In September 2008 media students, under the guidance of Chris Haydon, CTVT Director, launched a local media website in Hertfordshire along CTVT lines. The notion of twinning local life with a ready-made unpaid student workforce is an obvious ‘BIg Society’ gambit. No wages to find, but the trick is building the relationships that make this do-able. Here are sample comments from the second year National Diploma students who clearly responded to the idea of using the classroom to produce material that had a role in the real world outside:
– “I would love this production to last” – Tulin, prod mgr
– “I am very happy with the style of the video and its success on YouTube” – Adam, producer
– “It was a good idea to get experience from creating something real in the media world” – Chris/Dez Hunter, reporter
– “I am enjoying this project and would like “Hert-Attack” to be well known and very popular in the near future” – Melissa, research & marketing
“This whole project has been a learning experience for me, I have never been part of something as big as this. I feel proud and privileged to be a part of it” – Lisa, researcher
Hert-Attack used assessable FE college National Diploma course work to build and run a live site that is intended to inform, entertain and link local people. That’s the trick that is ‘beyond the mainstream’. Students have used video well – filming at Leicester Square film premieres, shooting around town centres and across the college. A spoof journalist has been born who has TV potential, look out for Dez Hunter, the world’s Number One reporter.
The URL is: www.hert-attack.net
Take a look.