Youth Media Fellowship – Presentation of Learning

From September 2007 through May 2008, eight youth media educators from across New York City have come together for bi-monthly, three-hour seminar sessions on Friday mornings. Together, this community of peers has formed the inaugural cohort of the Youth Media Fellowship – itself a pilot program of the Youth Media Learning Network. On May 16, 2008, the Fellows presented their work to colleagues from the fields of youth media, youth development, and formal education at a “Presentation of Learning” event in New York, hosted by the Open Society Institute.

The Youth Media Fellows represent a diverse group of talented educators working in a variety of teaching settings (K-12 teachers, afterschool workers, artists-in-residence, staff of youth media organizations) and specializing in an array of media forms and genres (audio, video, print, Web; narrative, documentary, journalistic, artistic). Throughout the course of the Fellowship, participants have explored methodologies and case studies related to teacher action research, in which educators document their own practices and examine artifacts as evidence of learning. Each of the Fellows has developed a critical question related to her or his practice as a youth media educator, and over time they have supported one another in their respective processes of investigation.

After many weeks of gathering evidence, analyzing their data, and writing up their study projects, the Youth Media Fellows are pleased to share the Web-based products of their inquiry. To explore their work, go to http://ymln.wikispaces.com.

The Youth Media Learning Network is a joint project of Education Development Center (www.edc.org) and the Educational Video Center (www.evc.org). For more information contact Timothy Dorsey at 212.807.4214 or tdorsey@edc.org.