Popcorn Youth Initiative

	Popcorn Youth Initiative
	Owner: Jacob Caggiano @futuresoup	Updated: 2012-04-5
	Bringing interactive storytelling to the creative masses

What is it?

An initiative to help youth media centers incorporate web native media production into their current program offerings. We’re doing this by:

• Launching an online learning lab with awesome guest speakers (like Cory Doctorow, Tommy Pollata, etc.) and engaging exercises to teach young people how to make their videos interactive, the way the web is meant to be.

• Providing a full curriculum, with activities and skill badges, to help instructors impart skills and techniques for interactive storytelling. Check out some examples we made with the Bay Area Video Coalition, you’ll be able to take your own ideas and run wild with them.

• Providing expert support from the Mozilla artistic and developer community to extend your reach and level up your impact.

Interested? Sign up here to get announcements and early access to the Summer Youth Learning Lab. If you are involved with an existing youth media program, we'd love to hear from you!

Who is it for?

Youth media centers, after school programs, community centers, art centers, motivated individuals; pretty much anyone who likes to push creative boundaries and wants to make the web their oyster.

About this Initiative

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The art of interactive storytelling has finally matured to a point where all that is needed to create a rich multimedia experience is a web browser and an idea.

Mozilla Popcorn is dedicated to bringing interactive storytelling to the creative masses through easy to use software that can turn any video into a fully integrated web experience; something which was once restricted to only those with advanced programming skills. With Mozilla Popcorn, you can do things like provide a contemporary translation of Macbeth, create a launch pad for events surrounding the Egyptian revolution, explore genealogy and the descendants of WWI veterans, create a hypervideo music documentary, create a hyperaudio radio transcript, explore maps of community gardens while watching short films about them, annotate the President's State of the Union address, etc. etc. etc.

Although young people have a wide variety of digital tools for creative expression at their disposal, there are many important stories which are still not being told to their fullest capacity. We seek to change this by providing a free online curriculum that will teach the skills and techniques behind interactive storytelling, as well as generate a collaborative ecosystem where elements of the production process are shared, augmented, and remixed to expansive new breadths and heights.

The first round of this experiment will enter full bloom this summer with an online learning lab, loosely based off the success of the 2011 online learning lab created by Mozilla for the Open News fellowship program. The Lab kicks off in June 2012, and will feature live webinars with magnetic speakers who are pioneers in digital media, as well as skill badges and course materials designed to empower young people to confidently tell their stories and build a better web together.

Initiative goals

• Work closely with youth media centers and other partners throughout the United States (and later globally) to help upgrade their programs and incorporate interactive storytelling methods and training.
  • Our first pilot was with the Bay Area Video Coalition that resulted in four interactive pieces produced by young people.
  • It’s now time to scale up and expand to other centers and programs.

• Build an online curriculum that makes it easy for anyone to open a web browser and create rich multimedia experiences.
  • incorporate skills like HTML, web native media production, and critical thinking about the craft of storytelling

• Generate excitement and engagement around webcraft and the creative process, and encourage others to spread the glory far and wide. This is at the heart of promoting openness, innovation and opportunity on the web, which is Mozilla's mission as a non-profit organization.

• Broaden and enhance the collaborative ecosystem around Mozilla Popcorn and web native technologies.
  • refine the software, build templates and plugins that fit cohesively with the type of stories that young people wish to tell.

Get involved

Sign up here to get announcements and early access to the Summer Youth Learning Lab. If you are involved with an existing youth media program, we'd love to hear from you!

Prerequisites for students

It is recommended that students have

• previous audio/video production experience. Graphic design also a big plus.
• a baseline understanding of the internet.
• are comfortable learning new software.

It is also highly recommended (possibly required)that students have a blog, website, or some sort of online presence (other than Facebook) that can be used to participate and contribute to the collaborative experience.

For those who cannot meet these prerequisites, most, if not all components of the online learning lab will be recorded and well documented for anyone on the internet to follow along or participate at a later time.

The live webinars featuring celebrity guest speakers will probably have a seat limit due to technological constraints, and may require an application process so that students with the highest level of interest and commitment can have priority to participate.

For teachers and mentors

Mozilla would love to learn more about your current digital media programs and consult with you on using Popcorn to augment and enhance your program offerings.

Please get in touch to schedule a phone conference and come up with an assessment plan.

Roadmap

March

Consult with youth media organizations, generate interest in Mozilla Popcorn gauge level of interest, particularly in the Pacific Time zone.

April

• Roll out web page and start promoting online and encourage signups
• Begin booking speakers
• Flesh out online curriculum, test learning modules
• Coordinate and caravan with broader Mozilla Summer Campaign
• Help with development of Popcorn Maker

May

• Press outreach
• Prepare students and teachers for learning lab

June

• Summer begins! First class ?? Friday, June 23rd ??

August/September

• August 31st, end of Summer Showcase.
• Those who complete course earn badges and opportunities to continue improving their skills and projects

November

• Mozilla Festival in London. Best projects are invited to attend (?)

Participating Organizations

(so far these organizations have expressed significant interest)

• Bay Area Video Coalition -- Oakland
• Center for Multicultural Cooperation -- Fresno / Sacramento
• Free Sprit Media -- Chicago
• Hive Learning Networks -- New York / Chicago
• Los Angeles YMCA
• Spy Hop Productions -- Salt Lake City

Team

• Jacob Caggiano Rodeo Master
• Brett Gaylor Popcorn Messiah
• Ben Moskowitz Spiritual Guide

See Also

MozillaPopcorn.org
The place to play around with Popcorn Maker, the easiest way to make web native interactive multimedia. A new release is scheduled each month until the big 1.0 in late Fall!

PopcornJS.org
For developers to learn and contribute to Popcorn. Also features some amazing demos.

Community Discussion Group
This is where people pitch ideas and help each other out with custom projects and the like. A great place to talk about your storytelling projects.

@Popcornjs on Twitter
Follow and stay informed.

Popcorn Github repository
Clone and branch forth!

Bugs Reports and Feature Requests
File a ticket or help out with some of the bugs and features to make Popcorn even better.

Community Call
This is usually every two weeks. Jump on the etherpad by clicking the link, which has the latest agenda and dial information.

Community IRC Chat
Come hang out and chat with other Popcorn wizards and jedi trainers, point your favorite IRC client to the server irc.mozilla.org and the channel #Popcorn -- or just click here to join quick and easy with your web browser