
of our academy. Mainland had made a universal decision that all entering freshmen
would take two-hour math blocks in preparation for advanced science courses
and to accelerate remediation for students who had experienced difficulty
with previous math courses. All freshmen spend four periods in the academy
and are enrolled for the math block, English, a special academy survey course
called Emerging Computer Technologies, a science course, and two electives.
Sophomores spend three periods in the academy for English, world history,
and a technology course. Juniors and seniors are in the academy for one to
four periods each day according to their individual academic plans.
Business Partners
Last year, when I was doing a presentation for one of our partners at a national
meeting, a lady approached me with a complaint about that company's unresponsiveness.
She was startled when I asked, “What have you done for the company?”
I explained that we always approach partners with a sensible business plan,
not with our hands out. Too often educators think of business partners as
cash cows who will donate money or products without a specified return. We've
always approached businesses as true partners, and they have paramount interest
in our success.
Kodak and Apple representatives sat in on our summer planning sessions, and a Kodak facilitator moderated our first parent, staff, and student goal-setting conference. All of our partners have visited Mainland at least once. The interaction that occurs when a business partner reviews a student's work in our lab is a very positive event in that student's high school career. The increased self esteem is more valuable than equipment donations. Of course, our partners have contributed equipment and software, but these have always been tied to specific services that we performed for them, such as web pages, beta tests, presentations, market surveys, and countless other services.
U.S. Secretary of Education Richard Riley, President Bill Clinton, and
Mainland's Jill Mahler at the May 1996 White House ceremony at which Mainland
High School received its third National Blue Ribbon School of Excellence award.
Parents
Parents are crucial to the academy's success. Most students come from outside
our attendance zone and must catch the school bus as early as 6 a.m. to arrive
for 7:30 a.m. classes. Parents must make travel arrangements for students
who participate in sports or other after-school activities. These parents,
who have to be dedicated to their child's success to make such sacrifices,
also take an active role in arranging field trips, getting guest speakers,
monitoring classes, and many other services. Quarterly meetings keep parents
informed of academy activities, and there's never been a shortage of volunteers
for fund raising, chaperoning, or other needs.
Administrative Support
Our entire multimedia program is dependent on the support of key administrators
at the school and county level. Assistant Superintendent Tim Huth established
a pattern of support when he was principal of Mainland that continues through
our current principal, Patricia Graham. Whenever computers, software, scanners,
printers, or other machines or materials are needed, someone has always found
a way to purchase them. Sometimes travel on very short notice to a business
partner's location is necessary to take advantage of a special opportunity.
Our administrators have always managed to make this possible. One current
project required a clear T1 line for high speed telecommunications access.
We met with county administrators and business partners, and the problem was
solved.
Current Operations
Our academy is now up and running; and, although we haven't achieved all of
our goals, we're well on the way to a successful first year. We've been able
to develop three “real world” projects for our students. The U.S.
Department of Education contracted with us to produce the web page that we
had planned for the Blue Ribbon Schools program. Thirteen students have worked
on this project and been paid for their efforts. We assisted a new elementary
school in our district in winning a Kodak Education Grant. A focus of the
grant was for our students to train the faculty of the new school in multimedia
applications. That project is in progress, and students are again being paid
for their work. Our most ambitious effort is the Public Education Intranet,
which has the potential to provide our students with employment for years
to come. Although student compensation is gratifying, the most important aspect
of these projects is the opportunity to put what has been learned into practical
and useful ventures. This on-the-job experience validates our curriculum.
Celebrating at the Blue Ribbon Award Ceremony in May 1996 are (from left)
Tim Huth, assistant superintendent; Jim Carlin, MHS Teacher of the Year; Jill
Mahler; and George McBroom.
Two other special activities will highlight this first year. Academy students will visit Blue Springs State Park to study the Florida manatee. Scientists will join us for special learning activities, and students will produce Quicktime VR movies to appear both on our web pages and on those of the Natural History Museum of the Smithsonian Institution. A local wildlife artist who is creating a manatee statue will invite art students to his studio the day he makes the cast.
We'll also participate in a video conference with the United States Senate, then travel to Washington, DC, to meet the Senators at a special reception. On the way, we'll visit the Carter Center in Atlanta and the Smithsonian to record videos for our web pages.
Committed faculty, administrators, business partners, parents, and students have pooled their efforts to make our academy and multimedia programs successful. The future and the opportunities for students to use what they have learned in the real multimedia world are unlimited.
Florida Illustration by Brenda Grannan.
George McBroom is Technology Director and Director of the Academy of Communications and Multimedia Technology at Mainland High School. He is also Project Coordinator for the National Education Intranet, a consortium of schools and businesses that is building an intranet for public education. Contact McBroom at ‹Gmcbroom@mainland.volusia.k12.fl.us›.