What does it mean to be literate in the age of technology? From billboards, newspapers and magazines, to television, movies and the internet, multimedia messages are carefully crafted to get our attention and transform us in subtle ways. As a high school student, we often don’t understand (or even realize) the “coded messages” that are embedded in many types of media, intended to influence or transform our thinking. This class teaches students to become wise consumers of media messages, and to be able to navigate the media landscape in an intelligent, sophisticated way.

In this class, students will learn, from the consumer side, what messages are hidden in media that help drive our emotions, decisions, and behaviors. From the production side, students will begin to understand what it takes to create a media presentation that moves an audience. Through storyboarding and exploration of scientifically proven techniques for strong communication, students will leave this class with critical assessment skills as well as creative development skills that they can use both as consumers of media information and as creators.

This class will focus on developing outstanding critical thinking skills through collaboration and discussion. The learning objectives are as follows:

• Students will learn a framework for decoding media messages;

• Students will develop an increased capacity to understand the world of and through media;

• Students will cultivate an increased ability to make healthy and informed choices;

• Students will participate in an interactive media rich hands-on experience.

Smart phones and/or devices with a camera and ability to e-mail are welcome in the class. It’s best if they are charged and wireless capable.

This is a summer class for high school students.

Registration for this class will close 48 hours before the class begins. If you have not yet registered your student during those final 48 hours, please contact us so that we may confirm whether seats are still open for the class.