BEA Ignite shares the best peer-reviewed enterprise ideas for the classroom. In the 2017 edition held April 25th, presenters had 5 minutes to share 20 slides of the top teaching ideas at the annual convention of the Broadcast Education Association.

1. BEA IGNITE
Jes Therkelsen
Cal State University, Fresno
100 Strangers Project

2. 100 Strangers ProjectAssignment
Tak e 1 0 0 por tr a i t s o f a t le a s t 1 0 0 pe ople y o u don' t k now . Ap p
ro ach a p ers o n o r gro u p o f p eo p l e an d as k f o r p ermi s s i o n to t a ke a
p h o t o o f th em. On c e you t a ke th e p i ctu r e ( o r b e f o r e you even s n
a p yo u r s h o t) , g e t to kn o w yo u r s u b j ects . Wh o a r e th ey? Wh a t i s
th ei r l i f e l i ke? T r y to tel l a s mal l s to r y wi th each p h o to yo u take. T
h i s m a y b e a s to r y ab o u t th e p ers o n o r h o w yo u f el t a p p ro a c h i
ng that par@cul ar i ndi vi dual . You may have, for ex a mp l e , tri ed a n
e w a p p ro a ch o r u s ed a n e w p h o to gra p h i c tech n i q u e. Tr y t o l earn
someth i n g f r o m e v e r y en cou n t e r you make. (Pro j e c t Based Cu rri
cu l u m )

3. 100 Strangers Project Rules (Restric@ons and Guidelines)
1)Number: The @tle of your portrait must contain a number indica@ng how many strangers you have photographed for
the challenge up to that portrait, for example, ‘Stranger 37/100’ or ‘Robert #37’ or ‘37’.
2)Cap*on/Descrip*on: When you submit your photo on flickr it must contain a descrip@on of the encounter. It is
required that this include: (1) Person’s name? (2) Who is he/she? (3) How did you meet? (4) What did you talk
about? (5) What observa@on about their life did you make while mee@ng them?
3) Types of Portraits: Photographs may appear candid in nature or un-posed but the story you post along with the
photograph should explain and support the reason for the candid appearance. For example, I was a&racted to this
person because of what they were doing. A8er asking for permission, I asked them to con<nue the ac<vity so I could
capture them naturally, rather than asking them to pose.
4)No group shots: You cannot upload a picture with more than one person in the frame. A couple will work okay but
will only count as one portrait. You are taking one portrait of two strangers, not two portraits of two strangers!
5)Flickr Set: It is required to create a flickr account and subsequent flickr set for your 100 Strangers Project. It makes it
easier for me to see your progression in the project.

4. 100 Strangers PartnerAssignments
Photos with Partners
With an assigned partner, decide on a loca@on in Fresno that is not on campus where you’ll be able to take portraits of
strangers. Push each other to approach strangers to take their portrait. You may find it easier to have one person do the
talking while the other takes pictures, or you may find it easier to both go off and work alone. Vary your approaches and
take note which methods work well and which methods don’t work well. Each student must have his/her own camera.
Do not share cameras.
Stranger Response
Write 300-words cri@quing your partner’s failures and successes in taking portraits of strangers. What did your partner do
well? What can they improve upon? What advice would you give them for next @me?
Grade
Your grade will be determined on three factors:
(1) 15 points for the thoughnulness of your cri@que of your partner;
(2) 5 points determined by what your partner had to say about you; and (3)
5 points for uploading the portraits you took to your flickr account.

5. This is Carlos. He was sipng outside when I took this photograph.

6. Juan was wai@ng for class to start and was kind enough to let me take his picture, although he
said he wasn’t going to look at the camera.

7. Uriel sells churros and other snacks at Fulton Mall. Though he doesn't speak English, he was
more than willing to aYempt to communicate through smiles and laughter.

8. Nathan was prac@cing his piano skills before having to take the Piano Proficiency Test. He’s been
playing since he was 6, but always gets nervous before performances.

9. This is Eric, but his friends call him Beas@e.
Eric had a spirited personality and was
more than willing to share some laughs and
talk about his life.
Eric told me that he has hitchhiked across
the country. Once, he hitchhiked all the
way from Utah to Iowa in one man's bus.
When he was in Iowa, he experienced a
huge storm and had to barricade himself
inside a gas sta@on.
Eric told me that going to a Rainbow
Gathering was one of the best experiences
of his life. He said no one used money and
everyone bartered. Eric believes money is
corrupt and was amazed to see people who
were not reliant on it.

10. Steve is a homeless man who lives in
Visalia. He has trach put in his throat
due to throat cancer and cannot
speak. He communicated through
his notepad. We briefly talked about
his 5 throat surgeries with 5
different doctors and his wife, who
passed due to throat cancer. He said
how it will kill him too. We briefly
discussed how he lost everything he
owned. There was always a quiet
strength to him. He discussed
problems without shame nor defeat.
The photo was taken aser the talk
about his wife. He teared up but
there was s@ll hope in his eyes. A
reminder that, as long as you are
alive there is hope.

11. Incentivizing CREATIVITY and INTEREST
• De v e lop pr oje ct-base d cur r iculum that
al l ows stude nts to use what the y l e arn to
create wo rk
• De v e lop the r ig ht amount of Re str ic@ons
and Gui de l i ne s i n Assi gnme nts
• De -e m p h a s i ze pr oduct, e m p h a s i ze pr oce ss,
and gi ve stude nts a space to fai l
• Enfor c ing (Fle xible ) De adline s
• Pro vi d i n g an ex h i b i @ o n s p ace o u ts i d e th e
cl assro o m

12. Cultivate Interest – Beyond the Classroom
Fr e sno B e e B uilding , Dow nt ow n Fr e sno

13. Arte Ameri cas Mu s eu m, D o wn to wn F res n o
Cultivate Interest – Beyond the Classroom

14. Cultivate Interest – Beyond the Classroom

15. P1terSallstrer/