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Operation PSA: The Action Learning of Curiosity and Creativitystakeholders. These points promoted Revans’ (1980) summative belief that nopresumptive resolution exists when encountering unusual circumstances.Instead, the collective infusion of energy during trying times and unknowncircumstances results in change and signifies excellence.Step 5: Media Selection and ExperimentationThere were only two criteria when selecting the software for the project: freeand user-friendly. In order for students and faculty to share PSAs crafted fromcommon digital resources, the team perused the Internet for programs thatshared these characteristics. VideoThang (http://www.videothang.com/) wasselected as the primary media tool for mixing video clips with images,background music, titles, and transitions, because it could be learned andapplied within one sitting. Wink (http://www.debugmode.com/wink/), atutorial and presentation software system, was chosen because it permitted theteam to incorporate personalized screenshots and explanation boxes aboutusing VideoThang.Some of the problematic areas associated with VideoThang were the needs to(1) ask participants to speak slowly in order to capture whole sentences ratherthan run-on phrases, (2) find filming areas with little or no background noise,(3) keep lighting on the interviewees and not behind them (as this led to ashadowing effect), (4) import music files in the MPEG-1 Audio Layer 3 orMP3 mode to compress music without affecting its quality, and (5) recognizethat editing takes longer than expected when dealing with multiplerespondents. Comparable concerns when working with Wink were figuringout how much detail one could include in a tutorial while still keeping itsimple and under five minutes. Given these factors and the team’s variedmedia talents, even the person with the lowest skill level was able to navigatethe chosen media resources.Step 6: PSA FormationOne element of leadership is the ability to fashion targeted communications,such as PSAs, for different, applicable audiences. For instance, the 90-secondPSA created to develop awareness of leadership skills acquired byundergraduates in an introductory public administration course wasdifferentiated from those created to represent the talents of graduate students,educators, or practitioners. At the conference, the common goal of craftingapplicable PSAs served as a source of encouragement for the novice who mightwant to begin experimenting with media resources, while simultaneouslyinviting input from more seasoned media specialists.The transcripts for the undergraduate PSA definitely illustrate the elementsof creativity, branding, and technology (Appendix C). Creativity, which dealswith “a process of becoming sensitive to a problem … and communicating the370 Journal of Public Affairs Education
Operation PSA: The Action Learning of Curiosity and Creativityresults” (Baker, Rudd, & Pomeroy, 2001, p. 163), was reflected through onestudent’s remarks about the importance of undergraduate publicadministration studies:Public administration is critical to our lives, as I had mentioned. Wereally do need this field, and particularly at the undergraduate level likewe are. It is one thing to talk about it as an academic and it’s anotherthing to actually go out there and impact the lives of people (AppendixC, Respondent #1, April 2008).Students illustrated evidence of a branding process or “a shortcut means ofidentifying an organization, program, or cause in a way that differentiates itfrom alternatives” through the naming of individuals and institutions that hadinfluenced their pubic administration goals and objectives (Herman, 2005, p.289). For example, the same participant stated that he had “learned about it[public administration] from the former Mayor of Grand Rapids, who hadmade the comment that people weren’t learning civics anymore, so I gotinterested” (Appendix C, Respondent #1, April 2008). Another mentioned aformer institution, “Muskegon Community College, when I went and talked tomy advisor and she suggested public administration would be needing a lot ofsolid educated individuals to fill the careers in upcoming years” (Appendix C,Respondent #3, April 2008).Technology is defined as a branch of knowledge that deals with the creationand use of media text and its interrelation with life, society, and theenvironment (Kimoto, Frasco, Juta, & Mulder, 2008b). It is not simplyelectronic gadgets, such as videos and computers, but the manipulation,interaction, and creativity of using learner-generated media for knowledgecreation (Lee, McLoughlin, & Chan, 2008; Littlejohn, Falconer, & McGill,2006; Yang, 2007; Yeh, 2006). The reinforcing effect of technology was adeptlydepicted by a student who said:… to be able to put all of the seriousness which needs to go into thefield and to watch Happy Feet [an animated movie about an Emperorpenguin who is born unable to sing, but who can dance] and to be ableto relate that to public administration was really, really, really cool. Itreally made a difference and you can make a difference in society(Appendix C, Respondent #3, April 2008).Instead of shrouding the vitality of students’ messages under fancy transitionsand elaborate music, only titles were flashed on the screen (a) to reflect thequestions posed during the taped interviews and (b) to draw attention tostudents’ reactions about how others might develop their own leadership skillsthrough the impact of teachers and mentors.Journal of Public Affairs Education 371
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