A media literacy program for foster teens and their foster/adoptive parents
The Media Education Lab is collaborating with Jeannine Chartier of VSA Arts Rhode Island and Adoption Rhode Island to create an innovative digital media literacy workshop.
In the Spring of 2013, five students between the ages of 13-16 came with their foster/adoptive parents to participate in a two-hour weekly workshop to learn to create a story, to film with a video camera, to edit videos, upload them on the web, create a website, and use social networks for raising awareness about important issues. The parents learn about social networks, their risks and advantages while the teenagers practice of raising their voice about issues that are important to them. This workshop allows each one of the participants to get a closer look at themselves and at the same time at their friends and family.
Teenagers and adults are working together and separately. Each group learns the digital skills and works on their own projects. The teen group wants to raise awareness about obesity, bullying and pollution. They are planning three different videos that will talk about these issues. Each participant will create a website that will promote their message.
Adults and teenagers are separately are getting individual training to enhance their ability to use social networks, video filming, and editing for their personal or professional needs. Part of the discussion with the parents focuses on the privacy settings of Facebook accounts and the pros and cons of letting their kids open such an account.
Session 1 Highlights. Every participant created a short video about themselves. Each one presented themselves according to their favorite movie, their best skills, and the way they want other people to see them. The My Digital Life Workshop gives parents and adolescents an opportunity not only to learn how to use cutting-edge technology, but also a deep exploration of how to communicate better with one another at home and in a community.
About the Staff
The instructors, Jonathan Friesem and Kelsey Greene, have created this innovative initiative. Kelsey Greene, a documentary filmmaker and a media literacy educator, is teaching the adolescents to create their own videos and online campaigns to raise awareness. She also work with Very Special Arts at the media literacy program in Central Falls High School and taught in the First Star URI Academy program.
Jonathan Friesem is a PhD student at the URI School of Education and the manager of the Media Education Lab. He is working with the parents on enhancing the adults’ digital skills for their own work, while giving guidance about the use of social networks, especially Facebook, at home with children.
My Digital Life workshops are sponsored by VSA Arts RI, the state affiliate of VSA, a program of The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. In collaboration with cultural, disability and educational entities, VSA Arts provides inclusive programs for children, youth and adults with disabilities, at-risk and/or low income while promoting the benefits of the arts for all people. We are grateful to have financial support for the program through VSA Arts and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.