July 2011 M-Passioned Member: Henry Cohn-Geltner
Name: Henry Cohn-Geltner
Title: Media production and media literacy educator (and Co-director of M3)
Organization: Dorrance H. Hamilton Public Media Commons at WHYY
1) What do you do?
I am a media production and media literacy educator at the Dorrance H. Hamilton Public Media Commons at WHYY. We provide training in digital storytelling, multimedia production, and digital literacy for youth, adults, and K-University educators. Not only do I teach and lead courses and workshops, I am responsible for curriculum development for new courses in media literacy, educational technology, and new media production.
I have not wanted to do anything else with my life thus far except help people tell stories and understand the mediated world they live in. I’m pretty lucky because every day of the year I get to produce and talk about media with incredibly talented individuals!
2) Tell me about your latest work or project in media literacy.
Recently, the Public Media Commons completed our Young Journalists Summer Camp, working with high school youth to learn multimedia journalism production skills and better understand the news media environment in which they are living.
During the school year, I was able to work with high school students to learn about documentary, through screenings and discussions, and production of short documentaries on a variety of topics including social media, the challenges of adulthood and pressures of going to college.
I also had the opportunity to work with middle and high school educators interested in incorporating digital storytelling and media technology in their classrooms with their students. I was most excited to develop and lead workshops in news literacy, allowing these teachers an avenue to talk about current events in a new way and bring something different to their classrooms.
3) Why is media literacy important to you?
At the start of every fall, spring, summer, I get a new group of students, young people, who come from all over the Philadelphia area to learn about video production. Many of them aspire to be producers themselves when they “grow up” or pursue it in college and want to get a taste now. Some of them arrive because their teachers know they have an interest in using the equipment or editing.
Everyday I am given the opportunity to challenge what they have heard about and found out about the world from the media they consume, and let them communicate what they know about the world or follow their curiosity to find out things they knew little about. The payoff comes when connections start to be made between other important global and local social issues, and the camera becomes more than a “technology toy”, but a tool for awareness and social change.
Many of them never make another video, but they will not look at video the same way they did before coming to a class.
4) What are you most excited about in the media literacy field?
The thing that excites me most about media literacy is the amazing amount of youth media being produced and communities are growing like wildfire in cities all across the United States and the rest of the world in support! Not only is there tremendous support from the academic, education, and nonprofit communities, a whole industry is developing to support learning through the use of digital media technology and understanding the role the media plays in our lives by giving young people training in the skills to use these tools effectively and responsibly.
I feel like it is vital to give young people some voice in expressing themselves and challenging them to create strong content. As they become leaders in society, young people equipped with skills to understand and create media messages will be able to champion the issues important in creating strong communities, democracies and citizens.
5) Why did you become a NAMLE member — what benefits do you see to membership and how will it support your work?
I became a NAMLE member to be able to connect with the diverse, amazing network and community of educators, scholars, and practitioners in the field of media literacy. I am able to take advantage of resources otherwise unavailable and have access to insight, knowledge, and experience that is unparalleled. When I talk about media literacy with my friends and family, I am often met with unsure stares, but with NAMLE I feel really comfortable and at home because it is a community that really gets me and what I am trying to accomplish.
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Way to go Henry! It’s great to see you doing so much important work these days. I look forward to collaborating again at M3/The Conference next week.