Communications Senior Project Guide

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Overview

Georgia 4-H Project Achievement empowers young people with skills for a lifetime. Through a competitive process, students explore their interests, unleash their creativity, share their work, and celebrate their achievements! This guide provides 9th—12th graders with examples for getting started with their project exploration.

Overview of Project Achievement Process

1) Choose project
2) Develop skills in leadership and service
3) Prepare portfolio for work completed from January 1 – December 31
4) Prepare presentation
5) Practice
6) Compete
7) Reflect

Description of Communications Project

4-H’ers may explore activities relative to conveying information through the exchange of thoughts, messages, or information through speech, visuals, writing, signals, or behavior. Through this project 4-H’ers may:

• Recognize various forms of information and the validity and reliability of each
• Understand the communication process
• Develop skills in interpersonal and public communication
• Identify types of communication and methods of communication that are most suitable for a situation
• Promote the knowledge of safe and appropriate practices as it relates to communication systems
• Develop skills in public relations, journalism, graphic design, broadcasting, photography, advertising, etc.
• Discover career opportunities in the field of communication

Examples of Project Development Experiences

• Volunteer as an unofficial “intern” at an advertising agency, radio station, or TV studio to gain experience designing, composing, taping, and/or selling advertisements or commercials; taking classified ad phone calls; etc.
• Serve on the school annual, newspaper, radio, or TV staff
• Write school news or sports articles for a local newspaper
• Arrange with the news editor/director of an area radio or TV studio to call in news, weather, or sports reports. Act in a professional manner and be committed through the project end.
• Interview a marketing professional, journalist, radio personality, or public relations expert about the forms of communication they use and the education and skill requirements of their job

Project Sharing and Helping Examples

• Arrange, publicize, and coordinate tours of an advertising or marketing firm, public relations firm, newspaper, radio station, TV studio, cable network company, cellular telephone company, distance education center, satellite downlink site, etc.
• Host a communications careers program. Invite communications professionals to attend or provide materials for distribution
• Recruit an advertising agency officer or the advertising manager/director of a newspaper, radio station, news station, or cable TV company to speak at a club meeting
• Design and publish advertising materials, flyers, and infographics for local clubs and/or businesses
• Write and publish interest stories or factual news in local or school newspapers or literary magazines
• Volunteer to assist in creating and/or running social media profiles for your local 4-H club
• Work with local distance learning teachers to create an exhibit on using computers and satellites to teach classes hundreds of miles away to be displayed at fairs, malls, libraries, or events
• Teach a class on using blogs and social media as promotional material for newly-established local businesses
• Volunteer to record public service announcements

Special Considerations

• Youth should practice internet safety when communicating with new people online or in-person. A best practice is to take a friend or parent to shadow your interview or copy your parent/guardian on online communications with adult mentors.
• Ask permission before photographing, taping, or quoting someone.
• Live animals and weapons are not permitted in any project.
• Please use best safety practices when handling tools and equipment

Recommended Resources

• Project Achievement – Georgia 4-H
• Newspapers
• Radio stations
• News stations
• Cable TV companies
• Public relations firms
• Public information officers at schools, medical centers
• Communications businesses
• Printers
• School distance learning coordinators

At Competition

Communications projects may use posters, artifacts, biofacts, and/or technology to support their presentation. The time limit for these presentations is 12 minutes.  Computers, projectors, screens, and other technological devices may be used.

Prepared by: Mandy Marable, Gabrielle Buono, Keri Hobbs, Elyse Daniel
Reviewed by: Sue Chapman and Jason Estep