Bittersweet Lane

The House Building and Film Project

High School Students build a substantial house on Dubuque's West End District, and it combines a great learning experience with the last hurrah of High School life.

Photos on this page are linked to printable enlargements.

hat makes this project so interesting is the process. Certainly the house, when it's finished this coming spring, will evoke more than a few compliments and admiration for a job well done. But what most people don't understand is what this project ultimately means to the students who worked on it.

They become attached to it in a profound way, according to the project's teacher, Larry Cording. "I've seen this happen every time," says Larry during a recent filming of the project. "This year I feel we have a particularly great group, and the quality of workmanship in this project will be at a high level. Some of our students have already built houses because they're families are in the contracting business. We have more experienced students this year, and they are an invaluable help to the other students who may not have as much experience around a construction site."

What makes this project on Bittersweet Lane (near Dubuque's Arboretum at Marshall Park... the second house in a row built in this neighborhood), extraordinary is that Dubuque Schools' Gary Olsen is filming nearly every major step in the process. He visits the construction site at least once a week, interviews the students, but mostly just observes with camera in hand. "I'm going to have an excellent 'How to Build a Nice House' series when this is completed," explains Olsen. "Actually, we are going to turn this project into a series of 12 episodes that will run on Mediacom Cable. We are getting to know these students on an entirely new level, and it's really been fun."

This is a sneak peak at the progress on the series filming. We have put together a 12 minute episode on the truss installation, one of the more dramatic elements of the building process because it involves a balancing act, a large crane that hoists the roof trusses into place, and other dramatic elements like when pieces don't fit together just right.

Video Control Panel
For connections on anything but a high-speed network, like a phone modem. This is for DSL or higher-speed networks. Larger video, better audio.
This is for cable modems and high-speed networks (like Mediacom). Download the non-streaming file if you prefer, to keep on your own system. Windows Media File for Windows Internet Explorer and operating systems equipped with Windows Media Player. High speed Web access preferred.
If you need software to run our movies, a free copy of RealPlayer is available below in the right column. Most PCs with fairly recent operating systems have built-in players for the Windows Media file above.

Larry Cording is the teacher and coordinator of the construction side of the project. Janet Mozena (also based at Senior) does the interior decorating and her students consult on the design aspects of the house project. They also do the work of decorating the interior. The project is sponsored by the Dubuque Board of Realtors and is financed by Premier Bank. There are also other area sponsors who contribute time and materials to the project.

This was last year's house on neighborning Arrowwood Drive in the same subdivision near Marshall Park and Dubuque's famed Arboretum.

Instructions For Those Outside of Our School Network (The General Public)

We are now providing a choice of RealPlayer applications for you to download and install on your computer to enable you to view the video and audio files. One is RealPlayer8 and the other is RealOne Player, which is an excellent player with many new features. It's easy to install, so just follow the on-screen steps. You will be required to register with Real.com, but these are free software applications (there are versions you can pay for if you choose, but they are not necessary for basic viewing and listening).

Which Player is Best for Me?

Of the two types of free players available, RealPlayer 8 is the traditional player that is free and will work beautifully to access Web based multimedia files from our site. There is also a new player available, which is also free, called RealONE. Either player will probably work for your operating system. If your system is older (Windows 95, NT), however, you may want to use the RealPlayer 8 software. If you are running a newer, faster system like Windows 98, ME, XP, or 2000, go for the RealOne player.

Macintosh Owners:

You can get a RealPlayer for Macintosh, Visit Real.com to download their free player options. Remember, look for the FREE players. They are sometimes difficult to find on their Web site.

Oh, and one more thing... sometimes when you click on a sound or video file in our Web site with the RealPlayer installed, you get a little commercial window that pops up on your desktop. It's annoying, but a small price to pay for the privilege of having the free RealPlayer on your system. Just click it off, and it will disappear.
Instructions For Machines on our School Network (Teachers and Staff)
We are recommending (and IT is supporting) RealPlayer8. This is for ALL computers on our network (in all school and administration buildings throughout the District). This includes all Windows 2000 machines. Click here to get the free player from our network server. If you do not have administrative priveleges, please call your building media specialist to help you.

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