Executive Summary

The Digital Learning and Media Center (DLMC) is a highly visible, open learning space that serves as a collaborative studio, a formal classroom, a computer lab, a showcase for student work, and a hub for media equipment use and lending. Each year there is a partial turnover of the student staff of Media Mentors, and an orientation needs to be run to promote team morale, train the new staff and offer the returning staff the opportunity to teach workshops and set personal goals for their own media scholarship as well as learning about lab changes and updates.

This year a 3-day orientation will train 5 new Mentors and refresh the skills of the 9 returning Mentors. The goal of the training will be to have the new hires achieve mastery of the systems we employ and a comfort level and working knowledge of the software. Another goal is for experienced Mentors to partner with new students to encourage teamwork and act as another resource for their development.

Instruction will be delivered by a variety of trainers in a face-to-face model with plenty of time for individual practice and goal setting. The new hires will be given a list of deliverables that need to be completed within the first 4 weeks of school, giving them time to practice and gain experience in the software applications. They will be given rubrics to guide their work. Some work will be individual; some will be with a partner. Formal training on Final Cut Pro will be offered as the primary software that is taught in the lab, as well as introductory sessions on other commonly used applications. The workshops will be taught by professional staff and experienced Media Mentors.