Purpose

Learners will create a digital story from the point of view of a fictional historical figure to demonstrate their knowledge and comprehension of a historical period/era/event.

Description

Students will create a video about imagined historical figures' specific day or life in one of the cultures, societies, or groups studied in the course. The journal must be presented in a publicly accessible video on Youtube.

Important: Video files or unapproved postings will not be accepted for grading.

Details

Project proposal

(1) Choose a time period and region that pertains to the course.

• Examples: Roman Republic, Medieval England, Renaissance Italy, etc.

(2) Choose  an imagined person within that time period and region from different classes or stations in life (These should be composite characters or actual historical figures).

• Examples: slave, serf, peasant, merchant, philosopher, temple priest/priestess, clergy member, aristocrat, monarch, etc.

  Students must submit a 150-200 word proposal in the first third of the course (see schedule)

•  Must include a time period, region, and characters.
•  Lay out how you plan to carry out your research.

Bibliography

Format:
        Bibliography citations should be in Chicago Style Format:>   https://libguides.nvcc.edu/ChicagoTurabian

(3) Use  at least 10 sources, both primary and secondary, to research what their lives were like (at least 5 of the 10 sources must be primary ones).

• Library research guide:
  
• Western Civ:  https://libguides.nvcc.edu/HIS101-102-Kincheloe
• World Civ:     https://libguides.nvcc.edu/c.php?g=1345814
• US History:    https://libguides.nvcc.edu/c.php?g=1345816

• Primary sources
  
• court records
• memoirs/autobiographies
• letters
• artifacts, etc.

• Secondary sources
• Scholarly journals
• Newspaper and other media and video archives
• Appropriate history-related websites and databases (not Wikipedia)
• Historical documentaries
• History textbooks

                       
                        Please contact a NOVA librarian if you have questions on locating sources.

Final submission

(4)  Here are some tips:

Look for personal details like ...

• What significance is their life to the historical period
  
• What their role in society was
  
• What kinds of work or leisure activities they did
• Who they encountered
• What  types of technology they were able to use
• What kinds of hardships or challenges they experienced
• What significant historical events they experienced, à la Forrest Gump 
• Et cetera

Acceptable Primary and Secondary Sources

• Primary sources (court records, memoirs/autobiographies, letters, artifacts, etc.)
• Print secondary sources
• Scholarly journals
• Newspaper and other media and video archives
• Appropriate history-related websites and databases (not Wikipedia)
• Historical documentaries
• History textbooks

(5) Write scripts for your subject's 4 minute videos in the fictional character style often seen on YouTube and Instagram. Here are some tips:

• Introduce your subject and make the purpose of the video clear.
• Keep your subject’s class/station in life in mind when writing their script, e.g., a medieval serf wouldn’t have spoken in the same way as the Archbishop of Canterbury would have.
• You can be creative here and use slang or poor grammar if it makes sense for your historical figure; just be consistent.
• You can add additional actors to your video if you’d like your character to meet someone during the course of their day, as long as the person they meet makes sense within the historical context, and your focus remains primarily on your character.

(6) Choose  set(s) and gather props, costumes, and/or images you’d like to use in your videos.

(7) Review your script. If you are unsure of the pronunciation of any of the words or names in your script, please look them up via a google search prior to filming.

(8) Start filming your videos.        (If using a smartphone, do not forget to turn your camera sideways!)

Here are some suggestions for software to use:         

• iMovie
• Movie Maker
• Final Cut Express
• Camtasia
• WeVideo

(9) Edit your 4 minute video for quality, consistency, pacing, and adherence to the time length requirement.

(10) Upload your videos to YouTube.

• Important: All final project videos must be posted on YouTube. You must upload the link for the instructor to grade. Do not set your video to “private” or select any other access restrictions. It must be public for the instructor to grade.

(11) Submit your video link and script

• When you have completed your project, you will submit it on Canvas.

Group Project  = If completed as a group project, NOTE:  

-The project must reflect the efforts of multiple people in both length and depth.
-The videos can be filmed separately , but there should be consistency in style, graphics, and editing.

-Each student's grade will be assessed on the complete project, not just the sections completed by an individual student.
 
Examples of Video research project - Link (assignment is different, but some good examples)