Essential Skills Investigation (ESI) DVD Media Tools

What is the overall impact of the initiative and how is this measured?

Project consists of three  15-minute DVDs

• ESI I in English, French and close captioned for Deaf Stream community
• ESI II in English, French and close captioned for Deaf Stream community, with accompanying Facilitator Guide
• ESI III in English, with accompanying Facilitator Guide

Goal of Project:

The main objectives of the resource are to:

• Build awareness and understanding of ES in a way that engages and informs.
• Introduce the concept of ES quickly and to reach new and broader audiences.
• Provide an ES Aboriginal-made tool that was effective, accurate and entertaining.

What challenges have you faced and how were these overcome?

• Funding needed to create more ES DVDs
• Funding to market, promote and distribute  the tools

What are 3 key lessons you learned from developing or delivering your initiative? What advice from those lessons would you share with others?

• There is a need for more Aboriginal-made ES tools that are creative, learner-centred, relevant, current and relatable.
• An open and collaborative approach in the development of the product not only ensures the accuracy and validity of the resource, but also resulted in the creation of new story-lines, new products and more users.
• There needs to be a source of on-going funding for the continued promotion and distribution of these resources.

What have participants, stakeholders and partners thought, felt and/or said about your initiative?

As one facilitator put it, “I have tons of resources on my shelf, books and binders… but one of my real go-to pieces is that DVD.”

“It’s entertaining, fun and suspenseful. No one falls asleep….”

A facilitator commented, “It’s grassroots; it’s relatable; it’s where the people live.”

Which Essential Skills are covered by the initiative? Reading Text Document Use Numeracy Writing Oral Communications Working with Others Thinking Skills Computer Use Continuous Learning

How are the Essential Skills integrated into your initiative?

The DVDs’ story line is based on a well-known TV show, revolving around a mysterious death ultimately caused by a lack of ES and solved through the use of ES. It presents the practical application of ES in “real life” situations.

This storyline is consistent across the full series

• The original DVD (ESI I) sought to create awareness of all nine ES in a light, but factual manner
• ESI II was created in partnership with the Canadian Automotive Repair Sector Council (CARS) and is focused on Continuous Learning in order to encourage older workers to participate in professional development.
• ESI III was created through a partnership between AESGT, ACCESS, a BC-based urban Aboriginal Skills and Employment Training Strategy (ASET) holder and CARS. The focus for this DVD was Working with Others and Thinking Skills.

The DVDs are not meant to be a standalone tool, but rather to be integrated into lesson plans to reinforce and summarize ES curriculum. They are used to break up more traditional teaching methods and can support transitioning into more in-depth discussions of the nine ES, their complexity levels and potential applications.

What are the components of the initiative? Other

How do you support participant success in the program? Other

How was Indigenous culture integrated into the program content or delivery?

The DVD’s are a resource made for-and-by Aboriginals but its application is also meant for the broader audience of adult learners.

The ESI DVDs were the creative brainchild of members of the Aboriginal Essential Skills Guiding Team (AESG, a volunteer network of Indigenous organizations providing employment and ES training programs to Indigenous people throughout the province of BC.

Bear Image Productions, a First Nations video company, was engaged in the scripting, production, shooting and editing of the DVD. Nadia Design, a First Nations Graphic Arts company, produced all the graphics for the resources and Aboriginal actors were used throughout.

Aboriginal learners especially see it as a resource designed for them; they see themselves in the faces of the Aboriginal actors.

What do you think are the most important competencies and attributes for staff involved in this initiative to have?

No special training is required to use the ESI but staff/facilitators using the tool should have knowledge of ES helps to maximize the instructional value and learning opportunities inherent in the resource.

Who are your partners, and what is their involvement in the initiative?

Partner name	Role
Douglas College – The Training Group	Funder Script Participant
ACCESS – Urban ASET/AHRDA	Funder
Canadian Automotive Repair Sector Council (CARS)	Funder
Métis Nation of BC	Funder Script Participant
Sto:lo Nation Community Development	In-kind contribution Script Participant Actor
Nadia Design – Seabird Island First Nation	In-kind contribution Graphic Art
Bear Image Productions	In-kind contribution Production Company
BCARDS (prior to ASET)	Funder BC/Yukon network of AHRDA’s