AYV - Create with Purpose

I had a great time in Atlanta last week. It was a time to see old colleagues and learn new ways to improve our clubhouse. I stayed at the W Hotel and the Courtyard Marriott. It was important for me to attend this year's conference because our clubhouse is now an Adobe Youth Voices (AYV) site and all new computer clubhouse sites received extensive and intensive training during the week.

The week included a variety of activities and workshops. There was a tour of the city of Atlanta. It is the city where Martin Luther King, Jr. was raised and preached; the home of Turner Broadcasting, which includes Cartoon Network, CNN, and more; and it has the world headquarters of Coca Cola, as well as many other great businesses.

There was a talent show featuring a number of talented clubhouse coordinators. There was great food and fun provided by the Intel Computer Clubhouse Network. It was all good - including the weather! I truly enjoyed the expo event that allowed each clubhouse the opportunity to display the works done at their clubhouse. I was happy to present the photos I have framed for our clubhouse walls. It was great to learn so much about what is happening at other clubhouses; and to do so in a short amount of time. I also enjoyed meeting the leaders of other clubhouses that are also AYV sites. There are some that have been participating for awhile and there are others (like me) that are new. The new sites were able to get first-hand information about the successes and challenges of implementing AYV.

On Thursday, the new sites were required to participate in an intensive, all-day, AYV training that included an exercise in brainstorming an idea, storyboarding the idea and collaborating to produce the best project. It was a fun exercise that helped us learn about important tools and techniques for developing compelling media.

On Friday, I elected to attend a full-day video production training. We used a professional video camera and Adobe Premiere (video editing software) to make a film that depicts some of our concerns, such as violence, diversity and education, and let everyone know that the Computer Clubhouse is a solution. Not a bad production, considering that it was conceived, recorded, cut and credited in a few hours (and some of us had never done any of these before). We learned a lot, so I am anxiously awaiting the arrival of our new Adobe CS software. In the mean time, think about video projects that are about things that have meaning to your life and your community. There are some great idea floating around. Like Shai's idea to do a digital yearbook for Mumford's Class of 2011. And the idea to document the "real" Eight Mile. And even the idea to write a rap about the clubhouse and record a music video featuring Detroit landmarks. I like all of these. Let's make something happen! Let me know your ideas!