I had the pleasure of capturing a school Christmas project for our school social media channels. In this video project, a second-grade teacher let me know of the acts of kindness their class was performing. Leading up to Christmas, a Grinch doll was magically moving around the classroom as a reminder to grow his heart by performing random acts of kindness. The kids in the class wrote cards to thank local officials, gave candy bars to bus drivers, and even cleaned the classroom so the janitor didn’t have to!
This project certainly deserved praise from our community, so as Poland Local Schools‘ Communications Director, I made a social media video in education! And this time, I really put the Christmas spirit into it…
The social media video…
I hopped into class one day to record the students making their gifts. It’s a good idea to capture every student working on their projects so everyone is featured. I asked two students to be interviewed and tell our community about the acts of kindness they had been performing. With second-graders, interviews can be daunting to them. I had to help them through the questions, and with a little guidance, they became the stars I knew they were!
In editing, I knew I had to maintain the energy of Christmas and kindness in the final video. So I used one of my original Christmas songs as the background music, and I wrote a poem just like Dr. Seuss to tell the story! Here’s what I wrote:
When the Grinch visits Second grade,
There’s no need to be afraid.
In Mrs. Kelliher’s class, you’ll find,
The brightest minds, spreading acts so kind.
Bus drivers, custodians, Principals our friends,
To them, nice cards and gifts we send.
What will it take to help the Grinch, for goodness sake?
Our class has an idea, hear it from Braxden and Blake!
When the Grinch first arrived, he was crazy, he was wild
Was it magic? Was it money? What was it that made him smile?
For what must one do, to grow a Grinch’s heart?
Well, doing nice things would be a great start!
Recording Social Media Videos in Education!
Bring a camera into every classroom, and the kids spark up like stars, ready to perform! Classroom feature videos have very widespread benefits:
- Student Pride: Students are excited to learn and participate in activities knowing that they will be featured on YouTube. The excitement will replicate itself in many projects following a video, especially if another video is recorded.
- Learning Behaviors Change: Students behave more appropriately when they are on camera. They know that parents and teachers are watching!
- Community Pride: Residents of the district get to see the value of their school district in an engaging way that generates support for teachers and students.
- Social Media Promotion: Parents are likelier to share videos with their friends when their kid is in the video!
Often, there are not enough free hands to even think about recording a video, better yet editing and producing the video once recorded… This is why it is essential for school districts seeking their community’s support to invest in communications. By focusing on capturing the purpose (educating students), districts will naturally achieve their goals to improve the product of education. It all starts with the record button!
Recording classroom features yield many benefits for both teachers and students. A public school communications director can create a more engaging learning experience that promotes student participation. By embracing interactive communications in school districts, we can create a more engaging educational experience for all.
Interested in creating your own video feature?
Nico Ruggieri would be happy to help! You can view all the services he provides and find one that meets your needs!
