"Action!" Giving Rise to Student Voices

"I'm going to show you something, come over here."

That's what I was asked on a recent Friday afternoon.  A second grader asked if he could make a safety video for the library.  This was an offer I knew I should not and could not pass up.  I grabbed my smart phone and started filming.  This was as spontaneous as you get.  You'll see students walking in front on the camera and hear them talking about the books they have checked out, but through all the activity, this student stays focused on his task.  He's going to share what he knows about finding books and safely carrying books.

I'm wondering if I can leave the two flip video cameras out at browsing for the students that want to create videos related to library learning.  I think this could be another way to give a voice to students who might not always choose to or be able to find theirs at other times during the library lesson. 

It's worth watching this to the end where he sits down to demonstrate using the computers.  A teacher has left his or her email open on the library desktop and he calmly goes about closing the windows for this teacher.  Maybe I should show this student's self-titled "Safety Video" to the staff. :)