inform | Williams Engineering Internship

Do you know a high school student who is interested in pursuing a career in Engineering? If so, a summer internship at Williams Engineering might be for them! The deadline to apply has been extended to June 10th, 2016.

You can find more information about the experience, an application form, and a list of twelve questions an intern would be responsible for finding out.

For more information, please contact Tom Wong.

Film Studies through the lens of CTF

We recently offered a professional learning opportunity to film studies teachers to come together and consider how film studies could be offered through the Career and Technology Foundations framework in the middle years.

The Locally Developed Course for Film Studies 7 - 9 will not be renewed in the fall due to significant overlap with the CTF Communications cluster.

The group of teachers who came together looked at the CTF program of studies and found that the curriculum held great potential for CTF. None of the teachers felt that by shifting to this program of studies that their program would lose elements - all the skills, use of mentor films, and filmmaking techniques would continue to be important in using the CTF program of studies.

After having looked at the program of studies, we spent some time examining the occupational areas. We considered how combining the occupational areas of communication technology and design studies, the two areas we felt film would align best with, and other occupational areas could open up possibilities for task design. In CTF, tasks should connect with two or more occupational areas. For example, what would result if we combined communication technology with tourism? Students might create a promotional video to encourage viewers to visit a specific place. What about design studies and marketing? Students could design a Public Service Announcement (PSA) to sway public opinion. How about communication technology and esthetics? Perhaps students are using makeup effects to send a particular message through the medium of film.

There are obvious connections with arts as well. The CTF program of studies allows for these cross-disciplinary opportunities to emerge authentically.

Here are some notes from the brainstorming the teachers did:

CTF/Film Studies Professional Learning – May 13^th:

New Possibilities:

• tying our films to real world issues through PSAs/Documentary films with a truly impactful message about business & finance, social issues, nature, human services, tourism, technology impact
• real emphasis on the plethora of careers available in film (Vancouver is a tv hotspot, lots of jobs in Canada for this field)
• Design a webpage or blog for a film critic and then critique films using it
• Going past the filming and post-production to the marketing & promotion of their film to an audience (print media, reviews, movie posters, teaser trailers, radio spots)
• Video announcements (rather than PA) to inform about school events
• Ted Talks
•  Lynda.com helpful videos
• Rick Mercer-style video rants about social issues

Foundational Skills:

• Shot types – design studies, script-writing, persuasive writing, connects to Humanities LA, Dialogue techniques
• Camera movements
• Equipment use – tripods, cameras, dollies
• Editing software use (movie maker, iMovie, Adobe elements, video editing, sound track editing)
• Shot lists and/or storyboarding
•  Acting for camera – connects to FA/Drama
• Framing
• Basic lighting (back lighting) talk about it, investigate it, view examples on film
• Communication skills (group skills) – collaborative planning, storyboarding, scriptwriting
• Time Management
• Roles/Responsibilities/tasks division – enterprise & Innovation, management & marketing
• Promotion – posters, invite an audience, trailers 

Tasks:

• PSAs – environmental stewardship, management and marketing
• Documentary – resources, fashion
• Persuasive argument – management/marketing
• Animation – stop motion – computing science info processing,
• Sound editing/layering – computing science, info processing
• Commercial
•  Film marketing – trailers, print media, radio spots, reviews
• Song video (visual interpretation)
• Film reviews/book reviews
• Travel/tourist promo
• How to plan a trip online video
• How-to videos
• VLOG – talk about your experience with______________

The teachers at the professional learning event all loved the opportunity to connect with other teachers of film. To continue this collaboration, we have created a Yammer group for CTF Film Studies teachers. Everyone is welcome to join.

inform | Design the Shift 2016-2017

In the summer of 2016, we will be offering the third iteration of our Design the Shift summer professional learning institute. This summer experience uses the processes and mindsets of design thinking to imagine possibilities for engaging, authentic task design and making learning visible. Feedback from the 90+ participants from the past two summers has been overwhelmingly positive. Each year, Design the Shift is created using an iterative design process, and builds upon the successes of the previous year to create a new learning experience for educators. We appreciate your sharing this opportunity with your staff and admin teams.

The themes of the three days will be focused on:

• Gaining empathy from place
• Finding inspiration in people
• Being alive as a learner

Who is this for?

Teachers and administrators who are willing to:

• think in new and different ways about teaching and learning
• engage in professional learning as the role of the learner
• dwell in a space of ambiguity
• consider all people, places, things, and objects as learning resources
• take risks
• see connections between concepts, ideas, and disciplines
• immerse yourself in three days of collaborative professional learning this summer

Some feedback from previous participants has been that participation has been most effective when teachers attend with others from their school or professional network. Please strongly consider applying with others from your school or professional network.

When will this be taking place?

There will be two rounds of Design the Shift. Participants will attend one of the following rounds.

• August 8, 9, 10, 2016
• August 24, 25, 26, 2016

There will also be four half-day sessions throughout the school year to continue to collaborate and learn together. Substitute coverage will be provided.

What will we be doing?

Participants will be engaging in participatory activities that will put them in the shoes of the learner.

Participants can expect to leave the summer institute with:

• A foundational understanding of the design thinking process
• A deepened development of the design thinking mindsets
• A collaborative professional learning community

What am I committing to?

• Immersing yourself in three days of professional learning this summer.
• Participating in four half day communities of practice to come together throughout the school year (substitute costs will be covered)
• Continuing to apply the design thinking process and mindsets in designing tasks for your students in your context.
• Making your own learning visible within the CBE and with other professionals.

How do I get involved?

Please fill out this expression of interest. The deadline to express interest is June 3rd. A maximum of 50 teachers overall will be accepted. All applicants will be informed regarding the application results by June 15th, 2016.

What if I have other questions?

Please contact Erin Quinn or Matt Armstrong with questions.