Profiles in Success: Middle Bucks Institute of Technology
Pro Certification Gives Students a Head Start
Tully took his faith in the Macintosh platform and Apple products a step further: He took the course-work necessary to earn Final Cut Pro user certification, then immediately followed up by becoming a certified Final Cut Pro instructor. “Now our students will not only be prepared for what we’re teaching them,” he notes, “they’ll also be able to get certified. That will be a huge advantage when they start looking for jobs in the industry.”
Ryder was one of the first Multimedia Technology students to seek the Final Cut Pro certification. Currently, she’s aiming to add certification in Apple’s Motion and DVD Studio Pro to her resume. Her experience with the Apple products helped her land an internship with the local PBS affiliate. “Amber was working as an editor at the station,” Tully reveals proudly. “She obtained nine college credits, gained real-world experience, and received her Apple certification… all while earning her high school diploma.”
Apple Server Solutions Power Digital Production
At the back end of MBIT’s technology infrastructure are an Xserve and an Xserve RAID, which provide storage for students’ projects. Tully also is using .Mac accounts, which enable students to publish podcasts to the Internet that capture lectures, lessons, and student projects. Tully says the use of podcasts has proved extremely popular with all of MBIT’s teachers.
“When podcasting first came out it seemed like the technology would benefit every classroom, so we provided a day of training for the rest of our teachers.” Tully says. “Now we even have teachers doing podcasts for welding, construction carpentry, and plumbing classes. Students and teachers can videotape lessons, and use them for individualized instruction or remediation. Also, students can tape demos of their work and use the videos as podcasts to show prospective employers their skills.”
Apple Tools Keep Classes Connected and Engaged
Apple Remote Desktop (ARD) is another tool in Tully’s technology arsenal. In addition to using ARD to image all of the computers in the multimedia lab, Tully utilizes the product to help him stay connected to his students. “I can individually send messages to my students,” Tully notes. “Also, I can project my screen and the screen of other students to teach a concept or skill without visual limitations.”
The Apple Pro Training Series is a big help as well, he adds. Since Tully has completed the training himself, he has the perspective of both student and instructor. “The Apple Pro Training Series keeps my students motivated as it provides instruction using real-world projects. I go through the first couple of chapters by lecturing to the students and working through the tasks together. By the time chapter three rolls around, everyone’s working independently. After a review of the material, the students are ready to take the certification exam.”
With the Apple products, my students are learning industry-standard, new-millennium technologies.
— Chris Tully
Digital Media Program Garners Industry Acclaim
The work completed by the Multimedia Technology students is receiving widespread acclaim in the digital domain. Comcast and the Independent Film Channel (IFC) recognized MBIT’s multimedia technology program as one of the finest in the region, inviting MBIT to become one of two Independent Film Channel (IFC) film schools. Students were asked to create a short film for the Bucks County Fever Film Festival, which premiered during an IFC-sponsored event. Additionally, students produced a PSA for a Comcast initiative to encourage parents and young students to get out and vote. The PSA aired on 22 different Comcast stations. Tully says for his students, it’s all in a day’s work.
“Both my students and I recognize how lucky we are to have the opportunities we do,” he observes. “It’s not often high school programs develop relationships with industry the way MBIT has. Our students are completing projects usually reserved for collegiate-level students. One day we’re developing a PSA, the next we’re recording and mixing a live music show with 20 channels of audio, and no one’s blinking an eye.”
“With the Apple products,” Tully concludes, “my students are learning industry-standard, new-millennium technologies. In the future, I’m betting that when they tell people where they went to school, they’ll hear, ‘You went to Middle Bucks? Wow!’”
Quick Notes
- Established in 1969, MBIT is a career development and technology center serving children and adults
- Studies are organized into 8 career clusters and 22 major courses of study
- Students attend “sender” high schools for academic courses, then complete elective credits at MBIT
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