Print, web, film, radio, TV, music: our world *is* a MediaWorld. Media shapes the ways we interact with others, the ways we think about ourselves, the ways we work, the products we consume, and the ways we learn and think. The skills required to communicate via these types of media continue to be in high demand and students who master any one of them will find many doors opened to them in future job markets.

This special class for 6th – 8th Graders is designed to support students as they engage with all of these media to make messages of their own. While there are many "canned" activities available to students, our most exciting projects are the ones they conceive of and design themselves. In a structured and safe environment, students learn:

* how to brainstorm in group settings
* how to evaluate ideas
* how to plan and schedule projects
* what good netiquette looks like in online collaborative environments
* how to approach problems from many different angles
* how to work in a team and capitalize on each other's strengths
* how to use software tools (i.e. iLife '08, iWorks '08, Google Apps, Microsoft Office, and Adobe Applications) and web programming languages (i.e. HTML, various markups, and Action Script)
* how to write interesting prose and headlines for a predetermined audience
* the basics of Copyright law and the Creative Commons