Fire in the Classroom

ANNOUNCING: NEW AWARD CATEGORIES FOR 2012-13

It’s less than one week to our Festival for 2012, but we’re already looking beyond with the interests of Australian schools in particular.

Campfire promotes short films for use in classrooms around the world. Based in Melbourne, Australia, we are also vitally interested in supporting teachers in our home country. The new Australian Curriculum, following the directions of the Melbourne Declaration, promotes 3 significant themes for Australian schools over the coming years:

1. Australia in the Asian region
2. Australian Aboriginal perspectives
3. Environmental awareness

The Campfire Awards in 2012 already include “Best Environmental Short”, and today we’re adding two additional categories for “Asian Region” and “Aboriginal Perspectives”.

All films submitted to the Campfire Film Festival after 14 May will now go into the running for an award in 2013 for one of the following categories:

• Asian region
• Aboriginal perspectives
• Environment
• Youth
• Comedy
• Documentary

Campfire is pleased to continue actively supporting teachers using short films for engaging students in higher order thinking. We accept quality films from filmmakers young and old, anywhere in the world.

A vision of AUDACITY

What’s your school’s motto?

What about its mission?

Does it also have a vision statement?

Have you ever read these? What about those of other schools?

As I travel around to different schools, it’s surprisingly helpful to read these lofty words and statements to get a sense of the school’s character.

• Respect, learn and achieve
• Honour the work
• To know, to do, to live, to be
• Harmony and success
• Educating individuals

Add to these, words like ‘innovation’, ‘excellence’ and ‘growing’ and you have the words that many schools use to describe themselves. They’re all good words — focused, positive and inspiring — but after a while I have to admit they all start to sound a bit the same.

It was a bit of a surprise, then, to come across a word like ‘audacity’.

Audacity?

Did I read it right? Doesn’t that mean rude? Part of the larger mission statement of the Lavalla Catholic College in Traralgon, Victoria, reads

“With audacity and hope we learn and grow…”

Audacity and hope. There’s something strangely appealing about that.

Audacity and hope. It’s not about arrogance or rudeness, but a strength of resolve and boldness. And hope; a hope that gives that audacious confidence some direction.

Yes. Audacity. The willingness to take bold risks. There should be more of it.

Lavalla College; I salute you, and I thank you for using such a unique and inspiring word.

Do the guiding statements of YOUR school inspire you?

Media students: Filmmaker’s scrapbook #1

Vasco Era’s Rock and Roll is the Only Thing That Makes Me Feel Good joined us at Campfire earlier on this year. The music video was produced by Plot and shot around the inner suburbs of Melbourne, Aust. Here’s a quick glimpse into the making of a music video.

Where did the idea for the song come from?

Sid O’Neil (vocals/guitar): The idea came from me standing at a waterfall called Iguazu falls which is supposed to have all of these positive effects on your psyche. It really did work but then I still felt like something was missing. I got back to the town and listened to roadrunner, by Jonathan Richman and realized that i made me feel better than anything nature can provide.

And the music video, who came up with the concept?

The filmclip was our bassist Ted’s idea. He just wanted to have lots of things thrown at my face because he is my brother and brothers like that sort of thing. 

The shoot…

…remembering to clean-up at the end of the day :)

The trouble with science

“Science teachers are always at the cutting edge of education and technology.”

That’s what a friend of mine was told at a recent staff meeting. If you knew Peter, you’d know why that was said about him in particular. He’s always finding new apps, websites, games and strategies for engaging and motivating students in science. When I was teaching science, I often took my cues from him. I have a lot to learn, and I continue to learn from him in areas beyond science too. There is so MUCH that can be done in in this field to create interest, engagement and ‘wow’ factor. And yet…

There’s one big problem teaching science. It’s the problem of perception that many students have coming into it, especially for the first time. The perception is that science is:

• fact
• about logic, procedure and methodology
• about rules and laws
• lacking emotion

And that’s the trouble with science — these perceptions are only partially true.

In reality, I think science is

• about being inquisitive, exploring, thinking and learning
• about asking the how questions, and discovering that behind every HOW question is a WHY question
• about wondering how much further you can continue to ask the WHY questions
• about life

For Campfire, the trouble has also been that science films are often hard to come by. I think it’s largely because filmmakers generally don’t get too excited about science, for its perceived lack of emotion. Oh there’s plenty of ‘educational’ videos – instructional, didactic, fact-imparting programs – but I’m talking about films with heart. When was the last time you went to a short film festival, for example, and watched a film on a scientific topic?

Well, it’s been a good week. At last we’ve come across some engaging science films. One’s a little old, but they all past the test of having the potential to create honest discussion. I’ve also learned that one (and maybe more) we’ve categorised as predominantly English / humanities would actually best fit in a Science / technology category. Now that I think about it… given that there’s a science of pretty much everything, I can’t see why MOST of the films you’d find at Campfire couldn’t work as discussion-starters for different areas of science!

That’s the trouble with science. Once it has you excited about exploring and learning, there’s no turning back.

Now available as short films for science at Campfire:

THE BRUNSWICK BROWNS

http://campfire.org.au/film/the-brunswick-browns

Suits

Primary: science, environmental issues

Secondary: Yr9 environmental science

A heart-warming tale of 6-year-old Ollie’s love of his chooks. A real ‘think global act local’ story told from a waist-high point of view.

GAIA: GREEK GODDESS OF EARTH

http://campfire.org.au/film/gaia-greek-goddess-of-earth

Suits

Secondary: Yr9 environmental science, Yr10 Earth & origins

Imagine the Earth as a 45 year-old woman, and you get a picture of the staggering timeline drawn up by a great consensus of the world’s scientists. Deeply troubling is the damage us humans have inflicted on the planet. Who says science is not emotional?

MY GREEN FRIDAY

http://campfire.org.au/film/my-green-friday

Suits

Secondary: Yr7 the senses; Yr9 responding & controlling (nervous system / hormonal system); vision, sight, optical illusions; Yr11 & 12 psychology

What filmmaker would NOT want to make a film about a subject as esoteric as synaesthesia, and one that lends itself to so much colour, movement and inexact interpretation. This has the wonder factor that we always look for in short films that keeps one thinking after you’ve finished watching.

We don’t want information — that’s what web-searches are for. We’re looking for exploration… the excitement of wonder… and life.

Do you know of any other short science films we should know about?