Multimedia Meet Myths in CSUN Class

Rim Na, 17, a junior at Marlborough School in Los Angeles, has an interest in Greek gods.

So she’s creating a three-minute video presentation on her field of interest, using the latest tools in the multimedia market.

Due by the end of this month, it is her final project in a five-week multimedia class offered by Cal State Northridge’s department of secondary education through its Summer Academic Enrichment Program.

Through the first week of class, which meets two hours a day, five days a week, Rim and 23 other middle and high school students were taught to download photographs from the Internet and through a CD-ROM server, said Hugh DiPretore, multimedia instructor.

“The students will leave this class knowing how to blend text, graphics, audio and video to express their ideas,” DiPretore said.

While downloading photos of Greek gods through a CD-ROM server, Rim said the appeal of the multimedia class is the lack of homework and “busy work.”

“It’s all hands-on experience,” said Rim, who lives in Northridge. “The teacher shows us how to use the applications and we try things out ourselves.”

This summer marks the third year the program has offered a multimedia class for students in grades six through 12, said Bonnie Ericson, professor of secondary English education at CSUN.

The multimedia class was the brainchild of Ericson and James Cunningham, chairman of CSUN’s secondary education program, who developed the class in response to parents’ demands.

The multimedia class filled up more quickly than the 32 other classes offered this summer, Ericson said. “There’s a great demand for it and we’re glad we can offer it,” she said.

In order to meet the demand, Cunningham said the department is looking into adding more multimedia classes for next summer.

For more information, call CSUN’s department of secondary education at (818) 677-3333 or (818) 677-7423.