Celyn Jones launches our new Digital Literacy resource in Wales

Actor and Into Film Ambassador Celyn Jones visited Cornist Park School in Flint, North Wales, to launch our brand new Digital Literacy - The Storyteller resource, which uses the accessible and immersive medium of film to help develop digital literacy. 

Created in consultation with educators and Welsh Government Digital Pioneer Kellie Williams, the resource provides a variety of opportunities for students aged 7-14 to develop digital literacy skills through analysing film and creating their own content. All the tasks and activities have been designed to meet the requirements of the new curriculum in Wales whilst also supporting the development of skills found on English and Literacy curricula across the UK.

Speaking at the event, Celyn Jones, who hails from North Wales and has worked as a teacher himself, thanked Into Film and the National Lottery, and encouraged young people to embrace working with film. "This is a fantastic resource and an excellent example of how film can be used to motivate and educate young people in ways which make learning fun", said Jones. "I've seen young people grow from working with film in education. I've seen them build their self-confidence and self-esteem. The work Into Film achieves and delivers is exciting and essential in giving young people a voice and unlocking their creativity, from the building of emotional literacy through its school film clubs, to the strengthening of self identities through its filmmaking opportunities. I am delighted to be a part of it."

Available in English and Welsh, and mapped against both the National Literacy and Numeracy Framework and the Digital Competency Framework, our Digital Literacy - The Storyteller resource comprises teacher's notes, a PowerPoint presentation with embedded film clips, supporting activity sheets, and links to recommended apps, software and additional resources. Activities are based on the short film, The Storyteller, but can also be used with other shorts to support strands of the curriculum in Wales linked to citizenship, interacting and collaborating, and producing.

The resource activities range from decoding clips using the 3Cs (camera, character, colour) and 3Ss (story, setting, sound), character profiling and creating a headline or news report, to storyboarding, location scouting and record and playback, and can be used in sequence, or cherry-picked according to the needs of the class.