Take 2 -- A Powerful New Way to Teach Students About the World

From Karin Muller, Executive Director, Take 2, Inc.

A POWERFUL NEW WAY TO TEACH STUDENTS ABOUT THE WORLD:
Compelling, Innovative, And Free.

“I can’t get my daughter to do anything at home but the energy she puts into this project just blows me away!”
Parent, Florida Public high School

How do you break through the clamor of cell phones, MP3 players, and Twitter to reach the heart of a 17-year-old? National Geographic filmmaker Karin Muller has found a way. Each year, Karin spends three months in war zones and refugee camps, filming in-depth stories of the local people. Once Karin returns to the USA she creates substantial supporting documents, summaries, modules, and background information and offers the entire package free of charge to educational institutions in the USA and around the world and works with students as they use her footage to create 1-30 minute documentaries, shorts, and PSAs.

This year schools have produced videos about a Sudanese refugee camp surgeon who is also the camp butcher and a hundred other stories of hardship and hope in war-torn Darfur. When they finish the students take their projects on the road to educate the public and practice their newfound leadership and global citizenship skills.

These projects meet Media or Social Studies curricular standards but can also be used as extracurricular/honors projects that viscerally place students in the center of hot-button, global events through the use of cutting-edge National Geographic-quality video. They are broad enough to cover a full-year course or can be scaled down to a 2-week module.

Because Karin Muller travels completely on her own - living with local families, speaking their language, eating their food, and following local dress and customs – her footage offers students stories that are far more intimate and detailed than what they see on broadcast TV.

“Though our focus is on the people of Sudan, Cuba, and Gaza, it’s ultimately America that benefits when our youth develop leadership skills, empathy, collaboration, and critical thinking.”

In August Karin will add her footage from Cuba to the Sudan video already in circulation. And in 2011 – Gaza. Karin’s nonprofit organization – Take 2: The Student’s Point of View - is currently inviting high schools, colleges, or universities to join the project.

For more information about Take 2 and how to join, please visit www.take2videos.org or email Karin Muller at Karin@karinmuller.com

Sincerely yours,
Karin Muller
Executive Director
Take 2, Inc.

LINKS:

This first one is a 2.8-minute demo video about a school in Florida that participated in our pilot year.

http://take2videos.ning.com/video/take-2-demo-for-high-speed

This page gives a sample flowchart from our Sudan footage. The flowcharts provide an overview of the kinds of stories available in the footage and how they are connected with each other. There are six flowcharts for Sudan and over a hundred stories.

http://www.take2videos.org/SAMPLE%20DOCS/FlowChart1.html

And finally, a sample summary from one of our 37 hours of footage. We do much more than just describe what’s in the video - we provide background on the people, flag issues, explain cultural aspects, and raise questions.

http://www.take2videos.org/SAMPLE%20DOCS/Tape%20Summary.html

Karin will be giving a lecture at the Geographic Society in Philadelphia next May on the topic of Sudan/Cuba/Take 2. If enough PA schools join the project then they would create a competition and ask the winners to join her in giving that speech and showing their docs in a professional arena.