Contest Hints: Creative Spark 2023 Video Contest

Hints, and They're Good Ones

Seriously interested in trying to win? These hints will be a big help, and because some folks might be too dense to read this page (bless their hearts), you'll have an advantage!

  1. Choose a topic and plan a creative way of presenting it. Lots of people just create a video hoping it will be good. Eesh. A little bit of planning goes a long way!
  2. Start early enough, remembering that there are a few things to submit: for student entries, the video and two forms: one the student fills out and a verification form the teacher must do. For teacher entries, just the video and entry form are necessary. Links to the entry form are in the navigation on the right. Remember that all materials must be in by the deadline.
  3. Gather the photos, footage, and any audio (music and/or sound effects) you need, collecting the citation information as you go. Save yourself time by putting all the citation information (examples here) in the file name of the piece of media. A key piece of this contest is properly citing your sources, remembering that we are pointing you to specific sites for anything you do not create yourself.
  4. Check again that you used copyright-friendly material from the specified sites - ignoring this rule may be the easiest way to be disqualified from the finalist round.
  5. When you have finished the first draft of your video, watch it with your teacher to double-check that you haven't made mistakes related to the content. You don't want to create a video that would teach someone something incorrect, of course. You may also want to show it to others to get as much feedback as possible. The videos that make the finalist stage are likely to be those that were carefully crafted to be the best they can be.
  6. Print out this checklist of the requirements and make sure you followed them all before submitting your video.

If you have time and the desire to do so, make and submit more than one video! All videos submitted to this contest will be added to the online library at NextVista.org (if of acceptable quality). What you make could help dozens, hundreds, or thousands of people around the world more effectively learn something.

sculpture of whispering coupleIn addition to its contests, Next Vista for Learning annually recognizes all creators who submit five or more videos of acceptable quality for inclusion in the online library. Those who do so receive the Distinguished Content Creator Award, and this can be in the name of an individual student, a program at a school, or an entire school. Those who meet the deadlines for this contest with five or more entries (of sufficient quality for inclusion in the libraries) will earn this award.

A student who creates a video of insufficient quality may revise the video after the contest and request that it be considered for inclusion in the online library. Final decisions regarding quality and inclusion in the online library are the sole discretion of Next Vista for Learning.