filmit was initially developed to support the growit and cookit strands, but it has since evolved into an integral component of the Open Futures programme in its own right.

filmit is an internet-video system that helps children document and share their ongoing project work. It helps them to communicate with each other, to see the experiences of children in other Open Futures schools and, most importantly, to share their own via the filmit website.

Teachers are given expert instruction in how best to integrate filmit into their lessons and are able to work with new technologies to document their pupils’ work in an innovative way. Schools simply need a computer, broadband connection and a digital camera to capture and edit the children’s experiences.

filmit India is a partnership between Open Futures schools in the UK and 22 schools in Delhi, Kolkata and Chennai. Working with the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) filmit India sees children in the two countries creating short films about their lives, their schools and their culture. By uploading them to the Open Futures filmit website schools across the country and the world can watch and comment on the films. The exchange has provided a means for communication between different cultures and not only helped children learn about each other’s cultures but it also engages them in new ways of seeing and understanding their own.

Children are, on the whole, already relatively familiar with film as a medium – those that aren’t are rapidly drawn to a new form of communication that allows them to share their excitement about their experiences.

That’s a key benefit, because filmit is therefore both exciting and relevant for children.