[ about Digital Skills ]
Real Art Ways, a Connecticut based non-profit organization committed to working with artists and community on projects of local concern, is using Internet technology to create and operate a micro-radio station and digital skills development center in the Parkville neighborhood of Hartford. Initial funding for this arts-based community development and education project was provided by a major grant from the Albert A. List Foundation, and the creation of the Parkville Audio Map was made possible with the generous support of the John D. & Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.
 Marilu,
Blanca, and Efrain recording.
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The Digital Skills project officially began in the summer of 2001 with the start-up of free digital audio training workshops for high school students from Parkville and its surrounding areas. In this 6-week workshop, which took place in our new audio lab at 30 Arbor Street, students learned the basics of sound recording, mixing, and digital multimedia production with the goal of creating a digital audio "map" of our Parkville neighborhood. With a portable mini-disc recorders and microphones, the students walked up and down the streets of Parkville, capturing sounds they felt were distinct and unique to this neighborhood. They then digitally reworked these sounds, mixing, fading, and clipping to create the many audio "portraits" you hear on the website today. |
Digital Skills will continue in the fall. In addition to maintaining and updating the audio map of Parkville, broader skills in art, multimedia production, sound design, and journalism will be taught. The curriculum will emphasize web-based digital production technology, streaming audio, and the development of written, audio, and visual literacy skills - all in a creative context. Students will produce original audio projects using these skills, and as the projects are completed, they will be transformed into streaming audio files and archived on the Real Art Ways website. Visitors to our website can then listen to the audio projects on their computers. Future plans for the program include the establishment of a radio station on the World Wide Web as well as a community-based, low-power FM radio station in Hartford.
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Digital Skills will be a creative link within the community, with impact that travels beyond: addressing local concerns, sharing ideas and culture, and providing ways to link the community with itself and others. In establishing a radio and digital skills training center in Hartford, Real Art Ways intends to address critical issues of digital technology and access, with community values at the core of the project. A "how-to" toolkit, or the documentation of the research, development, and implementation processes of the project, is also available on the Real Art Ways website. We hope that it will prove to be both a model for other communities to replicate and an accessible means of obtaining data and resources. |
 Marilu
and Guaso with their 1st CD.
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