Editor's Note: One of the goals of Media Lab is to collaborate with the NEPM newsroom to give high school and college students in Greater Springfield an opportunity to practice the skills needed to become multi-media journalists. This article was written by Media Lab College intern Sarah Gill.
NEPM’s Media Lab summer program has returned for another year. The youth media producers completed their first week with an introduction to journalism training, a media literacy workshop, audio recording and editing skills, and so much more.
“I am thrilled to receive our Summer cohort, it’s an honor to work alongside community partners and the education team at NEPM to teach the next generation of storytellers,” said Education Director Ismary Santiago-Lugo.
Monday, the students took a tour of the building and got to know each other and the space better for the summer. They were introduced to the different multimedia tools they will be using in the classroom including Canva, Audacity, and other applications on their computers.
Media Lab College Intern Darlene Lam led the Canva discussion with the students.
“Being in front of 11 students and teaching about Canva was definitely daunting, but having the aid of Ismary, Donyel, and Sarah made it a lot easier to prepare," Lam said. "I had fun showing the students my past projects and being able to hear them in awe of how creative you can get was really nice.”
The students started practicing using the audio kits to record small biographies about themselves. These biographies will appear on NEPM's Media Lab Instagram page.
On Wednesday, the students toured the Republican Newspaper in Springfield. Students were introduced to reporters and discussed the different ways to go about conducting an interview. These skills will come in handy in future weeks of the summer program when the students will be tasked with writing a report on different individuals in the area.
Students got a tour of the newsroom and the different different steps it takes to print newspapers. They were tasked with taking pictures of the tour and choosing the best one for a class project.
Springfield College Professor Fadia Nordtveit, Ph.D., came to visit and conducted a media literacy workshop. The students looked into the meanings behind the media they consume and produce. They asked questions like "How does this media shape my perception?" and "How do I decide what media to consume and what does that say about myself?"
The workshop was a reminder to the students that media is everywhere and the importance of understanding the content we are exposed to is an important part of being a media maker.
"Each cohort is an exciting opportunity to meet new youth and introduce them to valuable media skills and the importance of public media stations. Many of our participants have never been exposed to photography, videography, or journalism. While not all may pursue these fields long-term, they gain essential communication and multimedia skills that will help them broaden perspectives and impact future careers," said Donyel Le'Noir Felton, education program coordinator at NEPM. "While I oversee all of the workshops with my team, I particularly enjoy introducing students to photography, which is one of my personal passions. In addition to photography, it’s rewarding to collaborate with local journalists, professors, and other leaders in Western Massachusetts to create a well-rounded program for our youth."
Wrapping up the first week, Media Lab staff and students said they are excited for the next couple weeks of the program. Be on the lookout for the content this cohort of youth producers are making.
