In a rapidly changing world, equipping today’s students with the technological skills of tomorrow is more important than ever – and Catholic Education is rising to the challenge.
Students at Flinders University might be surprised to see some young learners within their midst, as School of the Nativity Years 5, 6 and 7 students arrive on campus to take part in an exciting new initiative.
Working with Flinders University lecturers and industry experts Dan Thorsland and Cameron Mackness, around 50 students from the school visit “The Void”, a multipurpose screen production stage and collaboration space located in the university’s drama centre, to co-construct stories for the screen in the form of a movie trailer.
“This is a great opportunity to extend our students’ skills in digital technology and other subject areas,” School of the Nativity principal Erika Dixon says. “The project also encompasses English, History, Maths and Science, so it’s a great way to bring students’ knowledge of these subjects together with digital technology.”
And they’re in good hands. Cinematographer/editor/director Mackness has worked for the BBC and Channel 5 in the UK, while Thorsland’s resume includes comic book writer/editor at DC Comics and Dark Horse Comics and producer of video games and digital projects for Disney, Lucasfilm and LEGO.
“All the students love hearing Dan’s stories and he’s quite the mentor,” Ms Dixon says. “He says to them, ‘This was my dream as a child and I achieved it – so can you. Whatever you really want to do, you can learn the skills’.”
During the inaugural project, the students created movie trailers: for the Year 5s it’s “Rosemary versus Bellington – The Big Game” about two rival schools in a sporting competition, while the Year 6s and 7s as-yet-unnamed trailer features someone from the future going back in time to talk about the effects of eating fast food. “This project is a great example of students co-constructing learning in digital art and video production,” Ms Dixon says. “It enables them to develop the skills and confidence to become highly effective independent learners and take ownership of their own learning.
“For me, the important thing is developing skills, capabilities and dispositions for learning to make students lifelong learners, which connects with the CESA Living Learning Leading Framework.”
Learn more about Catholic Schools Open Week.
To discover your local Catholic school, visit our School Directory.
Three Catholic schools have been named among the finalists in the 2021 SA Training Awards.
The annual awards celebrate excellence in Vocational Education and Training (VET) and acknowledge the achievements of the best and brightest students, trainers, training providers, schools and employers in South Australia.
