Increasing equitable access to KQED Youth Media Challenges with free Soundtrap for Education licenses through June 2022
KQED Education announced a new, unique partnership with the collaborative audio-making platform Soundtrap that enables students across the nation to share their voices beyond their classrooms. Now, all teachers and students participating in KQED Youth Media Challenges will get a free license to Premium Soundtrap for Education through June 2022. The Spotify service empowers students and teachers to explore creative sound recording in all subjects, for all ages and ability levels. This partnership increases equitable access to digital tools and makes it easier than ever for any student to participate in making media.
“Our students had the opportunity to find their voice. Creating media with KQED empowered them to want to ask the important questions and talk about what’s most important to them. Audio recording was new for my students, and Soundtrap made it easy because they could simply log on and use it on their smartphones, rather than download a new application. Students were able to get a transcript of their recording which helps those who may have difficulties typing or reading their scripts aloud.”
–Leon Sykes, teacher at Fremont High School in Oakland, CA, participating in the KQED Youth Media Challenge
Get involved!
KQED Youth Media Challenges provide middle and high school teachers with a set of standards-aligned media projects, for multiple content areas, that support students in key media literacy skills like narrative and argumentative writing, creative problem solving and media making. The Perspectives and Podcasting With The California Report challenges focus on audio production, while other challenges invite students to make video and graphics. Students submit their media projects to a public showcase hosted on KQED Learn. Selected student media submissions may also be aired by KQED or other public media stations across the country.
Register for the KQED Youth Media Challenge to receive further information on how to access the Soundtrap for Education platform so your students can start making media.
“This partnership with Soundtrap reduces the barriers to media making for students. It will help bring more diverse youth voices to the airwaves at KQED through our Youth Media Challenges, and we can’t wait to hear what young people have to say.”
–Holly Kernan, Chief Content Officer, KQED
Get inspired!
Explore the exemplar student media on each of these open Challenge topics
Explore student submissions to last fall’s Let’s Talk About Election 2020 youth media challenge.