AMERICUS — Georgia Southwestern State University (GSW) played host to the Chattahoochee-Flint Regional Educational Service Agency (RESA) Educational Technology Center’s 13th Annual Georgia Movie Academy Awards on March 16 in the Student Success Center. The theme for GMA this year was “Create.”
“The Georgia Movie Academy is a digital storytelling competition sponsored by the Educational Technology Center at Chattahoochee-Flint RESA,” states its website. “The competition recognizes student work in the area of video production and storytelling. This project-based learning opportunity allows students to work in teams to produce a theme-based, standards-based, three-minute video on a topic of their choice.”
The state-wide competition is for student teams in grades K-12. The program invites teachers to register for the competition, form teams of motivated students and serve as coaches through the development of an educational movie aligned with state standards.
The Chattahoochee-Flint RESA area includes the following counties: Chattahoochee, Clay, Crisp, Dooly, Macon, Marion, Muscogee, Quitman, Randolph, Schley, Stewart, Sumter, Talbot, Taylor, and Webster. This year’s GMA involved 382 students and 98 coaches from these counties. In total, more than 700 people were in attendance of the ceremony.
In the K-2 division: best picture: “Creating Cupcakes” by Furlow Charter School (coaches: Ashley Saint and Natasha Williams); first runner up: “Nature’s Creation” by Hannan Elementary Magnet Academy (coaches: Shannon Hustick and James Maye); second runner up: “Making Memories at Grandma’s House” by L.K. Moss Elementary (coaches: Emily Addison and Dina McCorkle).
In the third- through fifth-grade division: best picture: “The Ghost of Sarah Cobb” by Furlow Charter School (coaches: Natasha Williams and Ashley Saint); first runner up: “The Perfect Student” by Crisp County Elementary (coaches: Yvonne Booker and Joy Edwards); second runner up: “Freeze Bites” by Crisp County Elementary (coaches: Yvonne Booker and Joy Edwards).
In the sixth- through eighth-grade division: best picture: “Creating a New Beginning” by Midland Middle School (coaches: Danile Walker and Cynthia Henderson); first runner up: “Everyday” by Taylor County Upper Elementary School (coach: Laura Martin); second runner up: “Check UR Tech” by Arnold Magnet Academy (coach: Nichole Glozier).
In the ninth- through 12th-grade division: best picture: “Beautiful” by Marion County High School (coach: Michael Medders); first runner up: “Borrowed Time” by Taylor County High School (coach: Robert Hill); second runner up: “Links to a Dream” by Marion County High School (coach: Sherry McAllister).
The best picture in each division will be entered in the online state competition for the Georgia Movie Academy.
The Georgia Movie Academy was made possible thanks to support from the Professional Association of Georgia Educators (PAGE), Georgia Public Broadcasting (GPB), Soundzabound for discounted licensing on royalty-free music, and the continued support of the GSW Department of Theater, Communication and Media Arts.
The Chattahoochee-Flint RESA ETC has sponsored the Georgia Movie Academy since 2009. The movies from GMA 2017 will be available for viewing on the GMA’s website. For more information, visit: http://www.georgiamovieacademy.org.