Comm Camp Teaches 21st Century Skills
LEXINGTON, Ky. (April 5, 2013) — A unique summer camp will bring teachers and students together at the University of Kentucky for an intensive hands-on, immersion experience in communication teaching and learning.
"College Readiness and Communication: A Summer Program for Teachers and Students" will take place June 23-28 on UK's campus. Organized by the College of Communication and Information, this first-of-its-kind camp is open to both teachers and students in grades 6-12 from Kentucky and surrounding states.
"Communicating is a complex process," says Sarah Kercsmar, a faculty member in the college's Division of Instructional Communication. "In the 21st century, we've gone way past Basic Public Speaking and Composition 101. Communicating today involves a bunch of different skill sets — including written, oral, visual and digital communication. To be effective communicators, students today need to develop a high level of media awareness and confidence in using different presentation modalities."
The summer camp aims to give teachers and students alike a crash course in multimodal communication. Participants will check in the afternoon of Sunday, June 23, with introductory activities planned that evening. Then, each of the next four days is dedicated to workshops and activities exploring one of the "four C's": Collaboration, Critical Thinking, Creativity and Communication. The camp culminates Friday morning with a Communication Showcase in which participants will get the opportunity to show off what they've learned.
There will be separate workshops for the teachers and for the students, as well as joint sessions where the two groups will work together. A variety of evening activities are planned each night, for further fun and learning opportunities. A tentative schedule for the week is available online at http://ci.uky.edu/icd/summercamp/schedule.
Students may also enroll in CIS 191 (Exploring Communication) and earn college credit. Teachers are eligible for professional development credits and may also enroll in CIS 590 for 3 hours of graduate credit by participating in the week’s activities in addition to some additional coursework they can complete online at a distance.
For students or teachers who register before May 1, the cost of participation is $850, including lodging, food, materials and activities for the week in Lexington. After May 1, the cost is $1,000. Online registration is available through June 15.
The camp is co-sponsored by Columbia Gas of Kentucky and Cengage Learning, in partnership with CI Consulting, and UK's Department of Communication, School of Library and Information Science, School of Journalism and Telecommunications, College of Education, First Generation Initiative, Department of STEM Education, Robinson Scholars and Appalachian Center.
For more information, please contact ciconsulting@uky.edu.