Some of the most memorable projects and activities that I remember from my own high school experience involved filming what can only be described as cinematic masterpieces, if only in our own minds. I remember two standout performances in particular – a group project film about a viral pandemic outbreak, which you would think should have prepared me better for the last year and a half, but all I really remember is that aliens were to blame – plot twist! The other standout was a French group project that we filmed as a very dramatic soap opera, complete with fake crying and impassioned pleas of, “mon Dieu!” every other line.
So, what makes these types of cinematic projects and activities so memorable? There’s definitely an appeal to filming something with your friends that you can show off, especially if it showcases your knowledge of the subject area, or comedic talents, and unlike back in the day, when our expertise in front of a camera was limited to breaking out our parent’s camcorder, today’s generation is way more used to filming themselves on social media apps daily (hourly?) at their fingertips.
Because of the familiarity and enjoyment that our students associate with apps like Tik Tok or Instagram Reels, it’s worth looking into how these social media platforms can be used in the classroom. Sure, students could just film something on their phone and upload it to an editing app or site, but there’s definitely more of a buy-in when they are allowed to use Tik Tok or Reels because of the built-in editing tools, and the fact that they are already using these apps for fun, which means that we as teachers can reach that holy grail of teaching when our students are having so much fun they don’t even realize they’re learning.