Filmmaking in the Classroom (2025)
About This Course
About Filmmaking in the Classroom
This course introduces teachers to filmmaking as a way to enhance teaching and learning. Participants learn basic skills in storyboarding, video production, and digital citizenship while exploring how filmmaking can be integrated into project-based lessons that engage students in curricula. Participants will gain hands-on experience capturing digital video, using software and mobile apps for video editing, and exploring copyright-friendly media resources and Creative Commons licensing. They will also explore film as a vehicle for storytelling, artistic expression, and demonstrating content mastery. Participants will create their own film. They will also create a lesson plan for utilizing filmmaking in the classroom. This course will help participants prepare to involve their own students in filmmaking.
Credit: 1 USBE or 1 SUU Credit
Course Type: Self-Paced
Course Level: Beginner
Cost: Free to Utah Educators
Self-Paced Course:
Participants may join and complete coursework on their own schedule and at their own pace. All modules will remain open throughout the calendar year. Assignments may be submitted at any time through December 31, 2025. The instructor will grade work at least twice a month, typically around the 1st and 15th of each month.
Expected Learning Outcomes
At the conclusion of this course participants should be able to:
- Articulate the benefits of filmmaking in teaching and learning. Understand various styles of film, including features, shorts, documentaries, public service announcements, and animations. Understand the filmmaking process. Utilize scripting to prepare to convey a film’s intended message. Consider how to incorporate scriptwriting in their own teaching practice.
- Utilize storyboarding to ensure a film’s intended message will be clearly conveyed to the audience. Understand how collaboration and storyboarding fit together in the filmmaking process. Effectively choose between available storyboarding tools. Consider how to model and implement storyboarding with their own students.
- Organize project folders. Capture quality video by considering elements like lighting, camera angles, and audio levels. Consider how they would go about teaching film techniques to their students (how much time would they dedicate to this, etc.).
- Use online tools to find copyright-friendly digital images, short video clips, and audio to enhance film projects. Generate credits to properly cite all media used in the film. Understand copyright, fair use, public domain, and other principles of copyright. Create a plan for helping their own students follow copyright laws.
- Edit video to create an impactful film within an effective time limit. Create a plan for how to teach and involve students in video post-production.
- Publish, share, and celebrate teacher and student films in a way that makes them accessible to the intended audience. This might include publication on YouTube, uploading to Canvas, and submission to film festivals and contests. Understand the importance of safeguarding student privacy. Submit an exemplar film, created by the participant. Create a student filmmaking plan that involves their own students in the filmmaking process in order to enhance instruction and achieve student learning outcomes tied to Utah core curriculum standards.
Final Assessment
During this final week of the course, participants will learn various ways to publish, share, and celebrate student films. Participants will publish their own exemplar film using YouTube or Vimeo. They will also learn about existing film festivals and contests and how to get started in creating their own school or class film festival to highlight student work while always respecting student privacy. Each participant will also create a lesson plan that can be used in their current teaching position. The lesson plan will utilize filmmaking in the final project/assessment. Participants will include the revised final draft of the film they created throughout this course as an exemplar in their lesson plan.