december, 17th

Hi, it's Matteo!
Today we've finished writing the story and we've also filmed the first part of a scene....
we think that we're working really well and it will be a really interesting video....
Next time we'll finish this scene and then we'll show you our result.......
if you want some other informations, call me (or Carmine or Adele) on facebook!

This is our example for a scene in the video







And this is us discussing on our ideas for the story


We've met last thursday and we've decided the 6 points for our part of the film...
In the next meetings, we'll work on it and write the final storyboard....

Here is a practice music video Cari and I did! 

Enjoy!

-Courtney

Cultural Understanding?

Hi Everyone,
This is Rebecca. One of the most important outcomes of our project is to show an increase in cultural understanding. How do we show this? By telling what we think we know before and after a program. I asked all of the student participants to write some thoughts down about the differences they percieve between the Italian and US cultures. I'm humbled by many of the responses, and tickled by some of the others! Here are five US students' responses in aggregate to the following questions:

1. Do you bring any prior experience dealing with Italian people or culture to the table? What’s your closest experience with the culture? (100)

The only experience that I have with the Italian people or culture is that I am about a quarter Italian. My mom’s grandparents and other close relatives emigrated from Sicily. Sadly, most of my full Italian relatives passed away before I could get to know them or their unique culture. Hopefully, through this experience, I will be able to learn a lot more about my self and my family’s heritage.

I have no real experience dealing with Italian people or culture besides the fact that many families in Hammond, where I live, are from Italian descent.

I don’t bring much to the table regarding Italian culture or people. My closest experience is listening to stories from friends about their trips to Italy. I do read a lot however, so I’m at least knowledgeable on some level of history (modern, ancient, etc.). Sometimes I read about Italian politics. I have however learned some self-taught Italian from books and from songs that I like to listen to.

I really have had little to no experience with authentic Italian culture. My aunt and uncle go there at least once a year and have taken classes on how to make authentic Italian art. They used what they learned on their house in the way they painted the walls and how they decorated the house. Italian food is my favorite! Unfortunately, I have only had the Americanized version. Italian art is also one of my favorites. If I had to make some sort of completely uneducated conjecture about the people of Italy it would be that they seem to me to be a people who just appreciate a lot of things. They are connoisseurs of life. They seem like they would appreciate fine things.

Up until now, my closest experience with Italian culture has been digging into a pizza margherita at Johnny Carino’s. Staring up at the old pictures that lined the walls and listening to the Italian opera played over the speakers was as close as I ever thought I could get to Italy. It blows my mind to think that I’ll actually be there in just a few months.

2. What do you perceive to be the biggest differences between US and Italian culture? Biggest similarities? (500)

Right now, I find myself trying to believe that the cultures aren’t that far apart. Besides the obvious differences in food, tradition, and similar aspects, I feel that the people involved are actually quite similar. Living in America, where traveling to a different state feels like a totally new country, I find it hard to determine one particular “US culture” and that could be one of the largest differences between the two countries. Our country’s huge diversity even includes part of the Italian culture and lifestyle, my family being an example.

I believe that both teams involved in this project will be pleasantly surprised at how many similarities there are between the two countries. I think that the people on both sides of the Atlantic are quite comparable. Despite the barrier of language, I would like to take my time in Italy and notice the timeless and universal feelings and emotions, the largest similarity between any people in any country.

I perceive that US culture has developed from diversity, each new culture feeding of and learning from another. This finally resulted in a movement towards tolerance of all individuals. Another result of our cultural mix is diversity in foods, languages, and musical styles among other things. Some aspects of these cultural properties are “Americanized”, meaning that they change in a way to meet our desire for economic growth and democracy. However, I perceive Italians to have a more homogenous population, as Italy is an ancient country. I think that this population is mostly Roman Catholic, and as Vatican City is in the heart of the country, religion plays an important role in the life of Italians, which does not necessarily hold true for Americans. Another defining characteristic in Italian culture that I believe makes Italian culture similar to ours is the fact that Italians can easily move throughout western Europe, thus making them more educated in other cultures and tolerant of them. Other similarities between Italian and US cultures probably lie in taste of music and arts (and the lack of a universal taste in art), the desire to become better (this is just human nature), and the belief that people should have, for the most part, equal rights.

Differences: I imagine the pace of life is much different in the US than in Italy. From what I’ve heard, Europe is generally more relaxed, especially when compared to the fast pace of Americans. I’m stressed most of the time because of work regarding school, so I’d be interested to see an Italian student’s workload and how they handle education.
Although America is home to a variety of different types of people, it doesn’t have a very strong culture. We are literally a “melting pot” of cultures, as in we’ve taken and borrowed traditions from almost every group that has come over. I’m excited about Italy because it seems like it has a much stronger culture. I’m very excited to see what Italian teens think of their country.
I think American lifestyle will probably be different from Italy. Whether Italy has more conveniences or less (in terms of stores, transportation, etc.), I’m sure I’ll still miss various aspects of American culture. Similarities? I’m sure Italian teens like to have as much fun as American teens do. I’m very interested to see what common interests I will share with them. As far as culture goes however, I don’t know what similarities America will have with Italy.

Well, America is one of the most overweight nations in the world. We also are a nation obsessed with television, entertainment, and getting what we want. What I am getting at is that America is very much a nation of “splurgeres”. Italy doesn’t seem to be that way so much. I think they would be similar in that the teenagers there are still teenagers. I’m sure they play Xbox live, don’t like homework, and just act like teenagers. I’m not really certain of any huge way that we would be super similar. We are all still humans so I don’t think it will as different as everyone thinks. I’d like to see how they kids react to things like chores around the house, their parents in general, and if they are into any of the things my generation here is into

I’ve always imagined Italian culture to be more refined than that of America. Then again, when I think of American culture, I think of the TV commercials with rowdy kids chowing down on hamburgers, redneck men drinking beer and fishing, and teenagers going mud riding, so I guess that’s not really saying much. When I think of Italy I think of beautiful Italian leather everything- bags, sofas, wallets…-, great homemade food like pastas and pizzas, and authentic cappuccinos. It’s a stark contrast to America’s synthetics, fast food, and Starbuck’s. It’s also most likely a complete over-simplification of their culture, much like the TV stereotype of ours.

3. What is the biggest challenge you think the US is facing as a country? Do you think Italy shares this challenge? (200)

I feel that pride, as a nation, is something that the US has lacked for a while now. After 9-11 almost everyone was ready to work together to defend their beautiful country. Now, we struggle to stay unified with things like budget or political party. I do not know the situation in Italy, but I hope that they have a stronger sense of national pride.

I think that the biggest problem that the US faces as a country is the healthcare reform and the questions that it raises. The fact that we are rethinking a basic system brings back issues that have been long debated, even in the time of the Constitution. What are the rights of citizens? How much responsibility does the government have over the welfare and protection of these citizens? These questions, and others, have many answers, which is causing the problem that we face. I am sure that on some level, Italians are facing a similar issue. Because the economic downturn is world-wide, the Italians may also be rethinking old issues, but I am not sure. (I know little of current events in the US, much less Italian issues!)

The biggest challenge the US is facing as a country is more complex than two paragraphs will allow. Every country faces issues, but with the amount of international power that the US has I think there’s more pressure to find quick solutions to the problems. I imagine that the reputation of the US, in the political scene as well as the cultural scene, is fairly negative in most foreign countries. Although our different perspectives form our own unique opinions on our country’s decisions, the US seems in need of changing negative opinions. I want people to think of the US as an open-minded country that is concerned with affairs beyond our borders. Other challenges: economic standing, international relations, and the nation’s welfare (healthcare, poverty, etc.).
I think Italy shares this challenge to some extent. Every country will have some opposition towards it from some group, but I honestly don’t know enough about international relations to be able to form an opinion on this. Italy shares in our problems with the economy and their welfare as a nation, but I can’t confidently point these out. I’m simply not that well informed.

I think the biggest issue America faces is division. Sure we have the disagreements on healthcare, the war, abortion, gay rights, you name it. But what really is the root of all this? The American population is never totally satisfied. If one person gets their way, the other half of the population doesn’t. Everyone wants whatever it is they want with no compromise. Greed. Arrogance. Pride. Then again, the entire human race is never totally satisfied. In light of this, I think they probably will suffer with much of the same challenges because it is simply the human condition to suffer or make others suffer. Everyone is either prideful or trying not to be because it is our inclination.

The need to reform our economy in several different aspects is probably the biggest challenge facing the U.S. as a nation right now. I know similar economic problems are currently going on elsewhere in the world, but I really have no idea where Italy stands in all that. To be honest, I can’t think of a single piece of information about current Italian issues.

4. What do you perceive to be the biggest challenge facing people in your age group in the US and in Italy? Are the challenges the same or different, and why? (200)

Being 17- not a child and not quite an adult- I feel that people my age struggle with the sense that adults don’t exactly trust you as one in the same but don’t treat you like a child at the same time. I’m absolutely sure that this “young adult” feeling is shared with the team in Italy, if not universal.

I think that the biggest challenge for every generation, no matter the race or time, is how to break off from the previous generation and solve problems that the early generation failed to solve of even caused. This is simply human nature; we all strive to be better, we are curious, and we want to leave our mark in the world. That being said, I think that this generation will continue the last generation's work on uniting all of humankind through education and charity. This very project is an example of this work, and I believe this challenge is shared by the US and by Italy.

I hope our Italian friends won’t assume we’re like the stereotypes they’ve encountered. Other than that, I can’t say we will have any huge challenges other than difference in culture and language. I’m extremely excited to learn about Italy though, and hopefully will have more to add once I have personally gone through this experience.

I think a big problem among kids in my age group in the US is, again, a form of pride. I think kids nowadays think themselves to be very important. They are all “big shots”. I think my generation needs to spend more time humbling themselves and serving each other rather than thinking, “it’s all about number one”. Kids just really don’t realize how incredibly small they are. In light of eternity, we really don’t matter. I’m sure many Italian kids will be the same largely because of the reason previously stated. It is the human condition and teenagers tend to think they are invincible.

The biggest issues facing people my age in this country are STDs, especially here, in Louisiana. Every 9minutes and thirty seconds, another person in the U.S. is infected with HIV. Approaching half of all of those affected by AIDS/ HIV live in the South. New Orleans and Baton Rouge rank among the Metropolitan Areas with the highest rates of AIDS. This is affecting our generation, and yet many young teens continuing to engage in unprotected sexual activity with multiple partners. Raising the awareness of HIV/ AIDS and other STDs as well as helping to provide treatment and support for those who are already infected, especially youth, is a huge challenge for teenagers in America. I don’t know much about social issues in Italy, but disease is universal as is the fact that people have unprotected sex, so I would imagine it poses a major challenge to youth there, as well.

5. What American stereotypes do you think you will have to overcome in your Italian peers? How will you accomplish this? (500)

Hopefully I won’t have to overcome any! I hope they have an open mind and don’t expect anything in particular. I suppose if there are any American stereotype is just a really work oriented blue-collar type of person that doesn’t truly appreciate culture or art etc. I suppose that is the best way to describe it. I think that just acting myself and letting my true person show, will overcome their ideas of Americans. Most stereotypes can be overcome by acting as your own unique self.

I think that some stereotypes that I will have to overcome as an American is that I am lazy, that I love American football, that I think the world revolves around the United States, and perhaps that I place financial success high on my list of priorities. I think that I will accomplish this through the short biography and through communication with the Italian team. I don't think I need to explicitly rebut the stereotypes; I believe that the Italian team will get to know who I am instead of who I am not.

I think a general list of adjectives that come to mind when one hears ‘American’ is: loud, obnoxious, rude, arrogant, uneducated, and immature. I certainly hope our Italian friends don’t think this! Every nation has a stereotype. I will try and overcome this by being myself in Italy. I’m excited to learn about a different culture and I respect Italy very much.

They might think, that since we’re from the south, we where overalls and don’t have any education or something. I’m not really sure. They might think that we eat hotdogs a lot too. It’s funny that, like I said, my favorite food is Italian. Basically, I think it will fairly obvious that we don’t fit many of the stereotypes that they think apply because I know I will be so excited, overjoyed, and into what they do in their culture that I either won’t be doing any “American” things at all, or, if I do, it probably wouldn’t be what they expected.

I think the redneck, conceited, ignorant American stereotype is one that we’ll have to prove wrong. I don’t think it will be too difficult, though, to show who we really are as people. I think the creativity, open-mindedness, and intelligence of our personalities will shine through in the end. It may be a surprise to them to see that we’re not all obese belligerent truck drivers, but the shock will eventually be replaced in an interest in what young Americans are actually all about. I know what I’m most interested in is what Italian teens do and care about. I think the interchange of our daily lives will definitely break through any stereotypes on either side.

6. What are your own stereotypes of Italians? Don’t be afraid to write whatever comes to mind. (300)

I suppose Italians, for me, fall in to the typical European stereotype, of extremely cultured and almost stuck up. Of course, I will go into this project with an open mind and realizing that everyone is different and can’t fall into a stereotype.

My own stereotype of an Italian, though I know that it is probably only true for a small fraction of Italian citizens, is that they have large families living in a tight region and that these families come together often for a home-cooked meal of pasta. They are all excellent soccer players as well. These families live in brick traditional homes on the countryside with vineyards. There may be a small television set, only used to watch soccer games, but otherwise, there may be little technology used in the home.

I can’t think of any stereotypes of Italians that are prominent in American culture. I suppose one might mention the mafia or the typical Italian chef, but other than that I can’t think of any. I don’t think Italians have a very negative stereotype in America or at least none that I’ve come across.

I suppose I think of Italians as very cultured and sophisticated. They seem to be educated, renaissance people who look down on others who are not. I imagine they look at almost everything as an art.

The stereotypical Italian to me is a sweet-talking teen-age boy with slicked back hair who cruises around Rome on his moped picking up chicks with his mesmerizing accent. Oh, and the Italian leather bag. That’s a must have for the ladies’ man. So is the endless supply of pizza, lasagna, fettuccine and lattés.

7. What do you think daily life is like for a teen in northern Italy? (300)

I believe, that I will find out that much of their daily life resembles my own. Their daily life could be different in scheduling or transportation. I know that in Europe public transportation is really good, and I’m sure that the teens take advantage of that. I hope that what I observe on my trip surprises me, and will show me a different approach to the teenage life that I could possibly apply to my own.

Honestly, I am not sure that there is any one daily routine for a teenager in northern Italy. Even coming up with a daily routine for an average American teenager in Louisiana is difficult. My best guess is that they would wake up, shower, get dressed, go to school (using efficient public transportation, of course), walk with their friends to a park or local cafe, go home, play soccer, eat, play soccer, then go to sleep.

I’m sure Italian teens do the same thing we do: go to school, hang out with friends, do their work, have hobbies, etc. I really don’t have any idea what the life of a teen in northern Italy is like.

The teens there are probably a lot like us – only, with more winter clothing and a few more soccer balls. They wake up early, are tired, go to school, do homework, chill with their friends, go to movies, get aggravated by their parents, the usual. I don’t imagine, besides the food, language, and perhaps a few customs that internally, and largely externally, the teenagers in north Italy are much different than us.

I really have no idea. They probably wake up, drink some delicious coffee and eat a cannoli, go to school, have amazing Italian food for lunch, come home, ride around the city on their mopeds, eat some incredible Italian food for dinner, shower (or maybe they don’t shower), and then go to sleep on an Italian leather sofa. Maybe the moped and sofa parts are a little off, but they probably do basically the same things we do except they happen to be in Italy.

Talent from the US!

Hey, guys! This is Courtney. This past Monday, Karla (part of our music team) gave us a sample of an Italian opera piece she will perform for her senior recital. We are considering mixing some Italian opera with techno beats for an original music piece to use for one of the videos. Hopefully, this will give you an idea. We have also continued outlining our ideas for the "day in the life" screenplay.

Our team would appreciate any feedback or samples of what you guys have been working on. Hope you enjoy Karla's performance.

I'm also going to post this on Facebook.

Bye!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5UbONH2CdKA

Courtney's Post! :D

(this has also been posted to Facebook)

Hey guys,

This is Courtney, the project manager from the American team. Today we just finished our weekly meeting for the project. We have read through your last blog post and discussed some of your ideas. Our team doesn't want to stereotype our cultures, but we liked the original idea we had discussed during our Skype meeting, with the project being a rock opera type of show.

At our last Skype meeting we discussed the idea of having a "day in the life" theme for the project. Your team mentioned having one common character and gave Ziggy Stardust as an example. Have you thought of developing the common character or a plot for the project? 

Last week, our group discussed musical references to use for the project. We looked at a few videos from the artist, DJ Danger Mouse. DJ Danger Mouse took the Beatle's "White Album" and merged it with Jay-Z's "Black Album" to make his own concept album, the "Grey Album". Here is an example of one of the videos: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JbXLp2z6xL4.

Giorgia has suggested the project managers meet through Skype on Thursday, 19th at 1:30 (Italian time). We are hoping to discuss a clear and final plan for the project, so that our teams can start writing for recording in January. 

I'm looking forward to talking to you about the project!

Bye!  :D

Courtney

 

06/11/2009 and 09/11/2009

Hi everyone!!
I'm Matteo, the italian documentarist!
on the 6th november we've talked abuot this project and we've been taught how to use Photoshop and Digistar: we've been divided in two groups, in the first there were Andrea P. and Carmine (the scripter and the p. manager, the other scripter was absent) and they tried to use Digistar; in the second group there were the other people and they tried Photoshop.
Oscar and Giorgia also explained us how we have to work and what we have to do (they've also did this last thingt on the first time we met).
today we've worked at school and we did a proof (in italian is "bozza" I hope I've translated it in the right way) of the story: we talked about something that can explain the differences between italian students and american students.
we can show these psichological differences using characters which are the stereotypes of the two cultures: the italian student could be performed by the american students (not only one has to perform but all of us); the american student by the italian students.
with this, we can amplify and joke with these stereotypes....

I hope I haven't done any grammatical mistake!!

Adele, one Videographer

From the left of the screen: Andrea S, Manuela, Andrea P., Serena, Oscar, Carmine and Adele

(Giorgia) First Digistar3 training day

Hi!

On Friday 6th November we all met at Infini.to for the first training day on Digistar3 and other production softwares.

After a quick breakfast, the Italian students split in two groups: one followed my course on Digistar architecture and basic real time scripting, the other attended Marco's training course on the softwares for multimedia production (premiere, photoshop and so on).

It was just a few hours course, we will have to meet again (maybe next week) in order to complete our training!

So see you all next week!

Giorgia

(Emanuele , Giorgia and Oscar) The Italian Team

Oscar Cambieri is the Italian teacher

Andrea Sfargeri is the sound person

Adele Manassero is the Videographer

A few images of our skype call today!

See you on the facebook group page!

(Giorgia and Emanuele) The Italian Team

Ciao too everyone!!!
It was nice to see you on Skype!!
Here is our group:

Oscar Cambieri is the Italian teacher of Vallauri
Antonella Germini is the vice-headmaster

Manuela Delfino is the videographer

Emanuele Fia is the scripter

Andrea Polato is the scripter

Matteo Baudino is the documentarian
Serena Giraudo is the sound person

Carmine Di Lauro is the project manager

In the next post the other people

Hey from Felipe!

Hello from Natchitoches!

I am Felipe Hernandez, and I am going to be the scripter for the planetarium project for the US side. Yesterday we went to Sci-Port in Shreveport and watched our "Get to Know Me" scripts. Today we came up with a few themes for our project. I can't wait to meet the team and share our ideas on Thursday! You can keep in touch with me by facebook or email (felipe@neill.net).

Chow!

U.S.A. says hey!

Hi Everyone!

I am Ethan Engemann, the Director (camera guy and editor), for the American team. This is my first post on this blog. You can also check me out on facebook or send me an e-mail (ethanhasjustsaid@aim.com). Today in our weekly meetings we thought of a few interesting themes for the project. I am sure the ideas will get covered in the meeting later on this week. Yesterday, the team visited the Sci-Port which was very fun! We learned a lot about the planetarium and its capabilities. I had a very busy, but fun weekend! I am excited to hear from everyone(especially from the other Director), and we'll stay in touch!

Bye for now!

(Chase)

Hi! My name is Chase Whitney. We had a meeting today about our side of the Project. I have been named a music/video editing person. We went through some ideas about an overall theme for the Project and we got 3 pretty solid ones. We hope to production soon. We are also very excited about talking to you guys on Thursday and hearing what you think. Looking forward to working together! Here is my facebook in case any of you want to talk or anything: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/profile.php?id=1510803595&ref=profile.



Adios amigos,
Chase

Hey from the US!

Hey, guys! My name is Courtney Brandabur. :) I'm part of the American team for this project. We went to the planetarium this past Sunday and it was great. Today, we had a meeting and came up with a couple of ideas for themes for the project. We came up with some great ideas that we can't wait to share with you. We are slowly making progress. In class, we assigned jobs and I will be the project manager. I'm excited to meet my Italian counter-part. I'm so excited for this project and can't wait for our Skype meeting (though it is very early in the morning for us).


If you want to talk, please add me on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/cbrandabur?ref=profile

Ciao!

Hey from Chelsea!!!

Hi, I'm Chelsea and I'm going to be one of the D3 scripters on the American team. I'm from way south really close to the gulf.

At SciPort Sunday, I watched a bunch of videos and spent some extra time with Greg talking about what the system was capable of. I've got a better idea now of what we'll be doing and am more optimistic now about how we're gonna go about doing this!!!

I watched my script... I think that's the biggest i've ever seen my face... Scary.

Anyways, that's my blog.

Ciao!!!!

Ciao from Karla!!!

Hello there!! I'm on the American Team! On Sunday we went to SciPort and were able to see our finished "Getting to Know Me" scripts. We learned different things we can do with d3. We also had the best pie ever! We may be able to take the Italian Team over there. :)
Today was a very productive day. We brainstormed themes and were assigned jobs. I really like the themes we have come up with. I can't wait to share them with you guys. I am one of the Music people, which is very exciting. I can't wait to talk to everyone personally on Thursday and be able to set the idea for our project.
Well got to go to soccer practice!
See you Thursday!!

Louisiana Update

This weekend the Louisiana students will be traveling to Sci-Port to learn about the Planetarium and to see the "Getting to Know Me Videos" We are very excited to see some things projected in the Planetarium and to learn more about our Italian partners. I have encouraged my students to be active on Facebook and they are enjoying corresponding with the Italian students. At this point, it looks like everyone is actively communicating on line. We will try to post a Blog before the end of the month to let you know about our progress. I hope things are going well in Italy! Best Wishes--Chris King

(Giorgia) Here is the facebook group!

Ciao to everybody!
After our meeting with Vallauri students at our planetarium, we all started to leave comments on the facebook group page.
If you don't have the right link, try this one (and let me know if it doesn't work):
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Not-Just-Another-Brick-in-the-Wall-Engaging-Italian-and-American-Teens/125443520335?v=wall

American friends, come and talk to us through this facebook group! (at least, we should try to get in contact in some ways!)
CIAO!
Giorgia

(Giorgia) First meeting with Vallauri's students!

Ciao to you all!!!
Just a quick post to tell you that today we met the students from Vallauri at Infinito! We were all very excited about the project. We can't wait to meet all the American and Italian students!
We must arrange a skype conference!
Tomorrow I will send you more images and the names of all the people involved.
See you soon!
Giorgia

Monday's Meeting

Hello all...On Monday (Sept 28) Rebecca and I drove down to LSMSA to talk with the students about some of the paperwork that needed to be filled out and signed by the students. It was exciting for me since it was the first time I was able to meet the students.

The students signed up on the Exchanges Connect and everyone found everyone and became friends, so for the rest of us, we'll have to go and make sure we connect with the students on EC. Rebecca described the role she has, the role I have, and the role Chris has and listed our Italian counteparts (for example - I am the planetarium person here in the USA and Giorgia is the planetarium person in Italy; Chris is the teacher here and Oscar is the teacher in Italy). This led to the discussion of the youth's counterparts, that is, the Italian students. Hopefully they, the Italian students, will be able to post pictures soon.

The next item of discussion was the "Getting to Know Me" scripts. Rebecca showed her script, and I showed mine, and we discussed some of the principles behind what was going on. I provided a brief overview of the GUI for Digistar 3, but I'll get to go more in-depth as time progresses.

See ya,
greg

Our press release:

Students of Louisiana School and Vallauri School in Italy
to create planetarium show in overseas collaboration

Sci-Port: Louisiana’s Science Center leads project

Shreveport, LA—Eight students from the Louisiana School for Math, Science and the Arts in Natchitoches, LA were recently selected to collaborate with teens from the Vallauri School near Torino, Italy on the development of an innovative planetarium show of their own design and theme. Sci-Port: Louisiana’s Science Center in Shreveport, LA, which houses the Space Dome Planetarium, will be the lead museum in the project and work with the LSMSA students, while the Astronomic Infinito planetarium in Torino will be the operational and resource base for the Italian team.

LSMSA students selected for the project after an extensive application and essay process are: Courtney Brandabur of East Baton Rouge Parish; Ethan Engemann of Livonia; Karla Frias of Oakdale; Caroline George of St. Francisville; Merritt Harrelson of Lake Charles; Felipe Hernandez of Hammond; Chelsea Leleux of New Iberia; and Chase Whitney of New Roads.

The project, Not Just Another Brick in the Wall, is made possible by a grant from Museums & Communities Collaboration Abroad (MCCA), a program of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the U.S. Department of State in partnership with the American Association of Museums.

“This endeavor is unique in that an entire planetarium show will be created without the students of either nation actually meeting each other in person during its development,” said Dr. Pat Widhalm, LSMSA Director. “Rather, they will use modern technology for their communications and collaborations.”

The students will develop the planetarium show over the course of a year with training from their planetariums. Chris King, team leader for the LSMSA group and a visual arts teacher, will share his Hollywood experience working on films as he teaches the students storyboarding, script writing, music recording and editing. As the planetarium show is developed and shared using social networking tools, the students will also be involved in its publicity and marketing to their peers, and updates will be provided for the public on blogs and through other media. When the completed planetarium show is ready to debut, the project will culminate with both teams traveling to the show’s premiere in each nation.

“By turning over the planetarium’s resources to the students, this project explores how planetariums can make themselves relevant to teen audiences and how teens themselves can benefit from the planetarium,” said Rebecca Prosino, Sci-Port’s Project Coordinator. “In addition to giving these students a phenomenal opportunity, this project also takes Sci-Port to a new international level of partnerships.”

Those interested may follow the project’s blog or Facebook page at http://notjustanotherbrickinthewall-mcca.blogspot.com/.

Sci-Port: Louisiana's Science Center is a 92,000 square-foot science and entertainment center featuring 290 hands-on exhibits, a Space Center and Space Dome Planetarium, IMAX Dome Theater, demonstration theater and daily changing programs. Sci-Port is located at 820 Clyde Fant Parkway on the downtown Shreveport Riverfront. For general information call (318) 424-3466, toll-free (877) 724-7678 or see www.sciport.org.

Louisiana Team

Ciao a tutti-
Ecco le photo degli studenti americani! Loro sono molto intelligente e amichevole. Hanno sceliato (?) gli studenti italiani? C'e un photo? Fame sapere... Aspetto che possiamo skype venerdi?
Ciao! A presto-
Rebecca
I forgot the caption! Here are the names of our students:
Front Row: Chase Whitney, Felipe Hernandez, Merritt Harrelson, Chelsea Leleux, Courtney Brandabur, Karla Frias
Back Row: Ethan Engemann, Chris King (Louisiana School Project Coordinator)
Not Pictured: Caroline George
See you soon!
Rebecca

(Giorgia & Eleonora) Greg showed the project to DUG members here in Salt Lake City!

DUG is the Digistar Users Group, that is, the group of people who use the Digistar software in their planetarium. We meet every year in a different location, this year we are in Salt Lake City, at Evans&Sutherland.

In these photos you can see Greg (very stylish!) and Giorgia talking to the audience, more than 60 people from all over the world (Eleonora was taking the picture).

We hope to increase the number of our followers!!!

Pictures of the buildings involved

Hello all...I have asked for some pictures of the respective institutions. Thank you so much for those who provided the photos. First up is a picture of Vallauri, the educational institution:



Next is the USA counterpart, Louisiana School for Math, Science, and the Arts (LSMSA):


You can already see the buildings of Infinito and Sci-Port (at least as of this posting), but there was an interesting picture gifted by Infinito:

In case you didn't know snow is a rarity here in Louisiana. However, it snowed earlier this year (Jan 29), so we too have a picture of Sci-Port with snow. Here is a picture of snow around Sci-Port:


OK...there's not as much as snow as at Infinito, but still it's worth sharing.

Ciao,
Greg

Google Photo

Hello all...You may have noticed one of the followers of the blog without a photo is named "Brick in the Wall" which represents the Google account. In case anyone's wondering, I do have a photo for the Google Account for the Brick in the Wall photo uploaded, but it is not showing up. I spent the last 40 minutes reloading the image, then checking out the blog to see if it updated and.....still not happening. However, I'm a firm believer of QED: As long as the possibility isn't absolutely zero, there is a chance that at some point and time the profile picture will be updated!

Greg

progress in Louisiana

Hey everyone!
Last week I traveled to Louisiana School to present to the students about the program. They picked up applications. The Louisiana School has selected 7 students + 1 alternate to participate!
Greg and I also did our "getting to know you" scripts. Now I'm trying to create the loan agreement for the dongles. !!! And trying to figure out how to wire money to Italy.
See you all soon- I think we're skyping at 9:00 Louisiana time on Friday.
Abracci,
Rebecca

(Giorgia) Project presented to Italian teachers!

Hi all!
Today it was an open day for teachers at our planetarium.
Eleonora and I presented the project and showed the timeline, then we invited all the teachers to follow our blog... They were really interested and quite envious of their colleagues of Vallauri!
See you soon!
Giorgia

Giorgia (Italy Project Coordinator) is back again!

Hi to all of you!
I'm back again at work and ready to start this exciting adventure!

I had joined ExchangesConnect and State Alumni a few days ago (that was quite an easy thing to do), but I had some troubles in joining this blog. It was quite tricky find the right way to become a FOLLOWER of this blog!

So now I'm going to share with you what I did.
In order to follow the blog you should first have a google account.
In the google bar at the top left of the page www.google.com I chose Blogs and I was sent to the google blog search.
Here comes the tricky part: I had to look for the right blog, but I tried writing the name of the blog in many many different ways before finding the right one (notjustanotherbrickinthewall-mcca).

Then, the next part was easy: click on the shown link, reach the blog and click on the Follow box on the right.

Did anyone find another easier way to do it?

If not, in the next days I'll get my colleagues join the blog in the same way I did.

See you soon!

Giorgia

Oscar Cambieri (Vallauri student coordinator)

Hello everybody!
I'm back from holiday, ready and excited to start this beautiful adventure.
Just saw the videos Chris King posted; they are very nice indeed... a perfect starting point.
Soon we'll decide about the students and will involve them directly.
See you...

here we are

Hi everybody!
This post is just to say here in Fossano we are finishing our holidays, so we can begin to work soon.

Antonella Germini

Storyboard Video

In our last meeting in Shreveport, we discussed how our Video Blog Posts might look as we work through the project. Here is a video sample on How to Storyboard a Video. Perhaps our students could post this sort of thing as they work through the project, so everyone can see what they are working on. See what you think. Thanks--Chris King

The Sea and Cake "Weekend"

Hello Everyone,
I am attaching a link to a music video that I am putting in a reference folder of "Brick in the Wall" project ideas. Take a look and see what you think. A few references may help our students develop a plan for their project. It's also a very cool video.
Ciao--Chris King

Ciao from Infini.to!

Alba and me (Eleonora) are here in Infini.to office and we want to say CIAO to everyone involved in the project. September is so close and we are looking forward to begin to work together! Bye!

Chris King (LSMSA student coordinator)

Hello. This is my first post on our Blog. As the Student Coordinator for LSMSA I wanted to let all the participants in this collaborative project know that we are extremely excited to work with everyone involved. Thank You for providing my students and myself this outstanding opportunity. It's going to be great!

Rebecca Prosino's first post!

Hi Everyone! Greg and I are sitting here at my desk getting ready to mail Giorgia the dongles for the D3 software. A dongle is a little USB key that allows your computer to run the Digistar3 software. Yay!

Testing...

Just testing

I created this a few days ago, but I wanted to be the first to post. Ha!