WILDTECH MULTIMEDIA
The WTA partnered with Macromedia to create a project-based web technology curriculum aligned with high school learning standards. The first semester is devoted to broad web skills based on Macromedia Fireworks, Dreamweaver, and Flash. It also includes “soft skills” for working with real customers. The second semester teaches advanced web design and project management skills. Students then tackle real web projects that “Bridge the Digital Divide.” Digital Design is aligned with CTE learning requirements and career pathways. The WTA can help you get Digital Design approved for CTE funding if your school has not already approved it.
The WildTech Multimedia Camp is a weeklong summer program that provides the training necessary for high schools to implement Digital Design.
The WTA provides all guides, trainers, equipment, food and accommodations.
The WTA’s experience strongly indicates that wilderness adventure provides critical teamwork and character skills needed for project-based learning in technology. Hence, the most ideal training program is a service-learning project involving knowledge gained in the wilderness and later transcribed into multimedia. Participating teachers select two teacher's aids to take part in the training program. They take part in a 3-day and 2night backpacking/science service learning expedition in a wilderness area. They then attend a 4-day and 4-night multimedia computer camp at a nearby wilderness retreat center. Students and teachers are trained in Macromedia Dreamweaver, Flash and Fireworks and to teach using the Digital Design curriculum. As their culminating training project, teachers and teacher’s-aids combine their multimedia training with their science research, media and the teamwork they obtained during their expedition to produce a science education web site to benefit the wilderness area they visited. To view the web sites produced during the training program by students in previous years, see the section below.
One adult teacher and two students are trained from each school. Once trained, the students will serve as “teacher’s aids” in the Digital Design class. They assist with technical portions of the class, peer tutoring and assuring the progress and integrity of web projects that other students produce for real customers.
In the fall semester after the multimedia camp, teacher/student teams implement the two-semester Digital Design curriculum at their high school. The trained teacher and two teacher’s-aids teach the multimedia service-learning class at their school using the Digital Design curriculum to a classroom of sophomore or junior year (not senior year) high school students. Each year, a few successful students are selected by the teacher to return in their senior year to become the teacher’s-aids.
At least 6 teachers & 12 teacher's aids must take part to hold a multimedia camp.
Interested teachers should contact teachers in other schools to achieve this.
More more information, call 206-595-4247 or email laugust@wildtech.org