World Music YouTube Culture Show

Dr. Michael Heller created this project for a World Music Class for International Students taught at University of Massachusetts, Boston.  Students were encouraged to develop traditional academic skills and new media skills in this World Music YouTube Culture Show Project, by incorporating written word, public speaking, and storytelling tools like Zeega, Powerpoint, or Meograph in this project.

Throughout the semester, the instructor built up students’ skills with one of the storytelling tools through small, weekly assignments. They were assigned to create little presentations, such as a 30 second Zeega presentation about their favorite food with an accompanying script.  They emailed these to the instructor, but these were unrelated to the final project. Students could be eased into the project with these weekly tasks.

For the project, students were expected to tap into the skills they developed throughout the semester and work in groups to create a presentation that effectively describes a culture of their choice. Topics ranged from the more traditional, like Korean pansori to the modern, like Filipino Hip Hop. Presentations must include videos, sound clips, photos, and text, as well as have an accompanying script. Class periods could be spent one in two ways: (1) students split into their groups and work on their presentations while the teacher goes around troubleshooting and helping or (2) hosting open rehearsals for students to provide feedback on other students’ presentations. This project culminated in a Culture Show that was hosted to the public, where students presented what they have learned over the course of the semester in a formal setting.

Goals of this project were to help students gain presentation skills, while incorporating the material they have studied throughout the semester. Since this project was geared towards international students, they learned how to better improve their writing and speaking skills through the exposure to technology like Zeega. Finally, this project was well received by students overall. Although they seemed hesitant at first, as they spent more time with their groups and their topics, they gradually became incredibly eager to present their projects to the student body.

Note: The attachment is labeled "midterm presentation," however the structure of the project is the same.