Five students in Creston’s CAST (communications and service technology) classroom worked with Union County to polish up the County’s “Why Our Town” video (locally known as “Choose UC”) to show off everything Union County has to offer in terms of living, working, and playing. Learn more about the students’ tasks in the project and their interactions with County staff below.
Project Details: Video Shooting and Editing
- Project Partner:
- Students Involved:
This project was available to high-school students in Creston’s CAST classroom. Five students participated.
- Topic Areas Covered:
Video marketing, county government.
- Skills Strengthened:
Video shooting and editing, interviewing, team collaboration.
Employees working for Union County brought a previously unfinished project to Creston students: Union County had been working on a promotional video to tell residents (and potential future residents) about all the opportunities Union County has to offer in terms of being a great place to live and work. Over the summer months, Union County had been working with two college interns to gather footage, but the project was larger than they originally anticipated, and the video still needed editing and several additional minutes of footage at the end of the summer. From there, Creston’s CAST class picked up where the project was left off and worked to edit the existing footage, interview community members, and shoot new footage to lengthen the video. At the end of the project, students turned the finished video over to Union County, which they plan to use for marketing. The initiative is referred to as “Why Our Town,” known locally as “Choose UC”.
What Success Looked Like for This Group
Union County was provided a finished, edited video that they are using to market the benefits of living and working in the County. The students involved in this project boosted their confidence and communication skills, as their teacher took a step back to let students communicate directly with UC staff. It was also beneficial for them to practice explaining the rationale behind their decisions when speaking with their business partners at UC, mimicking the type of employee-client relationships that exist in real-world careers.
Teacher Involvement
CAST teacher Maggie Arnold helped facilitate the completion of this project with her students, providing assistance with equipment and helping her students manage their time as needed. With assistance from Stephanie Lane, a local GHAEA consultant, Ms. Arnold shifted from her typical role as a teacher to more of a facilitator role for this project, allowing students to solve problems and communicate with Union County staff on their own.
Educator Takeaways
Ms. Arnold says that this project has greatly strengthened the communication skills of her students, and she’d like to continue inviting community business partners into the classroom to brainstorm what her students can do for them and stay updated on what is going on in the area. About her students’ success with this project, she says, “The students have made the commitment to see the project through to the end. They are willing to work with the business partners to produce exactly what they need, even if that means making changes to their work several times.”
Partner Takeaways
Union County was left with a finished, fully edited video that they can use to market Union County and display all the benefits of working and living there. In the words of Mindy Stalker, Talent Development Director at the Union County Development Association:
“When I started this, I had no idea how much footage and how many angles needed to happen to get a 7-minute finished project. The finished project exceeded my expectations… …The project was a great success. It has been well received by our board and we look forward to promoting Union County with this piece.”
When asked what she would say to a business that’s considering participated in a work-based learning project for students, Mindy responded, “Do it! Even if you don’t have a project in mind. Sit down with a small group of students that are engaged and eager to be a part of something bigger. Visit with them about what your business does/offers. As you visit, there will be things that you organically say, ‘we’d like to someday offer [X], but we just don’t have the time to devote to it right now.’ That’s it!!! Those are the projects to bring in your learning consultants.”