Spotlight on Digital Media And Learning

11.13.07 | Below is an element of what I plan to share in Los Angeles at the forum on Virtual Worlds and Learning. Feel free to memorize it and say it with me on the 14th. When supporting youth to use digital media to collaboratively create civically-oriented projects, there are various opportunities and concerns. I will highlight just a few.

Credibility
Watch A Child’s War. It was made by students in Global Kids’ after school Machinima program, filmed within Second Life.

Machinima, for those unfamiliar with the term, refers to an emerging genre of amateur-produced animated films created using video games and virtual worlds. As you can imagine, their year-end video, about child soldiers in Uganda, was a very difficult and sensitive topic. Extensive research was required by the students. But this was not just a video for their family and friends- they wanted it to be seen by thousands. This meant the accuracy of the information and its sensitive portrayal was essential. The students went beyond Wikipedia to videos on YouTube, web sites on child soldiers, read biographies, and more. We had experts review the script, like UNICEF’s communication chief in Uganda, and the students learned to respond to often challenging feedback that forced them to revise key elements of the plot. The attention to detail paid-off. Not only has it been seen by thousands of people but experts on the issue seem to agree that the students got it right. They learned this first hand at the New York City premiere during the Q & A, when one gentleman said:

I actually stumbled upon this film on YouTube. I came back from Uganda actually two weeks ago. We’re filming a documentary about the same issue and for about a month I worked with youth who were abducted, so it’s amazing to see a story that was pretty accurate.

For more highlights, please join us on November 14th. And if you can not be there in person in Los Angeles, then please join us either in Second Life or watch on the Web.

Editor’s Note: This post is part of a five-part discussion in conjunction with our third Public Forum in Digital Media and Learning.  See Connie Yowell’s index here.