Macromedia Flash

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Permalink Reply by Joe Fatheree on April 16, 2009 at 8:38pm

Stephen,
I would be more than happy to discuss this with you in greater detail. Please send me an email at the address listed below, so we can set up a day and time to chat. Best wishes on your work.
Joe

fatheree@u40gw.effingham.k12.il.us

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Permalink Reply by Joe Fatheree on April 16, 2009 at 9:01pm

C.,

Each spring, we host a celebration of academic achievement in the form of a film festival to showcase our student work. Our community is blessed with a premiere 1,500+ seat entertainment center. People from all across the United States travel to sit in a packed house and celebrate our students' work.
We just held our 6th festival a couple of weeks ago. It was outstanding. Terry Thoren, former CEO of Klasky Csupo Studios and a producer for the Rugrats and The Wild Thornberrys, flew out to join us in the celebration. The festival this year consisted of 22 short films (animations, documentary, comedy, drama, and etc). The show begins at 7 pm, but people start showing up for seating as early as 4:20 pm. Because of this, we have been forced to create a pre-show to entertain the audience while they wait for the main event. The pre-show consists of 4th quarter projects from the previous year, and from media submitted from other schools. Besides producing all of the films, our students also run and operate the festival.
Typically, our students' work shows in several other festivals throughout the year, and is picked up by our local television stations to air to the broader community. This past year, we were selected to go to Paris to showcase one of our pieces at the United Nations 60th Human Rights Conference. The conference was held at the UNESCO facility. We will hopefully begin airing that entire program some time later this spring on television stations around the nation.
The proceeds from the festival are used to help fund the class, and provide for opportunities for our students. That night we sell out approximately 1,300 general admission tickets at $5 each, over 200 VIP tickets at $35 each, and around 500 DVDs at $10 each. I am not kidding when I say a ticket to the festival is most definitely the hottest ticket in town. Most importantly, it is an opportunity for our students to stand on a stage and have over 1,500 people rise at the end of the show and shower our kids with applause for their outstanding work. In my opinion, every kid in America deserves the right to have a night like that just once in their k-12 academic career. It is a life-changing night for my students.
We mentor classrooms all across the country, and help them start digital storytelling programs of their own. If you are interested, we would love to have you come next year. I am in the process of uploading some of the clips from the show to the web. I will try to post a couple on this discussion post later this weekend.
-joe

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Permalink Reply by C. Hutcheson on April 17, 2009 at 11:57am

WOW! So where are you? What grades are these?
Are you a magnet school focusing in these classes?

That is SO exciting! Congratulations on a great program~ and I love your "Most importantly..." comment.
I would love to see some of your clips from the show~ we are definitely interested!

Thanks for your great description!
Clair

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Permalink Reply by Joe Fatheree on April 17, 2009 at 5:06pm

Hi Clair,
I teach a mutlimedia program at Effingham High School located in Effingham, Illiniois. We are located approximately 1 1/2 hours east of St. Louis. EHS is a public school. The program is open to students 9-12.

I am in the process of uploading some films from this year's festival to our website. I should have that completed by this weekend. I will post a link to the site on the discussion post for anyone who is interested to see.

First, a little more about the festival. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine that people would stand in line for an 1 1/2 to see my students' homework. People start calling requesting ticket information in September for a show that premiers the following March. The festival has become an incredible accountability tool for my students. There is no hiding "C" work on a 30 foot screen, and they know it. In addition to our 30 foot screen, we also have two 15 foot side screens all running at the same time. There is no lack of coverage, and no hiding. Not everyone's work makes it into the festival. The students decided from the outset that the festival must maintain high standards at all times. This year, our students submitted 50+ short films, 22 made the final cut.
As I mentioned in my last post, we started a pre-show a few years ago in an effort to help entertain audience members who arrive hours early. Because of that, the pres-show has become an event in its own right. For the past three years, we have invited a young filmmaker(s) from around the country to attend the show, and showcase his (their) work in our pre-show. The first year it was a young 12 old boy from MN. Last year, a team of junior high students from South Central LA came and shared their talents with us. This year a very special young 4th grade boy from WI shared his story with our audience. At the conclusion of his film, 1,500 people stood in unison to welcome him to our community and congratulate him for his work.
As I mentioned earlier, I will post a link to our site later this weekend so that you can see some of our students' work. Please feel free to comment. I am always looking for new ideas. However, until that time, I hope you take a few moments to enjoy Nicholas' work. His story leaves an impact on me every time I watch it. Two weeks ago, he inspired a theatre full of people. I am sure he will do the same to you.
-joe

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Permalink Reply by Joe Fatheree on April 16, 2009 at 9:05pm

Anne,
It's nice to hear from you. I am definitely interested in the books. Thanks for sending the link. I will take a look at it. Also, thanks for sharing the story. I am in the process of uploading a video to the web that I think you might be interested in. I will try to post a link to it here this weekend.
-joe

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Permalink Reply by Anne Pemberton on April 16, 2009 at 9:32pm

Joe,

I am very excited about what you are doing and look forward to linking your work to my site. We need to let people everywhere see what can be done when you mix kids and tech. I have visitors to my website from as many as 100 countries in a month. Admittedly, most come for the Famous Americans (which may also inspire your students... ) http://www.educationalsynthesis.org/famamer .... but many come for the books, and a lot use the variety of printable resources I've put online. Feel free to have your students browse around the website. Anything I have that they can do, probably better, I'd love to link up with mine. As an example of what they can do in history, check out my Pocahontas flash (not animated): http://www.educationalsynthesis.org/famamer/Poca-flash.html ... I'm sure your students could do better, and may pick others in history, particularly those in your part of the country. Maybe your kids could do an animation of Lincoln ... maybe even alternate the face with Obama (but please no tea parties!).

If your kids want to do something nifty about Lincoln and the end of the Civil War, he was, for the last battles, on a barge at Appomattox River where it empties into the James River, a few miles away from Richmond. On the day after Richmond fell, Lincoln took a boat ride up to Richmond and walked the streets of the capital of the Confederacy (against the advice of his security folks). Historians in Richmond have put together a "walk" that traces Lincoln's steps in the city. I'm not sure if the walk has been or is coming up. In any event, if you want pictures, I can put you in email touch with the folks who did it, and you can arrange for your kids to get what they need.

So, if your kids want to do something about Lincoln in Virginia, I can help direct to the right folks.

Anne

PS: My sister Chris was delighted with the idea of your class working with the special needs kids. She will pass it on.

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Permalink Reply by Anne Pemberton on April 17, 2009 at 6:55pm

Joe,

Shot you an email, in case you have to look in trash to find it.

Anne

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Permalink Reply by Joe Fatheree on April 18, 2009 at 10:41pm

Anne,
We are having some tech problems with our school server this week. Try the email address below. I have a tight schedule the next few days, but will get to it asap. Hope all is well.
-joe

fatheree@frontiernet.net

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