COURTNEY?CABLE
Courtney Cable, daughter of William and Marsha Cable of Toronto, received her master's of arts degree from the College of Creative and Professional Arts School of Dance, Theatre and Arts Administration at the University of Akron in December.
Throughout the past five years, she has worked as a project leader and implementation coordinator for the Akron Center for e-Learning - known as AKCEL - a 21st Century professional development office in the College of Education's Center for Literacy at the university.
AKCEL now has a full menu of blended courses for pre-K through grade 12 educators, administrators and school leaders and disseminates them across the state.
Cable also serves as a community outreach coordinator for the Center of Literacy which helps bring more of an awareness to the community about the value of learning and the importance of reading through a wide range of literacy-related projects.
In 2011, Cable helped create and implement Camp Digi-Lit, an educational summer day-camp program designed to nurture, encourage and inspire future generations of readers, writers, learners and thinkers.
The inaugural year was a success, and Cable is now in the preparation phase for a second series of camps, this year with a mystery theme. This camp is dedicated to enhancing the knowledge of literacy and technology in youth from second to eighth grade. Utilizing her marketing skills, she has worked to create a technology angle of learning for those throughout the urban community.
Last year, Camp Digi-Lit had three camps including Storybook Making, Graphic Novel Making and Screenwriting. This year, there will be two camps: Forensic eFiles and Uncover the eTreasure. These will be held on campus and focus on digital literacy.
Campers will learn how to write and solve mysteries, write their own mystery story and then convert it to an eBook. The purpose is to encourage the creative side of children through literacy and technology.
Cable plans to continue her work with AKCEL and Camp Digi-Lit until an internal or external factor makes change happen.
Her goal is to be inspirational and helpful in the world and work in or with the arts. By working with the outreach component and Camp Digi-Lit, she already has been given the opportunity to be creative and connect with her community.
Cable has already written and submitted her first grant to the National Endowment for the Arts and will soon know whether her office will receive funding in the amount of $20,000 in matching funds to be applied for The Big Read.
Should the funding become a reality, the Center for Literacy will partner with the Akron Art Museum, Akron-Summit County Main Library and Akron Digital Media Center to present a series of events within one month entitled, "The Big Read."
All events will have roots in a selected book, encourage lapsed and reluctant readers and the community to participate and show the importance of the role of literature in American culture.
