Oneonta, NY, school teacher John Chase recently sent us an email with links to his students' work, and we thought you might enjoy it. "Thought you would appreciate my students' multimedia projects," John said, "including a 12th grader's PSA about media literacy using the song 'Good People.'"

View the students' work online.

Have your students created media literacy projects you'd like to share?  If so, please send us the link at NAMLE@namle.net, and we'll include them in our newsletter.

We are very sad to report the death of two individuals who played major roles in the 2005 National Media Education Conference (as NAMLE's conference was then known).
 
Ronald Takaki passed away at his home in Berkeley, California on May 26 after a 15-year battle with multiple sclerosis. Dr. Takaki founded the ethic studies department at UC-Berkeley and wrote numerous books on the history and experience of racial and ethnic minorities in the U.S. At the 2005 conference he teamed up with Carlos Cortes (professor emeritus at UC-Riverside) for a very entertaining and thought-provoking presentation on encouraging and maintaining diverse voices in the media. Dr. Takaki was 70 years old.
 
On June 14, Kathleen Acord died in an automobile collision. Kathleen was the director of outreach and education at public station KQED in San Franciso. (The KQED Education Network is an organizational member of NAMLE.) In 2005 she spearheaded the local effort to publicize the NAMLE (AMLA) conference and to organize the youth salon, which showcased youth media projects in the Bay Area. A Kathleen Acord Memorial Fund has been established for the development of a special children's project promoting multiculturalism and literacy. Donations can be made to: c/o Wells Fargo Bank Acct.# 3623537838 100 S. Ellsworth Ave. San Mateo, CA 94401 (650) 373-4200 or at any Wells Fargo Branch.

For those in the Bay Area, a memorial will be held in late July/early August at the San Mateo public library. Kathleen's obituary and guest book are posted at: legacy.com/SFGate/

The Pauline Media Center, a NAMLE organizational member, is offering summer courses in Culver City, CA. Its National Film Retreat (St Paul Goes to the Movies) will take place on July 31-August 1. Deadline for registration is July 27. Cinema Divina: Shared Praxis and Prayer is offered August 10-14. Deadline for registration is August 5. Details are available at the Pauline Media Center website.

Arts Education Partnership (AEP) Fall National Forum: Charting a Course for the Arts and 21st Century Learning
takes place on October 2-3, 2009 in Cambridge, MA. The forum offers an exploration of the connections and synchronicities between the arts and 21st century learning. The Fall 2009 Forum theme will consider the ways the principles of 21st century learning, particularly imagination, creativity and innovation, are incorporated, articulated and supported throughout the education system from pre-K to higher education. Registration information is available here, or you may contact the Arts Education Partnership directly at aep@ccsso.org.

Appalachian State University's Media Literacy graduate program will offer "Media Literacy & Curriculum Development" in the Fall of 2009. The course will meet one Saturday in September on the NC campus and once in December. The rest of the time will be conducted online. A full pdf description of the course content and concepts is available at the program website.