Social and participating media includes new employment and business possibilities especially in the culture and social fields. For the employees in these fields, it offers new kinds of tools for working with customers: professionals need the information and skills for using the tools of participating media and customers need the skills and tools in order to perform their active social actions. However, developing social media provides the introduction of new models of operation, methods and tools.
The objective of the Medios project is to develop social media, open source code programs and low threshold tools exploiting digital storytelling, as well as methods for the fields of culture and welfare in order to support active citizenship. The project also meets the need for multidiscipline networking by gathering the media, culture, library, education, social and healthcare professionals into a multidiscipline network, which will develop and root the operation and production models of participating media by exploiting the expertise of various fields. The goal is to integrate the developed methods into the curriculums of the polytechnics participating in the project, as well as into the operations of other partners.
The project consists of three parts and part-implementers Metropolia University of Applied Sciences, Helsinki City Theatre and m-cult. Medios functions under the degree programs of Performing Arts and Film and Television in Metropolia from 1st December 2008 to 31st March 2011 and it is partly financed by the State Provincial Office of Southern Finland.
Digitale
Digital storytelling is a means of expressing ourselves that is both suitable to all and easy to adopt. It is a personal video that lasts max. a couple of minutes, and in a basic version all that is needed is a computer. Usually the video includes a text written and read out loud by the filmmaker, illustrated with personal photographs or drawings. It may also contain music that is either composed by the filmmaker themselves or not copyrighted.
Originally digitale was used in telling personal stories but this flexible method may also be applied to new purposes, such as strengthening social involvement or to social influencing in for example social work and libraries. Teachers may use digitale in order to empower their students and improve their media skills. However, it is important to define the limits for the subject beforehand; watching stories lasting over three minutes could easily be quite a boring experience for the viewer.
Examples can be found online: The Center for Digital Storytelling community (www.storycenter.org), the European Digitales project (www.digi-tales.org) and on these websites (some of them are in English).
Script writing tool
This subproject inspires creative, social script writing via the Internet. During the project an online tool is developed; this tool supports and guides scripting, as well as offers methods and teaching materials for the different stages of the writing process. Training for using the tool and methods is offered to interested groups.
With the tool, a group of youngsters will write a script under the guidance of a dramaturge-teacher. A presentation will be produced of the script; this is then presented in Studio Pasila in August 2010. After the project, the tool will be available to all online.
Flossmanuals
Flossmanuals is an international network (www.flossmanuals.net), whose goal is to lower the threshold for using programs with open source codes by producing clear and simple instruction manuals for them in various languages.
Medios project implements the Finnish versions of the manuals, expands the user network of the programs and organizes training for various target groups. The goal is root down the use of software among the curriculums in the field of media, the citizens' media points and actors in the field of culture and organization. Special emphasis is laid on combining open programs with the production process of social media.
Mediakulttuuriyhdistys m-cult ry is responsible for implementing the Flossmanuals.
- Saija Heinonen, project manager
saija.heinonen@metropolia.fi
Tel.+358-40-184 9197 - Sonja Merisalo, project planner
sonja.merisalo@metropolia.fi - Eeva Meltio, project producer
eeva.meltio@metropolia.fi
Tel. +358-(0)40-189 3096 - Emma Puikkonen, dramaturge-teacher
emmakanerva@gmail.com - Anitta Pankkonen, koulutuspäällikkö, Metropolia
anitta.pankkonen@metropolia.fi - Kari Rentola, apulaisjohtaja, Helsingin Kaupunginteatteri
kari.rentola@hkt.fi - Mirja Neuvonen, education manager, Helsinki City Theatre
mirja.neuvonen@hkt.fi - Minna Tarkka, toiminnanjohtaja, m-cult
minna.tarkka@m-cult.org - Tomi Toivio, open source -coordinator, m-cult
tomi.olavi.toivio@gmail.com
