Based on the resources available to her, I think that Dafna should organize the groups as duos. This would allow each group to work with one of the five guitars, and the extra guitar can then be used by one of the pairs as needed using a sign out system should they wish to have video footage of both members of the partnership using the guitars at the same time. As we do not have a great deal of information about the iMac computers, I am going to make some assumptions that they are newer iMacs and not the bubble like contraption in a glowing array of translucent colours of the late 90’s. Being that Dafna has access to four of these computers, having the students work in pairs will ensure that the students have equal access to this resource for filming and editing. Dafna’s video camera and tripod could be signed out on a need be basis by the students as they become ready to shoot their video. From my own experience, it would be likely that the pairs will reach the different stages of the video making process at different times. By spreading this project out over a longer period of time and presenting it as an iterative project that the students will be able to revisit as their skills grow throughout the duration of the term, will also help Dafna manage the allocation of resources. Pairs that are ready to shoot their video sooner can use the required equipment as soon as they are prepared to, which in turn would free up the equipment for the other pairs to use later on. Dafna should monitor the students’ progress as the term goes on and if it seems that the pairs are likely to all need the camera equipment at the same time, she should set a schedule for the students to use to fairly distribute the resources and allocation of time using them.

I am currently working on three small film projects with a group of about 35 students ranging from grade 2 to grade 6 in my Social Justice Club. We are using three ipads and iMovie trailer templates to create promotional videos to inform the student population at our school about our next spirit day and our two local social justice initiatives that are currently underway. Even though these promotional videos will only be just over a minute in length when finished, we have already spent 70 minutes preparing and filming and we will be spending another 35 minutes on the project again tomorrow. We haven’t even begun to edit and fine tune our accompanying text yet, so we are still not even close to being done the video project. I share this personal story, as I am unsure how to estimate how much time would be realistic for Dafna to plan for. Her total of 15 hours (editing and post production combined) may be adequate for this particular group of learners in this flexible and alternate setting. If I were Dafna, I would allow for some flex time at the end of the unit just in case the students require additional time or support to create their final product.

By the end of the course, Dafna should have a pretty good understanding of her students’ interests and what would appeal to them most. In light of this, based on what she thinks her students would prefer and find most appealing and rewarding, Dafna could offer her students a choice in regard to a keepsake of their video. As has been mentioned in the other posts, she can provide the final video via the SD cards that have been purchased for the class by Dafna’s Director, record the entire compilation of student videos on DVDs for the students, or use a website or other suitable web resource to post the videos (obviously with permission and/or in a password protected environment) to share the students’ work.

Overall, I think the iterative and self-directed nature of the video project would make this assignment very relevant, appealing and age appropriate for the particular student group that Dafna is targeting. If not too limited by the availability of resources, I would predict that the music video project would be a great success.