Youth Voices Professional Development
Departures is proud to be working with educators from the Los Angeles area on the implementation of the Youth Voices Professional Development series for middle and high school educators. Our newest community initiative, launched in collaboration with the USC New Media Literacies Project, seeks to provide educators with the confidence, knowledge and resources they need to nurture and guide their students into the digital world. It will support teacher/student interactions that will spark creativity and exploration, both in and outside the classroom.
The media literacy program is designed to connect students and teachers to their personal and community history, examining issues in social science and civic engagement. Creating a process where they become knowledgeable in the history, culture, geography, and socio-political issues in their community, while developing life and professional skills, and learning technology and multimedia production. Educators will gain the skills and confidence to integrate Departures Youth Voices and other multimedia activities into their curriculum and enhance their professional networks with new resources and like minded educators exploring and applying digital media and the New Media Literacies
The project held its first workshop on October 15th at the USC Annenberg Innovation Lab and will continue once a month for the next two months. The next sessions is scheduled for Saturday, November 19, followed by the final workshop in the series on December 10.