'City Voices, City Visions' Digital Video Project Again Takes Center Stage

BUFFALO, N.Y. – More than 100 educators will celebrate the success of and take cues from the University at Buffalo's pioneer "City Voices, City Visions" student digital video project during a regional conference to be held Sept. 26 in the WNED Studios, 140 Lower Terrace, Buffalo.

The CV-CV Conference, which will wrap up the John R. Oishei Foundation grant that helped fund the two-year project, will feature the premiere of the WNED documentary produced on the program. The day-long conference will also include more than 20 presenters, among them many teachers who will share their experiences of using digital video projects to enhance the lessons they taught in their classrooms.

Suzanne M. Miller, Ph.D., the UB professor who has guided the project since it began in 2000, will present her findings following a two-year study of concrete and measurable advantages of integrating digital technologies in the curriculum on student attitudes, learning and state-test achievement.

"Digital video composing is a high-status social and cultural practice with powerful attention-getting qualities and expert versions in the real world," says Miller, associate professor of learning and instruction in the UB Graduate School of Education.

More than 50 Buffalo Public Schools have taken advantage of training sessions supervised by Miller and other UB educators. Friday's seminar – "Digital Video Composing for Improving Student Achievement: Lessons from the Buffalo CV-CV Project" – is an attempt to show the fruits of students' projects and extend the achievements of the CV-CV project throughout the state.

"When students supported by teachers and peers produce digital videos for an authentic audience on difficult disciplinary concepts," Miller says, "they engage the curriculum, compose deep understanding, develop more positive attitudes toward school and achieve at higher levels."

Educators from Western New York school districts adjacent to Buffalo, along with distant schools including Panama and Jamestown, are expected to attend the conference.

"City Voices, City Visions" has won wide acclaim from educators and students. The project has been the subject of numerous articles and features in the media, most recently an in-depth interview with Miller and a Buffalo Public School student on WKBW-TV's "PM Buffalo" in May. A few hours later, "CV-CV" held its Digital Video Awards Festival at the Market Arcade, an Academy Awards ceremony for the secondary students participating in the classroom sessions.

Mary H. Gresham, dean of the Graduate School of Education, and Buffalo Public Schools Superintendent James Williams will give opening remarks at Friday's conference. In addition to the student work featured in the WNED documentary, the conference will highlight student digital videos by giving all participants a DVD of project videos made by students in a variety of curricula.

The conference is sponsored by the Western New York Educational Service Council. The CV-CV project is a partnership between UB and Buffalo Public Schools.

The University at Buffalo is a premier research-intensive public university, a flagship institution in the State University of New York system and its largest and most comprehensive campus. UB's more than 28,000 students pursue their academic interests through more than 300 undergraduate, graduate and professional degree programs. Founded in 1846, the University at Buffalo is a member of the Association of American Universities.