Length of Project: This project would be a semester long project in my high school's new Interactive Media course. This lesson is modeled off of the Discovery Channel's "How It's Made" show where products are chronicled as they are produced.
Prep: In groups of 3, students will be paired with a company that produces a product in or around Evansville, IN. Companies include, but are not limited to the following:
Mead Johnson Nutrition http://www.mjn.com/
Berry Plastics Corporation http://berryplastics.com/catalog/
AmeriQual Foods/Packaging http://www.ameriqual.com/
Toyota
http://www.toyota.com/about/our_business/engineering_and_manufacturing/tmmi/
SABIChttp://www.sabic.com/
Keller Crescent http://www.kellercrescent.com/
Red Spot http://redspot.com/
Students will begin by conducting field research about the company's past and present operations and any future plans for operation expansion/advancement. They will conduct interviews of company employees using the Flip cameras and film footage of the company's environment.
Students will choose only one of the products that are produced from the company and research its entire life; from raw ingredients to consumption. Students will be led to explore many different regions in America and other countries where raw goods are imported. They will inevitably explore the process of product development, product production and the channels of product distribution.
Product: These students will produce a 15 to 20 minute "episode" showing the life inside their chosen company and product. The students will utilize the Flip cameras along with other software to complete the initial planning and final editing of the episode.
Skills: Students demonstrate social and professional communication skills when speaking with company employees during visits and interviews. They will explore their time management skills while working to meet specific research and episode content deadlines. They will also explore historical facts about their city (Evansville) and the surrounding area. They will work together to develop a creative and original plan for their production and continue to collaborate with peers until the final episode's production.
Assessment: Students will be graded periodically for progress with specific short term goals. They will also be graded for research thoroughness, creativity/innovation of story, enthusiasm, and overall quality of the production.
