Denver, June 3 through June 14, 2002
Denver Public Schools piloted a summer camp entitled “DigitalCurrents” for middle and high school students. The camp was made possible through the support of Apple Computer, The University of Colorado Foundation, The University of Colorado at Boulder’s Technology and Media (TAM) program, and the Denver Public Schools Computer Magnet (DPSCM) program. Seven students from North and Thomas Jefferson high schools went to Boulder last week to learn skills in digital video and music production. This week, they are teaching these skills to 22 students from Kepner and Skinner middle schools. The aim of DigitalCurrents is to encourage under-represented groups, especially young women, to pursue an education in technology, both at the high school and college levels.

Big culmination on Friday
On Friday, June 14, the last day of the summer program, students will present their finished projects starting at 12:00 p.m. at North High School (2960 N. Speer Blvd.). The students anticipate that the audience will include parents, instructors, and other interested adults. The camp will end with a party to celebrate the hard work and accomplishments of everyone involved. Come and check out this state-of –the-art technology.

Making A Digital Music Video
During the first week, CU Professor David Schall and his students in the Technology and Media program as well as DPS teachers Eva Horan and Kevin Marlatt worked with the high school students. They used a project-based approach to coach the high school students in photography skills, digital editing methods, and basic music scoring.

Working under the axiom that teaching someone else is the best way to really learn, the high school students are passing on the skills they learned to the middle school students this week. On Wednesday, June 12, the high school students taught the middle school students to use state­of­the­art equipment and software at North to produce a music video promoting LoDo in Denver. Students shoot and edit their own video on mini-DV cameras, then compose their own music tracks. Finally, they bring the two together for a final product.

Please call Gary Goodnight to visit this Summer Computer Magnet Program before June 14th.