From Clague Middle School
A team of Clague Middle School technology students won first place in the Energy Works Michigan ShowGreenTV Student Film Challenge and were honored during a ceremony in January at The Michigan Theater.
Technology teacher Michael Harris said he was invited to the program by Clague students Karina, Zoe, Christina, Jasmine and Annika who won for the 13-and-Under Category in the second round of competition which asked the question: “What is global climate change and what’s your solution?”
The event was part of Energy Works Michigan’s Michigan Renewable Schools program. It challenged students around the state to create a short video outlining small solutions to global climate change, encouraging them to research and think about what they could do to help.
Students in grades K-12 created video projects of under two minutes and competed in categories of 13-and-under and ages 14-19. First prize was $200 and a new Flip Video Camcorder; the Clague team donated the camera to the school for use in technology class.
“I would like to be able to say that their winning video was my idea, that I told them what to do and so on and so forth … but this would not be true,” Harris said. Although Harris said he helped students with technology, gave them examples, encouraged out-of-the-box thinking, led them through the development process and helped them troubleshoot, “the idea was theirs and theirs alone, and in my humble, somewhat biased opinion, a worthy winner,” he added.
Harris said he feels fortunate to work in a school and a district that encourages him to teach the “how to” of technology and take it one step further to help students apply it. “Nowhere is this better illustrated than in the student film that won the award,” he said.
The Clague winning entry is titled “Earth.” View it and other winning student entries at the Energy Works Michigan website.
