Announcing the Digital Promise filmMAKER Challenge

We at Digital Promise are very excited about the launch of the filmMAKER Challenge, an opportunity for middle and high school students to learn about and engage in product design and filmmaking. Through the challenge, students will use human-centered design strategies to solve real-world problems and share their solutions broadly. filmMAKER pairs product design and filmmaking because even the best ideas fail to make an impact if they can’t be shared with the world.

The Challenge: Reinvent an everyday product to make it more sustainable, accessible, or beautiful and create a documentary video that tells the story of the process.

Teachers who work with student groups on this project can download the Challenge Guide, containing projects and activities that will help students build their skills as designers and storytellers. Participating teachers don’t need to have experience in design and media to work on the challenge; all that is needed is comfort working with kids and an open mind! We are also planning a series of webinars with experts in design and documentary film during the months of January and February to help guide teachers through this project.

The filmMAKER Challenge is open to any group of middle or high school age students, with the support of a teacher, coach, or other mentor. Students are invited to submit their videos to Digital Promise before March 24, 2017 to be considered for an invitation to present their film and designs at the Bay Area Maker Faire in California in May 2017, or the World Maker Faire in New York in October 2017. More details can be found on the filmMAKER website. Good luck!