Cronkite School to Host Media Innovation Summer Camp with Arizona Republic

High school students interested in learning how to develop news games using the latest technology are invited to apply for a two-week innovation training camp this summer at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University.The High School Media Innovation Camp offers future journalists, game developers and other students interested in media and technology the chance to experiment with cutting-edge tools, including 360-degree and virtual-reality technology.In partnership with The Arizona Republic/azcentral.com and the USA Today Network, the highly interactive residential summer camp pairs high school students with entrepreneurs, technologists, journalists and professors to create compelling content for digital audiences.“We are pleased to once again support this effort to nurture the next generation of journalists,” said Nicole Carroll, editor and vice president of news for The Republic and azcentral.com. “We can’t predict the ways news will be delivered in the future, but the role of a free press in democracy will be as important as ever.”Students will develop projects and pitch their ideas to a panel of judges at the end of the two-week camp. The winners will get an opportunity to continue to work with professionals at ASU, The Arizona Republic/azcentral.com or the USA Today Network.The camp, which runs June 17-29, is led by Retha Hill, director of the Cronkite School’s New Media Innovation and Entrepreneurship Lab, and Anita Luera, the school’s director of high school journalism programs. Classes are taught by Cronkite faculty and Arizona Republic/azcentral staff.“The students in innovation camp last year were great. In two weeks, they learned how to shoot and produce 360 video,” Hill said. “This year, we want to introduce them to creating 3-D worlds in Unity and how to program in C#. These young people, many of them who don’t think of themselves as programmers or technologists, will walk into college knowing so much more than even the seniors know now. Journalism needs these type of content creators to tell stories in different ways.”The camp is free to selected participants. Students provide only their transportation to and from the camp. Housing, food and programming are provided by The Arizona Republic’s Media in Education program, which is funded by subscribers who donate the value of their subscription during vacations or other temporary stoppages.Students will be based at the state-of-the-art Cronkite School on ASU’s Downtown Phoenix Campus and will have access to the latest digital equipment. Students are housed in a residence hall just steps from the Cronkite building and are supervised by Cronkite faculty and senior students.The camp is open to high school students throughout the state of Arizona who have completed at least their freshman year by the time the program starts. Students must complete an application form and provide a transcript and a letter of recommendation from a teacher or adviser. All materials may be submitted online.