Websites and podcasts are incredible platforms for sharing one’s voice, especially when that platform is created from scratch to be completely unique. Youth are learning to share the ideas that are important to them through the LCEC’s partnerships with a UW Journalism class and another with Jefferson Middle School.
Through a partnership with a Service Learning, Youth Training, and Journalism class led by UW Journalism Professor Sue Robinson, LCEC middle schoolers work with three college students and their media-making equipment to explore the process of making content for the web. Meanwhile, LCEC high schoolers meet with another student from the class for radio workshops that complement the work done in Radio Club.
The airwaves will soon buzz with the voices of middle schoolers, too. They will share thoughts on unsolved murders, hair care, tips for keeping your pet safe during winter, and more. LCEC Radio Station Manager Richard Jones is working with students in a Jefferson Middle School media class to plan, record, and edit their own shows. Watch for their shows popping up on WWMV-LP 95.5 FM or online at http://www.wwmvlp.org/.
The power of these projects comes from the desire of youth to be heard. They will remain on the web and on the air as a reminder of all we can accomplish when we start with what drives us.