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December 1, 2001
Media Workshop: Changing the Paradigm of Staff Development
By Donna Schnupp
Typically many educators think of professional development as teachers experimenting or learning a new pedagogy, skill, or application in the context of a workshop, seminar, or other facilitated event by a staff developer. Sometimes in these workshop environments, group activities and hands-on exercises take place. Often, however, they are outside the context of the student learning environment where professional development is most needed. This past year, Media Workshop, an educational technology professional development organization, experimented with new models and approaches to staff development: teachers learning along with their students.
Media Workshop, a nonprofit special project of the Bertelsmann Foundation provides professional development to New York City teachers in the areas of new media and technology integration. For eight years, Media Workshop staff developers have conducted workshops and seminars, and/or worked one-on-one with teachers to develop technology-rich curriculum projects that can be implemented in a teacher's classroom.
This past year marked a milestone for Media Workshop, which facilitated five after-school programs, spanning grades four through twelve, where teachers learned various aspects about new media and technology along with students. Using the context of creating multimedia projects, developing web sites, and producing digital magazines, students and teachers together learned Adobe Photoshop, Macromedia Dreamweaver, Microsoft PowerPoint, and numerous other applications.
Students and teachers from Humanities High School and Forest Hills High School learned how to design and create a school Web site. The Recycling Club at High School for Environmental Studies also created a Web site about the importance of recycling. Middle school students created a district-wide digital literary magazine, and elementary school students also created a literacy-based school magazine.
One highlight of this past year's new staff development initiative was Media Workshop's involvement with a group of elementary school students. Calling themselves Cyber-18, a group of fourth and fifth graders and three teachers at PS8, located in Washington Heights, New York City, designed and produced the "PS8 Millenium Magazine," a school literary magazine that includes poetry, short stories, personal narratives, and artwork.
 Though PS 8 has nine computers in the library/media center, very little technology was used relative to curriculum content and standards. Recognizing the need for quality programming that integrates technology, Alex Atkin, a 2nd grade teacher at PS8 who had participated in other Media Workshop professional development programs in the past, approached the district to find out if there was interest in creating an after-school program. With the support of CSD6's Director of Professional Development, Dr. Roser Salavert, and the school's principal, Carol Rubin, Ms. Atkins and the district contacted Media Workshop to ask for assistance in designing and delivering an after-school program.
Together, the team developed a pilot project that was intended to be an extension of the existing district-wide middle school literary magazine, "On the Bridge." If successful, the model of staff development at PS8 would be implemented the following year at a number of other schools within CSD6.
Facilitated by Donna Schnupp, program director at Media Workshop, the group of 18 fourth and fifth graders, met after school two times per week to create an elementary school literary magazine. Eighteen students were chosen to participate because the media center had nine computers; thus, students could work in pairs on the computers. Teachers selected the students based on a number of criteria: interest in learning about technology, interest in writing, mid-to-high academic achievers and/or good writers, and parental permission to participate in an after-school program.
Using Microsoft Word, students created three issues of the "PS8 Millennium Magazine." They also used PowerPoint to create announcements and flyers about the program and communicate progress to parents, students, and teachers. Three dedicated teachers (each with very little technology or magazine production experience), learned along with their students. With the guidance and direction of Media Workshop staff, teachers also learned the fundamentals of computer technology in the context of the writing process and other standards-based curricula.
The first few sessions of the program were devoted to brainstorming and discussing what magazine production entails: What would be the name of the group, the name of the magazine, and what would be included in the magazine? Using a democratic process of voting, the students selected Cyber-18 as the name of their after-school program, and "PS8 Millennium Magazine" for the name of the school magazine.
Initially, students and teachers also spent time learning about the process of producing a magazine, and discussed what makes a magazine "literary." They looked at various pieces of writing in "The New Yorker", as well as other literary examples from print and online kids' magazines.
The students drafted flyers on paper, writing out what they wanted to communicate to the school community about their new endeavor. Using Microsoft PowerPoint, they created flyers that were then printed and posted on school bulletin boards and distributed to teachers, parents, and students.
After the initial planning and flyers were complete, the students began production of the magazine. Students were divided into groups: Poetry, Variety, Personal Narratives, Short Stories, and the Art/ Design/Layout Team. Discussions were held about the process of creating a magazine, and students learned about selection criteria, storyboarding, and the editing and revision processes. Initially, submissions for the magazine came from the classes of the two participating teachers, but once others learned about the magazine via the flyers, other teachers submitted work from their classes. Each group had to read through all submissions and select those that they thought were exemplary representations for their section. They also proofread and edited submitted work, when applicable.
 Most of the work submitted was in hand-written format. Because many students lacked even basic computer and typing skills, many hours of production were devoted to typing hand-written text into Microsoft Word. In addition, following the standard writing process, pieces were printed, proofread, edited, and revised. In some cases, there were as many as five to six edits per piece. Despite their frustrations, students and teachers learned the value and significance of the entire production process, including what they thought to be the most tedious aspect - editing and revising.
Each group had unique responsibilities. For instance, the Art group read through all the selected pieces and illustrated pictures using Kid Pixx or paper and crayons/markers. Media Workshop donated a used Macintosh and scanner. Through its internship program, Media Workshop also provided two high-school interns to assist the students and teachers with scanning as well as other technology-related functions. The interns taught students and teachers how to scan artwork and resize images in Adobe Photoshop. Not only were fifth graders learning something along with their teachers, but also they were being taught by high-school students, which empowered the interns as they trained adults.
The process was equally empowering for the young publishers. "I had a lot of responsibility. I was in charge of a whole section. I had to collect work, type it, and design a section." (Inez Gonzalez, 5th grader)
Another student who had her work published noted, "I liked the hard work, because then you can get known more and people can see your work published." (Erika Roman, 5th grader).
Full production of each issue took approximately two months, though by the third and final issue, students and teachers had become more familiar with the process, and production became more efficient.
Producing the magazine wasn't just hard work. Fifth grader Inez Gonzalez noted during a taped interview, "I want the magazine to continue when I leave PS8 because I want others to experience creating it. It's not just work. We had fun too!"
Ms. Atkins shared her student's sentiments: "The program allowed us to break outside of traditional mundane classroom routineýit was exciting, it was creativeýand we got to see a product... It was fun for the students, and not just work. It was about learning to enjoy reading, writing, and artýand, the teachers really liked it because they learned something too!"
Despite the success of the program, there were many obstacles and challenges. As a pilot program, staff developers, teachers, and students learned what worked well, what didn't work well, and what changes should be made if similar programs were to be implemented the following year.
For instance, Microsoft Word was not an ideal application to use for publishing a magazine. Rather, Microsoft Publisher would be more conducive for this type of work. Students would have been able to learn the application relatively quickly, especially if teachers were initially trained on how to use the application. In addition, though there was much merit in teachers learning along with their students, a portion of time should have been devoted to planning with the teachers, covering such things as printing and basic file management. Also, because not all teachers were present during every session, a better communication structure could have been established to keep the adults informed of the progress made during each session. Finally, finding funding for color copies continued to be a challenge. Though the magazine was put online, many students within the community did not have access to the Internet, and the teachers wanted students to have their own printed copies. Fortunately, the team was able to get a reduced rate on printing one issue, found a volunteer to print the second issue, and secured funding for the third issue. Moving forward in other schools, however, funding for printing may remain a problem.
Because of the dedication on the part of the teachers in pushing for continued technology support in the school, and despite the daily challenges, the program was largely a success. Everyone learned that creating a quality magazine and running an after-school program requires a tremendous amount of time and resources, but the payoff is worth it.
Mandy Hinman, a fifth grade teacher who also participated in the program remarked, "The process of creating the magazine was a truly remarkable opportunity for elementary students to display positive leadership qualities. I witnessed each students' academic as well as emotional growth as they attempted to solve problems in order to create something special."
Ms. Hinman's thoughts were reflected by the students as well:
"I loved Cyber 18. I learned how to type quicker and I also learned how to use the computer more. I learned how people make a magazine. I felt like I was really one of those people that make magazines. I felt very proud." - Diana Castillo, 5th grade student.
At the end of the program Media Workshop staff and the teachers reflected upon both the professional development program for teachers, as well as the after-school program for students. Alex Atkin, the core teacher in making the program possible at PS8, summarized her experience:
"The students continue to acquire many valuable skills through their work with the magazine.... The students and the teachers have cooperated with each other, sharing skills, opinions, and laughter. The process of publishing this magazine has provided a learning opportunity for teachers and students that they might otherwise never have experiencedý. I would not have had the confidence or the drive to have started this without Media Workshop and without knowing I was going to be supported by someone who really knows what they're doingý. Of all the activities I have been involved in, this has been the most rewarding for me as a professional, and has had the greatest impact on students."
The partnership between Media Workshop and CSD6 continues to thrive. This year, three new elementary schools will be selected to participate in a similar program. You can view the online version of the "PS8 Millennium Magazine."
For other Media Workshop facilitated after-school programs, please check out the following links:
Forest Hills High School: Development of School Web site
High School for Environmental Studies: Recycling Club Web site
Community School District Six: Middle School Literary Magazine
Email: Donna Schnupp
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