Media Arts Essentials

Hi, I’m Steve Gilbert, but you can call me Mr. G. Welcome to Media Arts Essentials. Let me tell you a little about this course and what to expect. As we discover the areas that make up media arts, you’ll learn some of the fundamentals of storytelling and communications and the tools we use to put it all together. The ultimate goal of storytelling is holding someone’s attention, stir their emotions, inspire them to take action, and instill a desire for them share your story with someone else.

The Way it Works

How this course works is a building block approach, learning a specific skill each lesson that can be combined with others so you can choose how to captivate your audience. Each skill learned will lead to the next and so on and so forth, until you learn some of the fundamentals of media arts. The more tools you have in your toolbox and tool belt the greater variety you’ll have to tell your stories. There will also be a lesson assignment that will help you practice your storytelling skills. Media Arts Essentials was designed as a 15-week semester length course. The structure of each lesson starts with a video, followed by a pre-assignment essay to help gauge what you may already know. Next is the assignment followed by a post-assignment essay where you can explain your experience with the assignment. Next we threw in Extra Credit, our podcast, with storytellers talking about storytelling. And lastly, a final quiz to test your knowledge and wrap up the lesson. By learning the tools of media arts and storytelling, you won’t limit yourself to just one area, like photography or video production. This will help broaden your horizons to effectively get your message across. Also, the more skills you have the more valuable you are to others. That could be your classmates, friends and family, or someday your employer. It could even mean you get paid more because you have those skills. You never know, there may even be a promotion in your future.

Go Above and Beyond

So, challenge yourself to really learn the tools and techniques presented and go above and beyond on your assignments to help perfect your skills. If the assignment calls for taking 4 photos, take 40 and choose the best 4. For now, let’s get started on your journey with our first course, Media Arts Essentials. We’ll be launching more courses in the future. Thanks for joining the conversation at Media Arts Academy.

Parent/Teacher Guide

The Media Arts Essential Parent/Teacher Guide is located in the Course Materials tab at the beginning of each lesson. It will provide guidance to assess student’s performance of each lesson’s quiz, essay, and assignment. Should Parent/Teacher’s have any additional quesitons, please reach out via the contact form. We’d love to help!