Journal #6
Filming Compassion
By Janet Bremer and Marilyn Clark

We are starting to see service learning being incorporated in student’s
courses. This gives students the opportunity to work at a site outside of
the classroom and then take what they have learned back to class to share.
This article introduces the use of video production and service learning
projects. Kids in the video production class are able to get involved with
a non-profit organization that is partnered with the school and create a
video to share with the rest of the class. This enables kids to learn
about different non-profit organizations while enhancing their skills in
video production and editing. The non-profit organizations also benefit
from the help that they receive from the students and the video that is
developed that gives insight into their organization by all interested
persons. Through this video production class, students enhance their
technological skills, use critical thinking and evaluation skills when
brainstorming the video and grading the works of their fellow classmates.
Schools across the nation are adding a Service Learning component to the
curriculum. This will give ample opportunities to be creative in
maximizing student learning.

1.Are there privacy issues to take into account when filming?

Yes, students will learn how to protect the identity of the individuals
that they are learning through the use of Final Cut. This is a
video/editing tool that can blur out the faces of the individuals who want
to remain anonymous.

2.As a classroom project, how much input does the non-profit organization have in creating the video and what it will reveal? How does it balance out with the classroom instruction?

Through my own experience in service learning that had been integrated in
our classroom we saw good and bad. We were to analyze what we observed and
then share with the class what we discovered. My concern with the video
production is the amount of input the non-profit organization has and at
what point are students allowed to address what they thought overall about
their service learning assignment.