Teaching sequence

Work through this resource material in the following sequence:

10 minutes

Tune In: What can I do?

10 minutes

Find Out: Realistic e-waste solutions

30 minutes

Take Action: Social media campaign

10 minutes

Reflection

Tune In: What can I do?

Step 1.

Watch the following video about Greta Thunberg at 2:47 mins.

Greta Thunberg - Time's Person of the Year for 2019 (youtu.be/vCWL44gsb_s?feature=shared)

Ask students to discuss the following with the person beside them:

Whether you think Greta has a point about climate change.
Whether there needs to be similar social movements and press concerning e-waste.
Whether or not you believe that one person can make a difference.

Continue watching the remainder of the video and again invite students to discuss the following with another classmate:

Whether you think this is good advice and why.
Whether or not you feel this is advice you might use in your life.

You may also like to watch this section of an interview with Circular Electronics Partnership, made specifically for this unit, in which our guest speaker Ralitza Naydenova, talks about young people being a hope for the future of sustainability

Step 2.

If you have completed the other lessons in this unit, invite students to reflect on these learnings and answer the question,

‘What can I realistically do about e-waste?’

Encourage students to think about all stages in an e-product’s life cycle and what strategies they have learnt along the way to lessen the negative impacts e-waste has on society and the environment.

Once you have discussed their responses to this BIG question, you may like to display or distribute the following factsheets to unpack their ideas further and consolidate the actions they can take that have an impact on the e-waste issue:

Find Out: Realistic e-waste solutions

Step 1.

Watch the following videos with students, which focus on strategies for tackling the e-waste issue, and invite them to take notes about what did and didn’t work for them with regards to convincing them that:

There is an e-waste issue
We must take action
How we can take action

Video 1

Wasted: 50 million tonnes of e-waste every year - UN Environment Programme (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5k-PR4y_ng0)

Video 2

Mental vs Environmental: Responsible Recycling of e-waste - Saahas Zero Waste (youtube.com/watch?v=zZUfePBqJkY)

Video 3

Elkjøp Nordic / Urban Miner - Contagious (youtu.be/m--Gg2qfuGI?feature=shared)

Step 2.

Discuss the aspects of these clips with students that effectively conveyed their message and why this was the case. Which video stood out and was the most memorable? Why?

Allocate students to groups of 2 to 3 and encourage them to discuss the following points about the videos to determine what makes a great campaign video.

Suggest focusing on;

Length of clip
Size and font of text
Use of music
Colour choices
Use of images
Layout
Use of facts and evidence
Well targeted for audience?
Platform choice
Did it grab and hold your attention?
Was there a catchy phrase?
Was there a call to action?

Take Action: Social media campaign

Step 1.

Watch the following interview with your students from McCrindle, a Social Research company. This interview discusses young people's behaviour, attitudes and actions about environmental awareness and sustainability. It also discusses how to communicate sustainability messages effectively, which will be helpful for your students to create their own social media campaign in the last part of this lesson.

McCrindle (hhttps://vimeo.com/865441617?share=copy)

Discuss the following with your students:

Do they feel the research this company has collected about younger generations is in line with their thoughts and feelings in the sustainability and environmental awareness space?
Why is it difficult for information to be communicated in our current social climate?
- Suggested response: Shorter attention spans, we’re receiving lots of messages about different issues, constantly leading to information overload
What were some of the ways people can create effective communication of their messages?
- Suggested response: Engaging storytelling, videos, infographics, and visuals

Step 2.

Explain to students that they will create a social media campaign to educate their peers or local community about e-waste and responsible solutions to the e-waste issue.

In pairs, students are to use Canva (or other programs that your students are familiar with) and put together a social media campaign to create behaviour change in the people it reaches.

(Canva will allow the campaign to be made without it going live, as this may be an issue for schools.)

Students may like to focus on:

Creating awareness of the e-waste issue
Championing organisations that are utilising a circular economy or the Rs of Sustainability
Informing others of ways they can have a positive impact on the e-waste issue

They will also need to submit to their teacher a short written piece which:

Justifies the angle of their campaign and how it will reach their target audience.
Estimates their impact on a local and global scale.

Step 3.

You may like to allocate your students more time to complete this task over the following few lessons or complete it as a design sprint. If you have time, students could create engaging stories, visuals and even videos to communicate their message. Invite students to share their social media campaigns with the class and display visual designs around the classroom to continue inspiring them! When sharing designs with the class, each pair could give the presenting group 2 stars and a wish for their campaign.

Reflection

Invite students to answer the following questions to reflect on their learning in this unit

What is 1 thing you learnt from this lesson/unit that will stick with you?
What is your hope for companies and businesses about e-waste in the future?
What is your hope for consumers and people like you regarding e-waste in the future?

Become a Changemaker for Sustainable Electronic Solutions

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Summary

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