Class is on the cutting edge

Getting students to enjoy writing was a task for Wilson Middle School journalism teacher Gerald Lancaster. That was until he was able to use video cameras and state-of-the-art editing programs to help the students express themselves.

Lancaster, who along with Wilson history teacher Kris Kohlmeier, won $5,000 worth of technological equipment through a Los Angeles County grant and a chance to learn how to use the devices at the American Film Institute.

“Technology is digitizing the oral report and involves writing and scripting, it gets kids to write without realizing their writing,” said Lancaster. “It goes beyond writing the typical essay”

Lancaster and Kohlmeier applied to be part of the Los Angeles County Office of Education Institutional Technology Outreach program because they wanted their students to further integrate technology within their schoolwork, Lancaster said.

“We want to get kids to express themselves using modern media as opposed to old media,” Lancaster said.

The two attended classes last month on how to use the equipment and will continue to take refresher courses throughout the year. They will use the information from the classes and teach it to their students.

“The program is created primarily for the students,” said Wayne Borders, marketing coordinator for the Los Angeles County Office of Education Institutional Technology Outreach. “We have training for teachers to understand software and equipment such as podcasts and video cameras so they can take it to the classroom. The students can take these multimedia vehicles and give them voice.”

Lancaster put to use what he learned in the classes to the test with his ESL English summer school class.

“I had some kids make video poems on what they wanted to write about and they got to explore something they actually cared about,” Lancaster said. “The results were very good.”

The two teachers hope to make presentations to the school board about the program’s effectiveness so other schools can implement it as well, Lancaster said. He also hopes the use of technology such as podcasts and digital video will be used in other subjects.

This county project is open to kindergarten through 12th-grade teachers and will last for three years. Each year, the project will help a different set of teachers and have a different theme. This year, the theme is “My Community.”

Next year will be “My Family” and the following year the theme will be “My Education.” Using the theme, students can make short film submissions to the Los Angeles County Office of Education.

If the children do a good job on the videos, their clips will be put on the Internet, Lancaster said.

“We hope to make short films on life at Wilson and what makes Wilson special; we are a microcosm of the town,” Lancaster said. “My hope is that the kids can express themselves.”

At the end of the three years, the Los Angeles County Office of Education will gather clips, which are directed and produced by the students, and compile them together, Borders said.

“The bottom line is allowing the students to share their voice,” Borders said.

“This will help them look at the community and in the process learn and be a part of something that is dynamic and different that can affect their life.”