In order to explore how experiences with youth media production resonate with people throughout their lives, we conducted video interviews with alumni from the Educational Video Center's youth documentary programs across the organization's history of more than 30 years. We talked with alumni and watched their films together to see what memories…

Ted Dintersmith's efforts to give young adults the skills and characteristics they need to be successful span film, written publications, and talks--all directed at advocating for a school system that prepares kids for life, not standardized tests. Among his film work, Dintersmith executive produced "Most Likely to Succeed" (Dintersmith…

Despite the increased recognition of older adult homelessness in research, policy, and practice, few studies have considered the potential to co-produce knowledge using community-based participatory research (CBPR) filmmaking with older adults with homeless histories. This project redresses this gap. Using walk along and drive along interviews the…

The importance of listening continues to be reinforced within professional, personal, and popular cultural contexts. Despite the attention employers, teachers, scholars, and various popular outlets attend to listening, engaging students in activities that practice such skills remain challenging. Understanding that interpersonal competence requires…

The debate over sexual violence on campus is reaching fever pitch, from headlines about out--of-control fraternities, to the "mattress protests" by female students at Columbia University and other colleges. "The Hunting Ground," the new documentary by award-winning filmmakers Kirby Dick and Amy Ziering, has taken this debate to…

Historical documentary film usually offers content in a format that students find more engaging than traditional historical texts. In the classroom, documentary film can be positioned within a historical thinking framework to study a broad concept like civil rights while facilitating students' source work and skill development. While social…

The author reports on a legal battle over oral-history records housed at Boston College that casts light on how little legal weight pledges of confidentiality to research subjects actually have. As a federal court weighs whether to let the federal government seize, and hand over to British authorities, the college's records of confidential…

The documentary play "Seven" is the collaboration of seven female playwrights with seven women activists connected in 2006 by the Vital Voices Global Partnership, a nonprofit nongovernmental organization supporting the development of female leaders (Vital). The stated mission of Vital Voices is to "identify, invest in and bring…

Spike Lee's documentary, "When the Levees Broke," provides an informative, enduring, and alternative presentation surrounding the human and man-made debacle associated with Hurricane Katrina. Levees centers the voices of survivors and others involved in the weeks during and after the hurricane, historicizes residents' understandings and…

Discusses a project in which students visit the town of Madrid, New Mexico, to create a photographic record of Madrid, accompanied by stories. Explains that a video documentary was created about this experience. Includes background information on the village of Madrid to be shared with students. (CMK)

The ubiquity of documentary films in social studies courses, along with their potential to influence what students learn, clearly show that documentary films matter in social studies education. While the high rate of documentary film usage by social studies teachers indicates that they are amenable to bringing new films into their classrooms, they…

Explains production techniques involved in making student documentaries on video. Highlights include student research; script writing; narration; the use of interviews; incorporating visual materials such as maps and photographs; camera techniques; demonstrations; editing; and time limits. (Contains six references.) (LRW)

Highlights the Cable News Network's (CNN) documentary series "The Cold War." Interviews executive producer Jeremy Issacs and producer Martin Smith about the series and its usefulness for educators. Includes a broadcast schedule for the 24 episodes. Notes that the series is endorsed by the National Council for the Social Studies. (DSK)