The challenge
Not all screentime is created equal.
While it’s well-studied that screentime in excess should be avoided for children, it’s also expected that today’s children will learn how to interact well with technology. That could prove even more challenging with significant language and cultural differences among the student population (things just get lost in translation sometimes). Alana Winnick, Ed Tech Director and Data Protection Officer at Pocantico Hills CSD, and Marina Pisto, third-grade teacher at Pocantico Hills CSD and ISTE Certified Educator, have witnessed firsthand how positive, high-quality interactions with technology have moved the needle for student comprehension and enjoyment of their coursework.
Teaching with technology is about avoiding passive consumption habits and motivating students to use technology to create. Read on to understand how one project assignment provided the perfect template for other teachers to follow.
The solution
By creating interactive video projects, students are given the tools to create and use their point of view in an authentic, personal way.
- Marina’s third graders created Public Service Announcements (PSAs) on global water issues – which combined research, writing, speaking, and media literacy skills.
- Each teacher also explored how to implement accessibility into their videos with captions, translation, color contrast, voiceovers to promote equity among their students’ diverse needs.
- Students could also earn badges for completing different steps, like fact-checking, to gamify and incentivize thorough and thoughtful work.
The results
- Marina and Alana observed growth in digital, creative, and literacy skills among students.
- Students who previously disliked writing reported enjoying these projects and said they didn’t even realize they were writing.
- Engagement lasted through the end of the school year, when motivation is typically low, and students took pride in their work, revising their PSAs because they cared about the subject matter.
- Thanks to gamification and accessibility tools, families – many from multilingual backgrounds – were able to access, celebrate, and engage with their children’s work.
Key takeaways
The model, work, and confer model worked really well for this particular project and as a structure for other WeVideo projects.
Marina taped her own PSA and shared similar examples from child creators to get them excited and show them about the learning projects.
Then, she had the students work in groups during classtime, evaluating and refining their work together. Students could also leverage each others’ expertise to create their video PSAs, which fostered a culture of peer learning. Marina stayed engaged in the conversations to confer and answer any questions she could for students.
This strategy has led to a more interactive technology experience. No longer do kids park in front of a screen with these types of projects – they’re challenged to talk it out and actually learn skills to meet their goals.
Hear the full story
Want to better understand how the teachers gamified and created space for students to make their PSAs their own? Check out presentation from WeVideo's ENGAGE 2025 annual conference.
Practical strategies for educators
- Scale across grades by designing a progression of tech and writing skills that deepens annually.
- Have students work together in class on a video - because the same video can be open on two devices.
- Leverage templates as an entry point for teachers who may not be as tech savvy and students who are just getting familiar with video production.
- Use tools like QR codes to involve families and allow students to show their work. This creates a sense of permanence and buy-in because they’ll have a final product to be proud of.