DIY (Do It Yourself) galore at World Maker Faire NYC 2011

Graduate Rookie, Hawa Lee, participates in Mouse Squad's Scavenger Hunt at Maker Faire 2011.

On Saturday, September 17th Graduate Rookie, Andrea Lee Torres takes part in one of the Design Challenges by Hackasaurus.org at World Maker Faire 2011 with Hive Learning NYC.  Andrea tells us about her experience.

Saturday September 17th & Sunday September 18th, World Maker Faire comes to NYC.  Maker Faire brings inventors, creators, and thinkers of all ages to show off their ideas and learn from each other. This year's event is being held at New York Hall of Science in Queens, NY.  Radio Rookies will be at the event as part of HIVE Learning Network NYC.

In her Radio Rookies story, we hear clips of Erin's interview with her father about what he went through on September 11th, 2001. Here, listen to an extended version of their conversation. 

If you would like to comment, please email us at radiorookies@wnyc.org.

After months of preparation for the NYC Digital Waves Youth Media Festival, it finally arrived on Saturday July 30^th - as it quickly came it also quickly passed. I miss the festival already. But maybe it was part of the appeal so we would hunger more for next year! Even as someone who planned this event I didn't feel like, "finally it's done now move on," (maybe a tiny bit), but I want more.

An inspiring day so far at the first ever NYC Digital Waves Festival.  Hands on workshops, amazing speakers, raffles, food (of course), information about career paths, and--upcoming-- NYC's first ever, cut throat, fast-paced, high stakes Audio Slam.  More blog posts coming soon with video from breakout sessions and panel discussions.  Stay tuned....

Radio Rookie Eric "Grayson" Leinung performs twice a week at the midnight screening of The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Some of Eric's fellow 9/11 Workshop Rookies and producers got to watch him perform in drag in honor of Pride.

1st Annual NYC Digital Waves Youth Media Festival highlights Jones Franzel and GenPRX.  Jones Franzel is the Project Director of Generation PRX. Jones will be presenting a hands on workshop "Critiquing Work Effectively" at the festival.   

Entries wanted for the Audio Slam Throwdown at the 2011 NYC Digital Waves Youth Media Festival. The Audio Slam brings the live action of a battle of the bands to the world of produced audio. The idea is to create a competition for audio producers that delivers the adrenaline rush of a live performance in the intense atmosphere of a poetry slam. 

Coming on June 15th the first in our latest batch of Radio Rookies stories, which will air every Wednesday and Thursday for the rest of the month.  First up, we'll hear from Alicia, who comes from a mixed-status home, meaning that half of her family are U.S. citizens, the other half are not.  Some people consider her an "anchor baby", but Alicia just feels confused about the expectations her parents have of her, as a citizen, and the guilt she feels that her sister lives under the fear of deportation.  And on Thursday a story about Facebook drama....  

Radio BCAM is a project by Mr. Mendola’s class at Brooklyn Community Arts and Media High School. Mr. Mendola's students worked with Adobe Youth Voices and Radio Rookies to create their own radio stories.

An article in Wednesday's New York Times, “9/11 Inspires Patriotism and Celebration” (http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/04/us/04youth.html), talks about the generation that’s come of age in a post-September 11^th world, in the shadow of two wars.   The piece quotes historian Neil Howe as saying that for young people today “this is a Harry Potter vignette, and Voldemort is dead.”  Is it that clear cut?

Radio Rookies started our workshop on Saturday for young people with stories tell and to report about the impact of September 11th in their lives.  We spent much of the day getting refreshers on how to use the equipment, learning about microphone placement, and going over interview techniques.  After a day focusing on the lighter side of reporting (interviews about first crushes and collecting the sounds of Soho), everyone shared a little about what brought them to participate in the workshop.  Even though it was two days before the news broke about Osama bin Laden's death, the dreadful legacy of September 11th was still very fresh for everyone in the room.  Coming soon: an introduction to the new Rookies.

WNYCs Radio Rookies has started working with a new social networking website called Broadcastr, a worldwide platform for location-based audio stories. Our pieces can now be found on the Broadcastr map scattered throughout the 5 boroughs.

With some help from the Radio Rookies staff, the ESL students of Millenium Art Academy have been learning the art of radio production. The students are very proud to present a montage of some of the work they have completed over the course of the semester on the topics of immigration and education.  

Teachers all over NYC use Rookies stories in their classrooms, and some want to take it a step further by teaching their students to create their own radio. But not everyone's a radio producer, so Radio Rookies is helping some of these teachers learn the basics of recording, editing and mixing so that more young people have the opportunity to tell their stories.

Short Wave Rookies Ailyn Perez, Kedwein Valdez and Lewis Escano had only six weeks to find a story on Roosevelt Island and produce an audio slideshow. They heard rumors about one of Roosevelt Island's known characters: Noel the Fisherman. They searched for him, wandering up and down Roosevelt Island's Main Street, only to realize that the infamous Noel wasn't the only character out there. Although they weren't able to find Noel on Roosevelt Island before their deadline, they were able to talk to him on the phone. Listen here to a clip from their conversation.

On November 12, 2010, classes from ten New York City public high schools, along with teachers, administrators, journalists and journalism educators from around the country, convened at Baruch College in Manhattan. Rookie Reporter Brianna Fugate was in attendance at the conference.