When Teacher Pamela Stevenson of Thousand Oaks Elementary applied for the “Media Production and Collaborative Common Space” NEEF grant, she knew she wanted to do more than just teach her students from a textbook. She wanted lessons to jump off the page! With the $5,880.44 grant, she bought video equipment, lighting, green screens, and furniture to create a production studio where her students could create videos and share them with the community.
Now, the classroom has become a space for creativity and exploration. The students are able to make their morning announcements, create character scenes, recite poetry, and even film a “wax museum.” Lilyana Vasquez, who graduated from Thousand Oak Elementary last June, loved how the brand-new equipment made the classroom look like a real newsroom. Her classmate, Emma Garate, enjoys the technical aspects of camera work and learning how to edit on tablets.
The younger students, now 5th graders, have also been able to get in on the fun. They enjoy collaborating to create stories and animations with the green screens, like the one shown in the video. Kynleigh Montoya, a fifth-grader, loves adding different backgrounds to the video shot on the green screen, in addition to moving the characters around when creating animated shorts. Thanks to the grant, Teacher Pamela Stevenson has been able to take learning off the page and create an environment where students can explore their creativity on various platforms.