Thumbs up to film making!

Here I am with my wonderful digital arts trainers - Ben and Caitlyn - from the Pearson Foundation.



I snapped this picture as they were rolling out the laptops and cameras that the students used to make movies all week. We bid our farewells and I thanked them and the NEA Foundation for making this all happen for me and my students.



We made the films in my two senior classes - about 50 students combined. The students made more than 20 different 2 minute and 30 second movies about our Spanish class and me. I was the topic, but the tools and instruction will be useful to them in other contexts of their lives.

On Monday, we debriefed to see how they had enjoyed the experience. Everyone had positive things to say which included things like...

I liked having the creative freedom to make something I am thinking!
I liked having the chance to say what I feel about you! (awwww!)
It was fun to switch things up and have a totally different kind of learning!
This was a great group experience!
I can't wait to see the movies - when can we see them?

Ben and Caitlyn uploaded the student films and took them back to use for the final movie. One of my students - Fred - is really into film making so he spent a lot of extra time putting together a polished film. Other students also made use of extra periods to get editing done and to brainstorm ideas. It was a terrific work environment.

I loved seeing how the students connected with the project, the work and with each other. I am inspired to keep doing video projects like this in class - now, where can I get about 10 flip videos??? Hmmm.......I'll have to work on that!