New media workshop awakens teenagers' interest in communication

Ten teams of Form 6 secondary school students competed in the design and development of multimedia web pages in the Department of English and Communication's second New Media Workshop and Competition, held on 19 March. The Workshop introduces students to the role of new media in a range of professional communication activities by teaching them how to design multimedia web pages.

“It is a pleasure to share our state-of-the-art knowledge and technology with high school students through the Workshop. This is just one of CityU's forward-looking outreach programmes to enhance teenagers' awareness of the importance of multimedia skills in daily

life,” remarked Professor Lee Chin-chuan, Head of the Department of English and Communication (EN). Professor Lee was delighted that all the teams showed promise in using multimedia technology to convey meaningful messages. The Workshop provided an opportunity for high school students to enter the university environment and put not only their multimedia skills, but also their writing, communication and team skills into practice. 

 "We could certainly feel the energy, passion and spirit from all the participants in the Workshop," said Ms Ming Cheung, Instructor I of EN and Organizer of the Workshop and Competition.

 

“It’s so much fun to make a web page within such a short time frame,” said Grace Ng of the winning Diocesan Girls’ School team. “We worked together to interview and videotape a rock band, prepare scripts and a website design. It required effective communication and teamwork,” another team member added. The clear navigation structure, user-friendly approach and lively writing style of their web page won them the championship.

The first- and second- runners up went to St Paul’s Co-educational School and STFALeungKauKuiCollege, respectively. This year two more prizes were added and the winners were YuenLongLutheranSecondary School and All Saints’ Middle School.  "I think the competition was a very meaningful event. It was an exciting day and I had learnt a lot and had enjoyed it thoroughly. I look forward to joining similar events," said Stacey Wang of St. Paul's Co-educational School.

Participants, in teams of four, competed in the design and development of a multimedia web page for local rock band, "Tai Tau Fat". They were required to interview members of the band in the morning and complete all related writing video production and uploading within four hours in the afternoon.

“All the teams performed very well. The content is clear and the messages direct. Moreover, their interviewing and writing abilities and multimedia production skills are sophisticated. The results are very impressive,” commented Dr Rodney Jones, Assistant Professor of the EN and a Competition adjudicator.

At the end of the contest, each team gave a presentation to highlight the features of their web pages to the judges. The teams used different colour themes, navigation patterns and animation to project the uniqueness of the band, aiming to stimulate teenagers’ interest in local music. After a day of hard work, they said it had been a learning experience full of fun and excitement. They also thanked the EN staff and student mentors who facilitated them in completing their tasks. "We have really learnt a lot from the Workshop today, and we enjoyed it so much. Thank you very much," said Roseline Wong of Holy Family Canossian College.  

Members of the judging panel were: Professor Lee Chin-chuan; Ms Ming Cheung; Dr Rodney Jones; Ms Luka So, EN Instructor I; Mr Tony Woo and Ms Mayella Cheung, new media experts from Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK); and members of the band, "Tai Tau Fat". Judging criteria included the use of visuals and multimedia; navigation and functional structure; and communication skills.

The champions were presented with a medal and book coupons worth HK$4,000. The first and second runners-up were awarded medals and book coupons worth HK$2,500 and HK$1,500, respectively. All participants received a certificate of achievement.

Since it launched in 2003, student response to the Department's New Media Workshop and Competition has been so enthusiastic that the EN decided to expand the Workshop into an annual event. The Workshop was co-organised by RTHK, Ming Pao and the Young Post, SCMP. Gifts were sponsored by new media companies including Adobe, Macromedia and Senco-Masslink.

Please click onto the links below to view the winners' work:

http://newmedia.cityu.edu.hk/competition2005/champion/
http://newmedia.cityu.edu.hk/competition2005/firstru/
http://newmedia.cityu.edu.hk/competition2005/secondru/