MAYS LANDING — Nearly 100 students from four local high schools attended the Atlantic Cape Community College Early College Program’s Annual Media Day at the Mays Landing campus on March 6 where they learned about the latest technological media and communication innovations, such as artificial intelligence (A.I.) and drones, to educational programs and the many exciting career opportunities available in an ever-changing world.
CISM Professor Dr. Bojan Zilovic moderated a panel discussion and touted the benefits of an Atlantic Cape media studies education to the students in attendance from Absegami, Cedar Creek, Egg Harbor Township and Oakcrest high schools.
“At Atlantic Cape, we have adopted the latest artificial intelligence technologies. We offer classes in digital video and audio production. We also teach web design, social media, and management for business, marketing, public relations, public speaking, a lot of cool things involving media and technology as well,” said Zilovic. “Nearly 60% of our students receive some sort of federal financial aid, making us an extremely affordable option. The program is very hands-on. We have cameras, a radio and television studios, we do indoor production, outdoor production, and we also have an eSports arena.”
Media Day began with a panel discussion featuring local media professionals Rob Schwartz, co-founder, ACX1 Studios; Ernie Isgro, photojournalist, NBC Philadelphia; and Dr. Susan Adelizzi-Schmidt, CEO, Suasion Communications Group. The panelists fielded questions from Zilovic and numerous students before dispersing into separate groups for their selected workshops.
During the program’s one-hour workshops students learned how to operate a Steadicam and gained valuable insight into its impact on the filmmaking industry; visited the College’s radio station and learned how students operate it; gained an inside look into the College’s Esports program and its state-of-the-art gaming lab in the Innovation Center; and satiated their creative juices by developing their own small, handmade zines (mini magazines).
Students in English Professor Rich Russell’s creative writing/book art workshop stated that they relish the reward of using their imagination, despite the proliferation of super-intuitive A.I. technology inundating nearly every facet of life today, to produce various types of written word content.
“I've always just been able to put my creativity and my thoughts into words and pictures. I've been a creative person since I was young and I think that stems from my parents specifically,” said Absegami High School junior Margaux Wynne (background right). “I feel like everyone has their own thought process and their own way of creating things in their minds that they can then put out towards something and they shouldn't have to depend on technology to do that.”
“Creative writing is about creativity, just writing whatever is on your brain. I watch a lot of shows and movies, so there’s always something or I can just ask people what do they think. So, you find natural ways to get inspiration,” said Egg Harbor Township High School junior Breyona Henderson (foreground left).
As the owner of a local public relations and marketing firm, Adelizzi-Schmidt stresses that knowing how to write is a crucial tool for all students to have in their possession if they desire a career in public relations, communications, marketing and writing. She acknowledges, though, that A.I. is not a passing fad and that everyone, from professionals to students, should learn about it.
“There are going to be time when you are going to need to be able to write when you won’t have Chat GPT to do the work for you and that’s why knowing how to write is going to really benefit you. Students who learn these skills, that have writing and communication skills, you can do anything,” said Adelizzi-Schmidt (center). “But with A.I., I'm all about it. I love it. It's an awesome tool and we use it at my agency. We're going to be using it everywhere in the future and it’s here to stay.”
High school teachers today are being tasked with molding a student’s creative mindset while also preparing them for a world where ethical A.I. usage will be paramount. Egg Harbor Township High School Communications Academy teacher Tyler Gardner sees a large amount of A.I. use in his screenwriting class and he uses this time to show his students the limitations of A.I. as well as man-made script writing.
“It's very easy to tell because with screenwriting and scripts it's such a matter-of-fact format where you're going to know if somebody used A.I. This year I started having a class generate something in A.I. Then, they plug that into the actual screenplay format and compare it to what a correct one looks like,” said Gardner. “This shows them that sometimes A.I. is not going to be able to figure out the nuance of a lot of this stuff and that you're going to have to really know the format on your own and know how to write this script on your own.”
Egg Harbor Township High School Broadcast Journalism and News Production teacher Denise Steet believes that inevitably students and teachers need to learn how to coexist with A.I. to ensure that it is being used responsibly.
“It's managing its use as a tool, but also that tool can't replace the human element. So, developing that skill set that supports the human element in the industry is what we need to stress.”
Atlantic Cape’s Early College Program partners with local high schools to provide students with the opportunity to earn college credit while enrolled in high school through options including dual credit, concurrent courses, articulated credit and associate pathways, which allow the student to earn college credits while shortening the time and cost it takes to earn an associate’s degree. Visit atlanticcape.edu/earlycollege to learn more.
Visit atlanticcape.edu/pathways to learn more about these and many other academic programs available at Atlantic Cape.
About Atlantic Cape Community College
Established in 1964, Atlantic Cape Community College is a Middle States accredited, Hispanic Serving Institution proudly serving the residents of Atlantic and Cape May counties. As a comprehensive, two-year community college, Atlantic Cape offers 47 undergraduate degree programs, and 34 certificate and workforce development professional series programs at its Mays Landing, Atlantic City and Cape May campuses. Atlantic Cape is home to the renowned Academy of Culinary Arts, rated the top culinary school in New Jersey, and for more than 50 years, our highly-acclaimed Nursing program. Atlantic Cape also partners with several four-year universities to offer students the opportunity to earn a bachelor’s degree without having to leave home.
