I teach Social Studies to 9th graders in a high-poverty neighborhood. Many of my students are below grade level. The school where I teach is a diverse public high school: 23% of students are African American, 19% Hispanic, 16% Asian, 2% Native American, and 36% Caucasian.
Many of my students struggle with challenges outside of school.
Over 70% of our students are below the poverty line. Many students are in the foster care system or are homeless. Many are recent immigrants learning English as a second language. I have amazing students who use their diversity and life experiences to their advantage.
My students are from Ethiopia, Somalia, Rwanda, Vietnam, Mexico, Guatemala, Myanmar (Burma), Thailand, Micronesia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and other places around the world. This year I teach freshman world history and two sheltered versions of history for English language learners. Some of my students have just moved to the United States and are beginning to learn English. In my class, my students will learn about the world and other cultures.
My Project
This project was developed in collaboration with students. I showed my students digital stories created by documentary filmmakers that advance global awareness, social justice, human rights and education by amplifying the impact of visual storytelling that inspires activism, compassion and social transformation. Some of the films are made in 360 to give students a virtual reality experience. The films all have a global perspective are short, topical, and have resources for extended learning, articles, and suggestions for classroom use. I only have a trial to the website and am fundraising for a yearlong license.
As I began showing my students films about climate action, food security, gender equality, indigenous movements, and other social justice issues by students said we should make out own digital stories about our own communities.
Another student said we should make our videos in 360 (virtual reality) so people can experience our community.
This idea is compellingly and connects multimedia for a specific plan for storytelling. I will use 80 global education films to inspire my students to create their own digital stories. Each film has an artists statement from filmmakers where they describe how they technically created the film and the message they hope to inspire. I will use this to guide students to create their own global social impact films. I am requesting a Rioch Theta V 360 camera, Google Cardboard 360 video viewer, and telescoping tripod stand to give students the technical tools they need to produce their own videos.
This project will keep my students motivated through hands-on learning. It connects audiences to great stories through technology and digital communication. It teaches my students and our community about social justice goals in an active learning environment. I will share this camera with other teachers at my school so they can replicate it.
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As a teacher-founded nonprofit, we're trusted by thousands of teachers and supporters across the country. This classroom request for funding was created by Ms. Kanof and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
