Multi-faceted Refractions

On Tuesday, April 22nd, I recieved the following e-mail message:

The American Film Institute proudly announces the launch of AFI ScreenNation - an online video sharing community for middle and high school students across America.

AFI ScreenNation is a place where young filmmakers can share their work, receive recognition and compete for prizes in ongoing challenges. The topics of challenges will range from the power of friendship to global warming.

AFI Screen Nation is designed to be a hub for all who support the creative use of digital filmmaking by young people: schools, school districts, teachers, film festivals, organizations and after-school clubs. As part of this program, AFI ScreenNation provides a showcase for the work of these organizations, their sites and festival competitions.
Easy to join, easy to share and it’s free!
screennation.afi.com

Check out the AFI ScreenNation call for videos:

http://screennation.afi.com/Watch.aspx?video=745

Taking a quick look at the site (less than ten minutes), it looks like an interesting site with the backing of a credible organization, the American Film Institute. They include videos that can be accessed to help craft better films, which I welcome having seen the process that many of our students use in creating a film.

It will be interesting to see if this community can become sticky enough for educators and students to use, rather than the other communities (YouTube, TeacherTube, etc.) Time will tell.

On Friday, April 18th, I attended a meeting of Lake Michigan Area Independent School (LMAIS) Technology Coordinators. Being a family with two cars, three drivers, and with my wife needing to drive to work and my daughter wanting to use the car so that she and friends could get ready for prom that evening (via a noon dismissal from school), I decided to see what I could do to reduce my carbon footprint in advance of Earth Day. Since the meeting was in downtown Chicago, I also wanted to save on fuel cost, parking costs, and the stress from driving through Chicago construction season.

On the way down was easy. My daughter dropped me off at the El stop on her way to school. Being able to catch an express train to the city, it was 9 stops and 30 minutes when I arrived at my stop. I walked the four blocks to the meeting. Because the meeting ended before the express trains began running, I had to start on one train and then transfer to a second to complete the train trip home. To get the rest of the way home, I found that there was a local bus route that would drop me within two miles of home. Catching that bus and then walking home, I completed my journey. Carpooling, walking, and public transportation. Cutting down on my carbon footprint.

On Sunday, I went to my local bicycle shop and purchased a used (recycled) bike that some larger teenager had outgrown (I am only 5′ 5″, so I can benefit from children growing as large as they do). Tricked out with a rack and panniers, I will be able to commute from home to work (5 miles) in style this summer, saving the gas and environment while become more physically fit.

Our school is trying to develop a sustainability initiative and while my individual acts do not seem like much, they are a step in the right direction and hopefully will model for other students and teachers different options.

Coming back from Spring Break is one of my favorite times of year. Why? For one reason, the weather in Chicago seems to become reasonable, especially this year. Secondly, as a huge baseball fan and a Cubs fan at that, it is a time when everything seems possible. Lastly, it is the time when we begin to prepare for the end of