Capture the Moment

The world students live in today is drastically different from that of even ten years ago. Their life is much more digital than students before them and they have many devices vying for their attention. Between hand held devices (such as MP3 players, hand-held gaming systems, cellular phones, etc.) and the Web 2.0 world (YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, etc.), a student’s attention is pulled in many different directions and most go willingly. Their experience in the classroom tends to be low-tech in comparison, and instructors are in need of ways to connect to this generation of tech savvy children. In order to provide an effective and meaningful learning adventure for their students, instructors need to develop an alternative to traditional lectures.. One way schools have begun to assist their instructors in solutions to this challenge is to provide classrooms with digital video cameras.
My ideas for the use of these devices is far reaching. The initial idea includes using the 5th grade to explore the Mattawan Consolidated School Center Building to catalog as a part of the 100 year celebration of our school district. The students would explore the “nooks and crannies” of the CB with tie-in interviews with the staff (who would share their memories/experiences with the student interviewers).
Over the course of 6 months the students will:
- Scout and film assigned locations (utilizing Flip Ultra HD's in four film crews) in and around the Mattawan Consolidated School Center Building and Later Elementary School.
- Review captured footage for accuracy and need for re-shooting.
- Edit and create location specific film package (using iMovie or other film editing software) for inclusion in grade level documentary final product.
- Write interview questions based on research to conduct interviews with former staff members and long time members of the community,
- Shoot interviews (tripods) and incorporate into final product.