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FROM LEARNERS TO LEADERS King’s digital media courses put exploration, design, and production at the forefront of learning

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ing’s aims to transform students from passive receivers of information to active creators and innovators” says computer science teacher Sanad Haddad. This is especially true when it comes to digital media. As leaders and change-makers, students at King’s Academy are already at the forefront of creating films, music and apps that they are sharing with the world beyond King’s. Many new courses are giving students the boost they need to enter the digital realm on their own terms, using their own skills and voices to shape the global conversation and enter the global market. Olfat Abdelqader, another faculty member who teaches advanced courses in computer science and programming, notes that the work students are doing gives them “abilities they need to confidently face and handle the digital era and lead in the software development sector.” Abdelqader also notes that creating digital content gives students a sense of pride in their work, as well as a wider skill set that is applicable in many different disciplines and sectors. “The creation of this content increases students’ problem-solving skills while also enhancing their creativity,” she says. “Students are motivated to learn, and the challenges they confront inspire them to learn more and be more innovative, and the sense of accomplishment they gain from finishing these programs encourages them to pursue more.” 34

BEYOND KING’S

BY TONY LILLY Film Studies students construct a camera obscura – a completely lightproof, blacked-out room, except for a 3 cm aperture in one window. The aperture, even without a lens, projects an image of the outside into the dark room.

This was certainly the case for Hani Alkarrain ’22, who used his coding skills to create a game app that has been released to the Google Play Store. He then continued to produce even more digital games on his own since his class ended. For Alkarrain, “seeing people play the game I made and have fun while doing so motivated me to become 10 times better and to make games that are more fun.” Likewise, Oday Fraij ’22 has used the sound production equipment to record his first single, which has been released on all major digital music platforms this year. For Sam Hennessy, who teaches a new course in music

production, “the most significant accomplishment is witnessing students relax their inhibitions and go out of their comfort zones. So often, students are fearful of being scrutinized, and it takes a lot of courage to show off musical ideas to peers or record vocal ideas in the presence of other students.”

A Conversation with Digital Music Teacher Sam Hennessy What digital content production do your students engage in? dio The students und stu the so to ts n e have engaged in d tu film s duces o tr making music using in sy ennes Sam H iMacs and Logic Pro X software. The projects are fun, creative and Students exciting. Students experiment in my own film studies with digital audio workstations course agree. Talya Karay ’22 says to compose original music, she learned to not be scared of trying remix other songs and apply difficult things. “As long as we aren’t sound effects while editing. They wasting time, we will have enough time sequence instrumental beats in to make mistakes and fix them later on, the style of their favorite artists, she says. “This is much better than not sample video clips, record foley, making any mistakes because it allows and design sound for games and us to be courageous filmmakers and animations. During the course, learn from the mistakes.” music-making is balanced with Nadine Ismail ’23 discovered the exposure to the entrepreneurial joy of working with others: endeavors of production and “I enjoy the amount of marketing skills such as logo teamwork that goes into design, promotional artwork, and creating a film, because it website design. means there is four times the amount of creativity. Where do they share their It’s about teamwork and work? Who is their audience? using collaboration to your There are regular assignment advantage.” submissions on Canvas, which are Haddad adds that these designed to simulate the industry courses “put exploration, design, deadlines of a working producer. and production at the forefront of Students have also set up learning.” Soundcloud accounts to distribute Digital media revenue globally their music online. In addition, is estimated to have reached well they have built artist websites over US $300 billion this year, using Google Sites to showcase and four of the top five companies their work. The course is relatively globally (Apple, Microsoft, Alphabet, new, and the students are finding and Amazon) are digital content and developing their unique style producers. Hennessy is confident of writing and producing. that King’s students are ready to take advantage of these expanding Are there any particularly opportunities. In these courses, he noteworthy projects you could notes, “learners become leaders” – tell us about? which is one way King’s is matching its The Music Production mission to the 21st century. classroom has benefited other areas of the school and enabled Tony Lilly is the assistant head high-quality pre-show voiceovers of school for academic and student for the fall play and school affairs and an English teacher in the meetings and the creation of Department of Communication,

scary sound and visuals for the creepy cinema room in the Haunted House. The facility has also benefited particular students, who do not take the course, interested in pursuing careers in the arts. For example, one student used the equipment to record his first single, which will be released on all major music platforms this month. Why is digital content production important for our students? According to myfuture.com, the employment of broadcast, sound and video technicians is projected to grow 21% from 2020 to 2030. This is much faster than the average for all occupations. The skills to create digital content and be fluent in production techniques are also essential for building and scaling a business. When faced with a world where technology is a crucial component of daily personal and professional lives, students must have a firm grip on the basics and gain a competitive advantage by showing curiosity about the technical innovations emerging before us. How is digital content production linked to King's mission? The course aligns with King's mission of guiding learners to become leaders as students are expected to be autonomous and take control of their portfolio work. Furthermore, the vision of King's Academy is to provide an educational experience unlike any available in the region. King's Academy is the first and only school in Jordan to offer and provide music production education to this age group.

Rhetoric and the Literary Arts. SPRING 2022