by Susan Glass
It is with deep pleasure that I publish here the names of this year’s Benefits of Audio Description In Education (BADIE) contest winners. Each year, ACB ADP and our partner the Described and Captioned Media Program (DCMP) co-sponsor the BADIE Contest, in which blind and visually impaired young people ages 7 to 21 watch an audio-described film of their choice, and then write a 300-word evaluation of the film’s audio description. They share specific ways in which the audio description enhanced or detracted from their experience with the film. Members of the BADIE committee read all contest entries, and then choose first, second and third place winners in four student age categories. The grand prize winner receives an iPad Mini and an invitation to read their review at either ACB’s leadership meetings or the national conference and convention.
This year’s second place award in the Sophomores category went to Achilleus Budgen of Agnes Smith Elementary School, Huntington Beach, Calif., for a review of “The Case of the Missing Day.” Aaron Martel from the Arapaho Classical Magnet School in Richardson, Tex., won first place in this category for his review of the video “Archie the Brave.”
In the Juniors division, Tateana Sampson of North Dakota Vision Services/School for the Blind, Grand Forks, N.D., won second place for her review of the video “Kindness Counts.” First place in the Juniors division was presented to Jurnee Rust of North Dakota Vision Services/School for the Blind, Grand Forks, N.D. for his review of the video “Dog Trainer.”
The second-place winner in the Seniors category was Katelyn Davis from Huntington Beach High School, Huntington Beach, Calif., for her review of “Against the Odds: The Rise of Mary Fisher.”
First place in the Seniors category, and this year’s grand prize winner, went to Brennan Lamarra, also from Huntington Beach High School, for his review of the video “The Debaters.” If you attended this year’s ACB convention either live in Omaha or virtually, you heard Brennan Lamarra read his film review. We pre-recorded this reading, and I enjoyed hearing Brennan’s voice warm to the task.
Thank you to my fellow members of the Benefits of Audio Description In Education Subcommittee:
- Dr. Joel Snyder, Founder and Senior Consultant, Audio Description Project of the American Council of the Blind
- Jo Lynn Bailey-Page, Audio Description Project Coordinator
- Jason Stark, CEO of Described and Captioned Media Program
- Scott McCallum, superintendent of the Washington School for the Blind
- Carl Richardson, co-chair of the Audio Description Steering Committee
- Donna Brown, retired teacher and technology specialist at the West Virginia School for the Blind
- Sheila Young, president of the Florida Council of the Blind
- Margie Donovan, legislative advocate, guide dog advocate, and audio description advocate who keeps California rocking
Serving on the BADIE Committee is a stimulating and rewarding experience. Members reach out to their constituent communities to publicize the contest. We all read all student contest entries when they arrive in the spring, and recently we’ve begun the practice of writing to each contest winner to congratulate them and comment on what we found effective in their writing. Our partnership with DCMP has lent rigor and academic strength to the contest. BADIE is a fun and challenging enterprise in which to participate.
How can you help? Learn more about the contest by pointing your web browser to www.dcmp.org/learn, then search for the word BADIE, and the Audio Description Learn More Link. In doing this, you’ll learn about all of the educational videos and other learning resources available through DCMP. Sign up for DCMP services yourself, or tell your local schools about them. Better still, tell any blind and visually impaired kids in your life. Feel free to chat with any member of the BADIE Subcommittee. BADIE is still too much of a well-kept secret. We’ve had as many as 9 states enter students into the contest, but wouldn’t it be grand to have a contestant from every state, every Canadian province, or anywhere in the world, for that matter? This year several students from Latvia entered the contest. Let’s all work together to grow BADIE, and make it ever stronger.