Moral Acts of Courage Video Institute Overview

During the Moral Acts of Courage Video Institute which took place August 25-29, 2008, teachers developed skills of documentary production, including camerawork, interviewing and editing. and addressed how to teach their students to research oral history interviews, practice critical viewing; address evaluation and assessment of video projects; and recognize the goals, outcomes and alignment of the projects with the NJ Core Curriculum Content Standards (NJCCCS). Each participant received a copy of the EVC curriculum, Youth-Powered Video: A Hands-On Curriculum for Teaching Documentary, and two DVDs that model activities and strategies for effectively facilitating youth-produced video projects.

Day One
The Institute began with the principles of using youth-centered, inquiry-based learning and applying it to youth-produced video. Teachers participated in critical viewing exercises to explore the theme “Moral Acts of Courage”. Teachers were also introduced to the basics of digital camera operation and conducting oral history interviews.

Day Two
Using footage from the previous day, teachers learned how to navigate topic selection within the theme of “Moral Acts of Courage” with their students. Teachers then split into production teams to begin the preplanning and production stages of a 5-minute mini-documentary project to be screened at the end of the week.

Day Three
Teachers learned and practiced structuring the editing process with their students. Hands-on group work gave teachers experience in logging footage, making edit plans, and using basic nonlinear editing software to edit their video projects.

Day Four
Teachers learned the fundamentals of using portfolio assessment to evaluate student work on a video project. Along with continued work on their video, teachers learned how to facilitate rough cut screenings for their students.

Day Five
Teachers reflected on what they had learned during the week and used their new knowledge and skills to create a plan for integrating video into their work with students. The culmination of the Institute came with a screening of all production projects.