Baltimore, Md. — One Baltimore County high school has its students producing professional digital video segments and video graphics that encourage youth to consider broadcast as a career option. The highly engaging course is formally known as Interactive Media Production (IMP) under the direction of Christopher Wojcik,  who is the February  2020 Digital Learning Showcase Recipient sponsored by the Maryland Society for Educational Technology.

Wojcik's broadcast studio at Dundalk High School is more than your typical studio. The digital media production lab is home to the untapped potential where Wojcik is preparing students interested in broadcast journalism to continue their studies in the field or enter the workforce. Students enroll in the course for many reasons, but most come out learning something beyond media production. They learn about themselves. They spark a passion they didn't knew existed inside of them and media production begins to become a part of who they are as a person. Learning not only media skills, but tackling the nuances (i.e., collaboration, team building, trust, and speaking and listening skills) of being part of a production team.

"Mr. Wojcik engages students in the IMP program with hands on learning. Upon completion of the IMP courses, students can work through all aspects of TV production from script writing to filming to editing," Department Chair Kevin Sams indicated about his colleague. "In some cases, he has worked with the same students for 3 years, training them to become not only video producers, but also professional people in the workplace."

Wojcik's students utilize a variety of programs in the Adobe Creative Cloud Suite of media production programs and use their knowledge to produce a daily 8-minute live news show, two one-half-hour TV programs for BCPSTV, a campus based 24 hour digital radio station, and other instructional and professional development videos for DHS teachers and Baltimore County Public Schools programs such as culinary arts and automotive.

The resilience shown by Wojcik has prepared his students well beyond the brick-and-mortal of Dundalk as students are interning in the community as well. Wojcik’s internship students connect with the Dundalk Community to create video segments on local non-profit organizations. Recently, they have featured “Dundalk Renaissance,” a local community non-profit dedicated to the revitalization of the Dundalk Main Street and outlying community.