As fall now approaches, small and big changes continue to be made at MATV. But first, let me say how much Dee Jaye Tobin, Lee Ann Small and I enjoyed attending this year’s Alliance for Community Media conference in Tucson, Arizona in July. Aside from excellent opportunities to meet access people from all over the country, we attended a number of workshops and seminars. I got a good look at a database program called FACIL, designed especially for community media centers, and was so impressed I ordered it right away. FACIL will centralize all of MATV’s program scheduling, equipment reservation system and membership information, which will cut down a good deal of the paperwork and bureaucracy for MATV staff and the public especially. That is good news for everybody, but of course it will take some time to adapt to this new computerized system, so please be a little patient as we all learn this new system of operations together. 

Secondly, we all saw the Hometown Video Awards and realized that many of you must enter this contest next year. My goal at the 2001 conference is to applaud as one of YOU trots up on stage to accept 1st Place Award for MATV. Stay tuned for details on the entry deadline…

Finally, I served as the guest editor for the summer edition of Community Media Review, entitled "Channels to Freedom", which focussed on independent and community media around the world. This issue premiered at the conference and was very well received. I have several extra copies, so please stop by and pick one up.

Other news:

There is more sad news. George Manfra, after 10 years of loyal service to the citizens of Malden and members of MATV, is also leaving MATV to begin a new and exciting career with Lucent Technologies. I am so happy for George for this new opportunity but like many of you very sorry to see him go. However, though George is leaving MATV, he is not leaving Malden and will remain committed to this organization. He has promised to provide advice, consultation, and support during this period of transition and beyond. Though we will all sorely miss George as a staff member of this organization, I am grateful he will remain a steadfast supporter of MATV.

In July, a group of Malden High students from the Youth Tech Entrepreneurs (YTE) program premiered their first episode of TechTV on MATV’s Channel 15. TechTV is a monthly half-hour show that aims to educate the community about technology in a fun and interactive way, using skits, interviews, news, question-and-answer sessions, footage from YTE events, and other means. The show allows YTE students to practice what they’ve learned about computers in class and pick up the basics of television production at the same time.

The first episode, which focused on computer viruses, was the result of months of planning and effort. Students held meetings to brainstorm ideas, attended the requisite studio and camera training classes, wrote scripts, created props, designed sets, prepared lights and cameras, and finally shot the episode in one take on June 7th. As the shoot grew nearer, they recruited crew members from MATV’s video club at MHS, the MHS Fine Arts Club, and from outside the school system. "TechTV is the result of hard work by students and volunteers," said co-producer Siv Tang, the YTE student who directed the first episode. "We all hope it can reach the community, make a positive impact, and therefore make all our efforts worthwhile."

YTE is a not-for-profit organization founded in 1998 primarily with funding from the Massachusetts Department of Education. Its mission is to prepare high school students for leadership and further education by helping them become computer technicians and teachers in service to their community. TechTV was produced to educate the community about technology and to create a challenging, ongoing project for YTE students.

When students showed clips from the first episode at YTE’s Celebration Evening on June 21st, they received a very positive response from the audience. "I’m looking forward to the full episode in July" said Carol Kunz, a YTE staff member. Debbie Teneriello, mother of TechTV news-reporter Tammy, said, "It’s great to see the students excited about technology, about video production, and about learning." The celebration was attended by over 100 students, parents, and friends of YTE.

Everyone enjoyed working with Susan Lawrence and the rest of the MATV staff, and was grateful for their assistance. "We owe them a lot for overseeing the making the show and encouraging us throughout the entire process" said Tang. When the shoot was over, the cast and crew celebrated with food and drink while they added credits and watched the show. Later in the month Tang and co-producer Annie Young spent hours editing the final version, which was rerun throughout July and August. The cast and crew is looking forward to shooting their next episode in September. "We started planning it as soon as we finished the first one," said Young. "We’ll keep improving and the shows will just get better and better!"

Ben Stumpf taught the YTE class at Malden High School during the ‘99-’00 school year and helped his students launch Tech TV.

As you watch the fall 2000 programming on Channel 15, our Educational Access Channel, look for the signs of young people from many pockets of Malden getting connected with MATV.

The Malden High School Video Club got its start last year with advisors Susan Lawrence (MATV) and Misha Walker (Photography teacher at MHS). About a dozen students learned how to use the portable video camera, the studio cameras and the editing equipment at MATV. The club will continue this year; interested students at MHS should speak to Mrs. Walker or to art teacher Mary Ann Seager to find out when the club meets and how they can get trained to use the MATV equipment.

Some students helped to shoot and edit television shows about the activities of the Fine Arts Club, advised by Ms. Seager. You can see the Puppet Brigade and the Blue and Gold Gallery featured on MATV Channel 15, in video coverage created completely by the high school students. Students who worked on these shows include Jerry Burton, Kyle Stadelhofer, Jean Falaise, Mark Kipnis, Debbie Zabriskie and Chris Melendez.

Teen producer Falaise made his own short documentary The Givers of Malden, which has been showing on Channel 15 and earned him a photo and interview on the front page of the Boston Globe North Shore Edition during the summer!

Two new television programs produced by youth are featured in this newsletter; Tech TV, produced by the Youth Tech Entrepreneurs and Teen Fashion, produced by the YWCA Girls in Action. Both programs are produced, directed, and crewed by Malden teens. 

During the summer, the Sweet Dreams ice cream shop in Maplewood Square hosted an MATV kids program called Summer Scoops. Instructors Anne D’Urso-Rose and Susan Lawrence met weekly with young video journalists Jessica O’Connell, Matthew Lewin, Anthony Lewin and Eddie Garvin, helped by veteran teen producer Steven Lyon and Kyle Stadelhofer. The group videotaped local businesses and customers in Maplewood Square and completed the "scooping" each week with a free ice cream cone of their choice, courtesy of Sweet Dreams. The highlight of Summer Scoops was a visit to the swimming pool owned by the proprietors of the Aqualung scuba shop, for a scuba diving lesson (all videotaped, of course)! Watch for the Summer Scoops program on Channel 15 in early fall.

A program called School Bits includes footage of students at the Ferryway School demonstrating science and social studies projects, students in a Salemwood School after-school program learning video skills, and a tour of the Beebe School math and science fair. We are also cablecasting the show produced by the 4th and 5th graders in the Linden School Lights, Camera, Action! cluster, showing the activities of enrichment clusters throughout the school last spring. Also from Linden School we are showing the SAFE for Elders program that 4th and 5th graders worked on with the Malden Fire Dept., which is being shown as part of a short program called SAFE Hightlights. From the Forestdale School we are showing the Falon Gong meditation class for 5th graders in the Renaissance Program.

The Channel 15 bulletin board graphics for August and September were designed by Joshua Cheung, our summer intern. During the summer Joshua helped us design the announcements on the Channel 15 bulletin board that inform people about what is going on in and around the schools of Malden. Starting the 9th grade at MHS will leave Josh little time for his graphics duties at MATV, so, this volunteer slot is open to anyone 13 or older who would like to learn computer graphics while providing a valuable service to the school community. The job can be done in 2-3 hours a week. Please call Susan Lawrence at 321-6400, or e-mail her at susan@matv.org, if you are interested.
 

The computer center at Newland Street has quietly been growing and adding new programs for Newland Street residents. We completed another successful Summer Camp Art Workshop in cooperation with the YMCA After School Program and have just wrapped up our first Computer Recycling Course.

The Summer Camp Art Workshop, taught by Sarah Smiley and intern Huy Huynh, used computers, video, and underwater photography to encourage creativity, technology skills, and self-expression in the young people who participated. The children created underwater images using disposable underwater cameras. They wrote stories and poems about water and about their underwater self-images. Finally, they participated in a group "video water portrait". (An added feature this year was a trip to the beach!) On the closing day, Sarah presented each student with a portfolio of the work he or she completed. She is completing the production of two videotapes of the project, which will air on MATV in the fall.

The Computer Recycling Course, our newest program, teaches adults the basics of the hardware components inside older computers and how to add new components. During the course, taught by Marlene Archer from New Visions, students refurbish several older computers, adding sound cards, modems, or CD-ROM drives if needed. At the end, each student receives one of the computers he or she refurbished. A second course, which is already full, will begin shortly after Labor Day.

Students in the adult tutoring program have been making progress, as some learn the very basics (how to use a mouse, open and close programs, etc.), others improve their typing skills, or some learn to "surf" the Internet or use more sophisticated applications. The tutoring program is customized to the needs of each student, so computer-based tutorials are quite helpful. Several youngsters from the YMCA After School Program stay for the tutoring program and help the adult students.

We have recently purchased more software, so we can meet the needs of computer users of all age ranges and interests. Much of our focus has been on school-based programs to support homework assignments and school projects, but we also have cooking/recipe programs, games, application tutorials, computer repair tutorials, and, of course, more games. Sometimes you just want to relax at the computer…and residents of Newland Street can come in and do that too!

With so much going on, we also have created a web page (http://newlandmedia.homestead.com) and have had a 9th grade student designing the pages for the YMCA portion of our site. Maithy Tran (now going into the the10th grade at Pope John in Everett) has been working with a group from the Y to select background designs and other elements of this portion of the site. By the time you read this, all the web pages for Newland Media Education Center should be updated and in place. Meanwhile, we continue to work closely with all groups at Newland Street to meet their computing needs.

Anyone interested in volunteering at the Newland Media Education Center, contact Claire A. Murray, Director of Community Computing, at MATV.