Last week I got the opportunity to be apart of a workshop that focused on teaching through short documentaries. The workshop was held in room 5315 at The Graduate Center. Elizabeth Aslop started us off by asking a few questions. Why should we attempt to teach with short docs? How do we find creative ways to connect teaching and learning? What are the best ways to find appropriate footage for the class? These question proved to be a great segue to the presentations that were about to come from Sarah Vogel and Jose Luis Orbegozo.
Jose Luis Orbegozo begin by presenting his Short Docs Web Series. As an internet production (the first of its kind at CUNY TV), this series tackles the issues that continue to destroy our urban communities. You can expect to view content that elaborates on why our inner city communities lack social, environmental, and economic sustainable. Mr. Orbegozo also expressed that new technology allows him to continue to produce his show efficiently.
Sarah Vogel presented her production next. Sarah hosts a blog that’s called Teaching Bilinguals (Even if You’re Not One): A CUNY-NYSIEB Webseries. In the footage that she shared with us, Sarah visited a school in upstate New York to explore how implementing certain teachings methods might better assist bilingual education. Sarah was able to find budgeting for her project, therefore she works with editors to assure that her audio and video production have the best quality. She also agrees that new technology allows her to produce her show efficiently.
The workshop eventually turned into a discussion based on finding effective ways to implement short docs into the classroom. We spoke about building two way conversations based on short docs, or possibly using short docs as a way to define classroom dialogue. We spoke about creating content for pedagogy through short docs and making it accessible to students. We even spoke about the possibility of inserting short docs as appetizers for the feast that’s about to come. After all was said and done, it was obvious to me that short docs have become a legitimate tool for teaching and learning in the classroom.