Community Highlight

AFNTS strongly believes in promoting innovation in technology and encouraging communities to do the same. As part of this initiative, we are proud to feature a school community that is making great strides with technology. In this instance, we would like to acknowledge the efforts of Bear River First Nation, who have been doing wonderful things with tech in their school. We spoke to Ethan Moore, and here is what he had to say about it.

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"Hello everyone, I’m Mr. Ethan at the L’nu Education Center at Bear River First Nation. I teach varying subjects within grades 7-12. Our 7-12 is fairly small (11 students total) so all of the students are grouped together quite often. One of the courses that the entire 7-12 group is together for is Visual Arts. I have a small background in film and video production/editing so I’ve structured the course around my strengths. We've been doing small videos on various subjects that meet the Visual Arts curriculum (and other curriculum, as you have to do with a 7-12 group), such as edits to music, changing the meaning of a cartoon scene, and PSA’s. I use technology in the classroom often, but this course really necessitates it.

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Now, when I started this course I wasn’t sure how I would get the students to actually edit their videos. I knew what technology I would use, but that option is overkill and much too expensive for multiple students. As I searched for options, I spent forever downloading IMovie on an old Macbook the school had lying around, but as the course was starting this proved inefficient for the amount of editing each student would be doing. 

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I ran an experiment and let them learn from their peers (some of whom were already experienced in video editing) and figure out which free online editing program (usable on chromebooks) would be the best. Some of the students were using “CapCut”, the tiktok editing software, which I was initially very hesitant about because of the availability of features like “templates” which essentially edit the video for you. These “templates” can take away from the craft of editing. I lightened up on the technology of “CapCut” though, and decided to allow its use, but ban the template features that take the hard work away. “CapCut” does have many other features that make the editing process easier, which I realized might be a good introduction for students into the world of editing. I also thought “is the point of Visual Arts to solely learn the hard grind of video/film editing?”. No. So using a newer technology that makes the job more about the visual art rather than the nitty gritty editing could ignite that spark for the craft for some of my students (I gave the students that really excelled in their “CapCut” editing assignments the Macbook to have free reign to edit whatever they want in their free time, to experiment with the harder technology).

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Anyway! As the students learned how to navigate the technology of video editing and the different steps that come with it, we came into a rhythm with our assignments. The class is usually split into 2 groups (most often boys vs. girls because that’s what they prefer) and I give them an assignment to work out. The 2 groups work in friendly competition together. I assign a leader to each group that hands out points however they see fit if their group wins (part of my own in-class point reward system), to incentivize each group member to do their part - no work, no points from the leader. 

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Their last assignment structured this way was a Public Service Announcement. The groups each decided on an issue they thought were important within the community and off they went to create a PSA to create awareness for it. Now, I have to say that teaching a small group of students that are stretched from grades 7-12 really lends itself to student-led learning. It’s basically what you have to do to reach outcomes and make sure yourself as the teacher do not go insane with the prep-work. So I let the groups go off, delegate each individual's role, and figure the process out! They had to navigate the technology of filming, audio, designing their shots, editing it together to create a coherent narrative, etc. I put the responsibility on them to figure out how to use the appropriate technology to create a successful end product. I was there for them when they had questions about the technology, but they were basically on their own - to learn for themselves. 

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The girls team won as their PSA was most effective. They figured out how to overdub audio, film impactful moments (a car crash) without showing them, and much more just by experimenting with the technology and coming up with solutions to problems they had. They showcased the learning that takes place when students experiment with technology, leading to what Visual Arts is all about."

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L'nu Education Center Girl's Team PSA

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