Interim Project Update #1--11/27

Please look at the Group site for Children's Events.  This is how all sites should appear to MAX staff when they look at them.  Please update your Group Site so that it contains a record of the work you are doing, and can be used by MAX staff as an evaluation tool of the thoroughness of your work!

In the locker, you will see a document titled CAP Reflection and Update.  Each member of your team is expected to download and complete this document.  

Some of the questions will ask you to evaluate and think about the Service Provider you are working with; you may work on these questions together, and report similarly.  Other questions ask you to evaluate the performance of your group, and your personal performance thus far.  Finally, you are also each asked to identify a challenge you would like to tackle through this project.  Challenges come in many shapes--perhaps you need to work on your professional communication skills, because you hate calling people and asking them to do things--then maybe it's time for you to take on responsibilities for all the phone calling.  Or, maybe you still don't know how to complete a technical task--master it.  In the end, you only get things out of these projects if you take on what you can't do.

Each member of your group is expected to post his/her own project reflection to your group's locker.  These need to be labeled with the students last name followed by the assignment title. (Smith-Update1)

Introduction:

As this is a multidisciplinary project, you will be expected to produce several research assignments that cross discipline boundaries.

Stage One: The Pre-Research

The first part of any creative process is to learn your subject! Identify a variety of local organizations your group could focus on--you need to identify one per each person in your group. For each organization you need to complete the “Service Provider Evaluation” form. In order to complete this form, you need to study the annual report and/or website for each of the organizations that you will be evaluating.

Once you evaluate your choice organizations, you will need to compare them. As a group, prioritize the organizations (using the SPE form for reference) and then write a justification for each choice.

Now that you have determined who you want to work with, you need to contact the organization to make sure that they want to work with you, too! Please contact the organization via phone and make sure they will be available to help you complete this project. If you first choice doesn’t work out, contact your second...

Submit a final proposal to MAX staff indicating which group you will be researching for your project.

Stage Two: The Research

There are several steps to the research portion of your project:

On Campus Research

• All members of your group must read and become familiar with the content of the Service Provider’s Annual Report. While we do not expect you to memorize the content of the report, we do expect you to understand all of it, and to be able to respond to questions about it. Your group will be evaluated by MAX staff regarding the content of the annual report in a meeting with your project advisor.
• In addition to researching the organization, you also need to research the needs of those the Service Provider is helping.

Off Campus Research:

• You must interview people who work for the Service Provider. If at all possible, you should also interview people who utilize the services of the Service Provider. You need to visit, tour and be able to describe the facilities run by the Service Provider, or the place from which they conduct their work.

 MAX stands for Media Academy eXperience.  A program for juniors and seniors, MAX blends the curriculum of English, Social Studies, and Media Production, using a project-based, interdisciplinary approach to education.

Students are in MAX for two years, and during that time they master and receive credit for:  English 5-6 CP; English 7-8 CP; US History 1-2 CP; Government; Economics; TV/Video Production 1; TV/Video Production 2.

We are committed to the idea that school should be a fun and creative learning environment and that students should experience expectations which require habits and behaviors that insure their success in the work place or in college.  

Teachers in MAX design projects using the college prep curriculum, and provide students with the opportunity to create videos and media using industry-grade equipment and technology.

Please watch our informational video to see what the Media Academy is all about!

How many classes does MAX take in my schedule?

It will take 3 classes each year--English, Social Studies, and TV/Video Production.  English and Social Studies you would take anyway, TV/Video Production is an elective.

How do you mix 11th and 12th grade students?

We loop the program on a 2 year cycle, and do the 11th and 12 grade curriculum on alternating years.  Because the English and Social Studies classes aren't a sequence (like math or foreign language) it doesn't really matter if you do English 7-8CP before English 5-6CP, or if you do Government and Economics before you do US History.

How do you deal with grades if a lot of the work is group-project based?

We organize projects into production teams that are responsible for meeting deadlines and creating a product. Part of this process involves identifying roles for people on a team, and then holding each other accountable for work.  Your grade largely depends on your ability to meet the deadline and production expectations of your teachers and your team members--and to appropriately negotiate with your team and your teachers when you need more time, or when a teammate isn't performing.  

The teachers in MAX strongly believe that learning the time management skills and the communication skills around production prepares you to meet and exceed the expectations you will experience in the work place or in college.  Returning graduates tell us time and time again that MAX taught them how to deal with the real world!  

I don't know anything about technology.  

Don't worry about it!  We'll teach you everything you need to learn!

Who shouldn't join MAX?

People who struggle with consistent attendance.  Students who are consistently absent discover that their teachers aren't the only people who are upset with them.  Classmates become tired of your inability to meet deadlines and participate, and eventually request that they not be placed in groups with you--and we honor those requests.  

What happens if I join and don't like it?

We'll try to figure out what's not working for you and see if it can be fixed!  If it can't, we'll move you back into the regular program.  This happens with one or two students each year.

How do I get more information about  Media Academy? or How do I sign up for Media Academy?

You can get more information about MAX from Mr. Temple, Ms. Shapiro, or Ms. Thurston.  You can also talk to your counselor about signing up.  There is a binder for sign ups in the counseling office, and you can sign up online when you sign up for your classes in February.