WHYY+Public+Mediea+Commons

Matthew Inglese February 1, 2012 Reflection 2 The WHYY Public Media commons was created to provide the kind of hands on experience that kids often miss out from in their education. Anyone with a story is given the tools and access to share their story in a piece of media. Named after Mrs. Dorrance H. Hamillton, the organization is the physical reality of WHYY’s commitment to helping the community and spreading media literacy. And the organization does not stop at helping students, it also has resources dedicated to education teachers and leaders to become better at what they do, and to once again give them the hands on learning experiences that is really needed to fully understand new learning tools and methods. It not only operates as an afterschool program, continuing the learning students would have otherwise ended at a normal school day, but it also offers in-school programs and summer programs. The Public Media Commons also focuses on community activism and hosts student’s projects on their website, and being the organization that it is it has access and connections to a plethora of teachers and media creators, to give students a new network of people to establish connections with and develop new ties to expand their education. Not forgetting its community outreach approach it also has a ‘young journalists’ program teaching kids to become their own journalist and do their own form of teaching to other people. Spreading the word about issues and events and learning out to creatively and effectively do so by using modern technology they usually would not have access to. They also offer field trips to schools who are unable to immerse themselves in the program more. Students would spend the day in their facilities learning more about media production; touring the radio and television broadcasting studios and equipment, and then getting hands on experience of their own performing interviews of people around independence Hall, blending history into the learning experience as well. I personally find this program to be very engaging and enriching and hope it continues to grow. I can remember doing similar programs as a kid, and spending some summer days at a camp at a Philadelphia library. I never got to go to the WHYY facilities, but I wish I did have the opportunity as a kid, I feel as if I definitely would have benefited from it. I know I always enjoyed the hands on learning exercises that I had as a kid and felt I received more out of them than compared to traditional education. I wonder what kind of specific techniques the program uses, because there is more to media literacy than teaching a kid how to use a camera and have him ask some stranger questions. And everyone can have a story worthy of sharing sure, but not everyone knows how to articulate it well, a good media educator will know how to give the student the confidence and tools needed to put their story onto film or video. I also wonder what type of tools the teach educators to do this, what little tricks and tips they teach to teachers to get the most from their students.