Welcome Back!
2012 is something of a watershed year for us humble Media teachers. Not only do we have a brand new study design busting to finally stretch its legs, but we also have the promise of a national curriculum for Media Arts to look forward to sometime after midyear. That’s one of the greatest things about studying Media; just as you get comfortable, there’s a new text, some new software or a new media movement demanding exploration. It keeps us on our toes and demands that we stay up to date and revisit new notions of what has come before.
I love new study designs. I really do. I love scanning through them and devouring what is new to teach. Then the nerves creep in… what if I don’t teach it ‘right’? What does that term actually mean anyway? I end up googling or heading back to my textbooks, cross referencing the information and looking at it from numerous sources. The one thing I have learned from teaching Media for this many years is that you should never rely on only one source or site of information. I draw on a variety of websites and textbooks to develop my teaching, with the only constant being the study design. That’s my baseline, the one singular document that everything comes back to. If it’s in the study design, I have to teach it, and the only thing I have to decide on is how.
The teachers who serve on the ATOM board and committees are just like you and me – classroom teachers who are committed to providing quality professional development for other media teachers. So, we are amping things up for 2012. The new study design means that ATOM will provide more PD on the areas that have had significant change (discourse, anyone?) and also on the areas that always need continual improvement, like assessing the SAT. And of course the old favorites will be on offer, like seminars for new and returning teachers and exam sessions later in the year.
We really welcome and value feedback, so if you have anything you would like to suggest or make comment on, please contact Melinda Roberts .We are always looking for more teachers to join us at ATOM, so if you think you’d like to do so, please contact Andrea Foxworthy.
It’s an exciting time to be a media teacher. I hope ATOM can make the journey even more enjoyable for you this year.
Melinda Roberts
Executive Office.
Education Committee, ATOMvic