Target Audience:

This course is designed to meet  specific outcomes in both the English Language Arts and Arts Education the grade 7 Saskatchewan Curriculum. My hope is that I will be able to use this course as a stepping stone for students in my classroom to develop creative digital aptitudes. I also intend to keep the course content simple enough that it may be used in other classrooms within my school community.

I currently teach in a community that faces significant barriers to education. many of my students struggle to attend regularly, and this reality causes me to consider how to best support that type of student’s needs. In the past I have seen improvements in attendance when a student has the opportunity to participate in a project that they are passionate about on a daily basis. while I fully recognize that there are many complex issues surrounding student attendance, I believe that involving students in creative digital processes has the potential to increase school engagement and develop a love of learning.

My school was fortunate to receive a grant from the Rotary Club of Regina Oskaya last spring to purchase digital and audio equipment for school use, and this has afforded us cameras, lights, microphones and green screens. This provides significant access for learners in the building, And as mentioned before, has the potential to have a direct impact on students competencies, interest, and attendance. While I recognize that this type of funding is not accessible to every school, and perhaps a larger conversation around provincial school funding of technology is necessary at some other point, I figure I might as well use the tools that I currently have access to.

Rationale

The rationale for this course prototype design is that it utilizes the physical technological assets at my school, while also creating opportunities for learning that are easily transferable to spaces outside of the classroom. I believe that this will not only keep students engaged at school, but also bridges the divide that sometimes exists between student’s real lives and public education. The purpose of this course prototype is not so much to tell students what to think, but rather provide them with a creative outlet where they can develop their own voice.

Learning goals

The goals for these modules are two-fold. First, the modules will take learners through a series of experiences that will create competencies in video creation and editing. Vince will learn new skills that may also be applied outside of the classroom. Hopefully these skills will translate into larger achievements in the student’s lives. Filmmaking can create opportunities for people to have a voice in society’s conversations, and given that many of my students come from marginalized situations, I believe that this is necessary learning for positive social change.

The second goal is to use digital technology in the classroom to help teach and develop confidence in the learners. My classroom currently creates 2 school announcement videos a week, and many of my students are very passionate about their participation. One major strength of teaching digital competencies is that image and video are more relevant our lives than they have ever been before. I have seen the positive effects that this has on student buy-in, as they are so familiar with creative content (the effects of that might be a good conversation for another time). This also helps students be less shy about creating content, as the process of doing that has been so normalized. Having the necessary technology at the school to create quality content makes the students feel like what they are saying is important, and this in turn helps them develop confidence.

Course delivery:

This course will presented in a hybrid blended learning model. The majority of student participation will occur within the classroom, although the tutorials and instructions will be presented through an LSM. I will be using Google classrooms to host the information. laptops will be necessary for student participation, and due to the lack of technology in the homes of the target audience, the majority of learning opportunities will be presented in the physical school building. That said, students that do have access to the necessary technology at home will be able to work through the modules as well.

For the purposes of this course, I hope to act as a hands-on troubleshooter for those students who are experiencing difficulty with the course content. in my experience, there is an extremely wide range of technological competencies present within any given middle years classroom, and I believe that providing clear and concise instructions and tutorials online will allow students with prior knowledge to stay engaged and exceed expectations, while also giving me, the instructor, ample time to work through the lessons with any students that are struggling.

Course Content

The course will consist of two modules. The modules will provide written instructions, YouTube tutorials, and the necessary registrations required to access Wevideo in full format. The first module will include video tutorials and instructions that will walk the participants through the process of setting up a Wevideo account, creating a new video project, and recording themselves through the use of a webcam or attached video camera. They will also learn how to export a video and save it in their Google Drive.

The second module will teach students how to use a green screen background, access stock media within Wevideo, and give a brief overview of various effects and actions. this module will follow the same format as the first, with video lessons, written instructions, and hands-on assistance.

Assessment

Both formative and summative assessment will be used during this project. The formative assessments will be a simple observational checklist to determine what level of support a student will need to to accomplish their learning goals. This assessment will be used to better differentiate instruction instruction, and will be completed in the first day or two of the lesson’s beginning. There will also be a summative assessment for each module. A rubric will be used for the end of module assessment, and will be provided to the students beforehand.

Considerations for Common Concerns

As mentioned in prior sections, the student base I work with live in a marginalized community. During periods of online learning in the past two years, less than 1/4 of my students attended online synchronous learning opportunities. We still provided physical copies for students, but the lack of reliable technology was astounding. Physical attendance has also plummeted, likely due to fears around the pandemic, so this also poses challenges. I will attempt to develop the course in a way that respects student’s needs. If done effectively I believe that these modules will be an asset in my teaching toolbelt for years to come. The focus on simple design will allow students who are only at the school for a few months of the year to learn an engaging skill fairly quickly.

Another consideration that will be addressed are the ethics of social media and online safety. If creative content tools are given to students, there must also be the acknowledgement of the need to use such tools with respect. These conversations generally occur during Health, where we discuss social media use and its effects on relationships.