Vodcast 

Description
Each of you will work independently or in teams of two to research, design and produce a video podcast describing the life and work of an individual who devoted their life to the struggle for equity and social justice. These vodcasts will be posted on the your Webpage and if you would like will become part of a growing collection of resources. Please be professional in your work as this vodcast can be a project that you can refer to in a job interview and list on your resume. Podcasts should be about 10-15 minutes long. A rubric for their assessment is posted at the bottom of this page.

Process:
1.   Select a partner* with whom you share an interest in conducting research on a specific figure in history who devoted his or her life to fighting for equity and/or social justice. This figure can be alive or deceased but has to have made an impact on our world. This needs to be an individual whose story can be shared with elementary-aged children.

2.   Conduct careful research into the life of your selected individual. What is it that this person did, how was their life lived, what actions made the greatest impact on our world, what was his/her motivation, what will be his/her legacy...? It is recommended that as much as possible you use original sources for your research.

3.   As you conduct your research, carefully collect images or video clips that might be used in your podcast to tell the story. Be careful to ask for and receive permission to use these images in your podcast if these are not public domain, and only use images for which you have received permission or that are public domain (such as Internet Archives)

4.   With your partner carefully write a thoughtful narrative describing this individual, specifically focusing on the work he/she did to make a difference. This is not a book report, work to make your research a thoughtful, deep and insightful podcast narrative. When read aloud, the narrative (and therefore your Vodcast) should be about 10-15 minutes long.

5.   Digitize your audio narrative. I recommend the use of iMovie on a Mac, or Movie Maker on a PC. Work a series of primary source images into the document that flow with the narrative. 

6.   Complete and review the vodcast. Show the vodcast to at least one peer and receive constructive feedback. Use this feedback to modify any necessary elements.

7.   Review the vodcast based on the criteria established in the rubric (below), and individually write a self-assessment of your work based on this rubric. 

8.   Complete the vodcast by exporting it in the proper size and using the proper compression. Add the podcast to your Website. Submit a link to the podcast and your individual self assessments to me by April 4th.

View Previous Podcasts HERE in the COMMONS

Objectives
Instructional Objectives for this project include the following.

• By the end of this project, students will be able to demonstrate an understanding of the process of podcasting by developing and posting a video podcast on their Website and possibly on the Pacific Commons.

• Throughout this project, students will be able to apply their understanding of appropriate social sciences research methods and sources by conducting a careful review of the life of a social activist.

• By the end of this project, students will be able to demonstrate a synthesis of the life of a social activist by creating a vodcast exploring and explicating the life of this individual.

Individuals Who Have Fought for Equity and Social Justice: Partial List of Potential Subjects for Vodcast

Ella Baker - Human rights and civil rights activist. African American activist in the 1930s.
César Chávez - Farmworker, civil rights leader, cofounder American Farm Workers.
Shirley Chisholm - Congresswoman, EC educator, 1st woman to run for president.
Genora Dollinger - Community Activits and Union Organizer
Frederick Douglass - Noted abolitionist and eloquent activist for civil rights.
Fanny Lou Hamer - Voting rights and civil rights activist, coordinator for SNCC.
Dolores Huerta - Political activist, cofounder American Farm Workers.
Barbara Jordan - African American attorney, 1st black representative from southern state.
Chief Joseph - Nez Perce Chief, pacifist and activist for Native American Rights.
Helen Keller - Author, women's rights activist and pacifist.
John Lewis - Leader in Civil Rights movement, chairman of SNCC, congressman.
Nativo Lopez - Civil rights activist assisted founding National Alliance for Immigrants' Rights.
Diane Nash - Important individual in the civil rights movement, founder of SNCC.
Pete Seeger - Musician and activist for disarmament and civil rights.
Anna Howard Shaw - Physician and leader in civil rights and women's rights movements.
Elizabeth Cady Stanton - Leading activist for women's rights, early suffragette.
Albion W. Tourgée - Civil Rights Activist, Founder of National Citizen's Rights Association.
Sojourner Truth - Slave, abolitionist and women's right activist in 1800s.
Ida B. Wells- Critical figure fighting for women's rights and civil rights at turn of century.

I have put together the following list based on the wonderful book "When Women Pursue Justice" and you can check the website, "Americans who tell the truth" (these are mostly Wikipedia links). Another amazing website is Moral Heroes where you can search by gender and century.