I have written in the past about mysimpleshow, an easy and clever way educators can create explainer videos. Mysimpleshow is aligned with simpleshow foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to educating the world. This summer, in cooperation with the United Nations System Staff College (UNSSC), they are participating in a summer volunteer program to encourage everyone to promote the United Nations 17 Global Goals in support of the 2030 Agenda of Sustainable Development:
In collaboration with the United Nations System Staff College, the simpleshow foundation has set up a volunteering program that aims to educate the world about the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Using [the online tool] mysimpleshow, volunteers are encouraged to explain details and background of these 17 Global Goals of the Agenda 2030 in short and entertaining explainer videos. The program allows volunteers of all ages to gain a better grasp of the Agenda’s topics and help create a public understanding of the importance of these goals.
Volunteers can sign up at simpleshow-foundation.org.
When you sign up, you choose a topic, access mysimpleshow, and create your explainer video.
Training content as well as tips and tricks on how to create a great explainer video are provided. After finishing the video, you can donate it to be featured on and distributed from simpleshow foundation’s channels.
About simpleshow foundation
The simpleshow foundation is a young nonprofit that seeks to build connections between the free knowledge available in the world and people who need to understand it. It was founded by Morten Sondergaard and Jens Schmelzle who believe that “sustainable change will be driven by education.” Together with a community of volunteer authors, simpleshow foundation has already produced around one hundred explainer videos and has shared them under a creative commons license. Aside from that, the foundation runs free video workshops for universities as well as educational projects in cooperation with Wikipedia.
How can you use this in your curriculum
Note: School guidelines vary depending upon their missions. Check with administrative personnel before relying on this service learning option as a method of fulfilling requirements.
Here are seven ways this project might fit your specific school needs:
- as an end-of-year project so students can connect to other learners across the globe
- for community service hours required for IB certificates or college applications
- to gain perspective on other international cultures
- as an optional class available to high school students preparing for college and career
- for service learning high school credit; upon request, mysimpleshow foundation can provide a certificate for the hours dedicated to educating the world.
- to comply with specific college scholarship requirements
- in conjunction with integrating technology into classwork (creating the digital explainer videos)
- as a method of serving the community despite personal traits that prevent you from participating in other service learning programs.
Here’s an example of an explainer video created for this project:
Jacqui Murray has been teaching K-8 technology for 20 years. She is the editor/author of over a hundred tech ed resources including a K-8 technology curriculum, K-8 keyboard curriculum, K-8 Digital Citizenship curriculum. She is an adjunct professor in tech ed, CSG Master Teacher, webmaster for four blogs, an Amazon Vine Voice reviewer, CAEP reviewer, CSTA presentation reviewer, freelance journalist on tech ed topics, and a weekly contributor to TeachHUB. You can find her resources at Structured Learning. Read Jacqui’s tech thriller series, To Hunt a Sub and Twenty-four Days.
