Program Overview

During Summer 2000, Media Workshop New York sponsored a Summer Tech Camp for middle school aged students. The program was open to children of Bertelsmann and their affiliates' employees. Tech Camp was designed to help young people explore computer technology in the context of everyday life, with particular focus on environmental issues from a creative and first-hand perspective; all of which to further assist young people with their personal growth and development. In addition, Tech Camp's goal was to empower young people with the knowledge and the tools they will need to continue to develop both personal and technological skills through web design and various forms of research.

It is not often that the words "fun and technology" are spoken within the same sentence. Tech Camp was designed to place a great deal of emphasis on making young people's experiences with technology both entertaining and educational. The program provided activities that deal with technology and relevant environmental subject matter while at the same time exposing them to the many uses of new media.

Over 50 participants were chosen from various branches within the Bertelsmann Companies through an application process. For a period of eight days participants engaged in activities that placed them inside and outside of the technology arena. Through web-based and field research, young people had the opportunity to gather information on various environmental topics, as well as collaborate with peers from various socio-economic backgrounds. Using web design software, participants learned how to create a website based on the information that they acquired during their participation in Tech Camp.

Goals of the Program

• Learn about basic computer functions, how to use the Internet (search engines, key word searches, etc.)
• Create and publish a web-site about environmental issues that deal with pollution using Claris Home Page.
• Through role-play, field and web research learn about various aspects of environmental studies, and the ramifications of pollution as it affecs geology, botany, zoology, and marine biology)
• Foster an environment that is fun, creative, informative, diverse, and promotes group interactivity.
• Teach participants how to emphasize the importance of data gathering, reflection and documentation by using digital cameras,
  video cameras and journals

Program Description

Mission Impossible: Over the course of eight days, young people were given an assignment to bring awareness to environmental issues such as pollution, using various areas around New York City and the World Wide Web to conduct their research. At the beginning of Tech Camp, participants were shown a videotape that briefed them about the events that were to take place over the course of the program. The tape was based on a "mission impossible theme." Each participant was given the title of "ecology specialists, " and was asked to use technology to get the message out to the world about the affects of pollution on various aspects of the environment.

Using a web authoring tool, young people constructed web sites that serve both as a means to educate and motivate users of the site. Participants were divided into groups of four. Each group was responsible for researching and reporting on a particular topic regarding pollution, and in turn created a section of the web site about their topic. Each participant selected one of the groups based on interest or prior knowledge and experience. Groups included:

Botanists: Responsible for collecting information on plant life and it's importance to ecology as a whole.

Geologists: Responsible for gathering information on the surrounding environment, such as graffiti on rocks, litter on the ground, streets that run through the park, etc.

Zoologists: Responsible for gathering information on animal life, including endangered species. Based on web research participants were able to draw comparisons to animals found in New York versus animals found around the globe, and how pollution affects various species.

Water Ecologists: Responsible for gathering information about the water sources throughout New York City and how pollution affects water.

Research for their topics were both web-based and non web-based. In addition to using the Internet to gather information on their topics and pollution, participants went on supervised field trips to gather first hand information using jounrals, digital cameras and video cameras to document their findings.

Field Activities

Participants went on various field trips around the city, including Central Park Zoo, Children's Museum of Manhattan, Brooklyn Botanic Gardens, Museum of Natural History and a DEP Waste Water Treatment Plant. While on these field trips, under the supervision of Media Workshop "counselors" and educators, students learned about specific areas of interest related to the enviornment. While visiting these various places, young people caputred images and other visual information that was later integrated into their websites.

Media Workshop staff would like to thank these organizations for their invaluable support of our summer program.