Thank your teacher

Do you want to tell thousands of stories about teachers who have changed lives?

Teachers often play a significant role in the lives of children and young people. So significant, in fact, that often the effects are reflected over several years, even up to adulthood.

English | Suomi

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Finland 100

Overview

HundrED has selected this innovation to

Finland 100

Web presence

2016

Established

-

Children

1

Countries

Target group

All

Updated

March 2017

It's really important that there are teachers who can see the different ways in which children think and act - whatever they may be. A teacher’s support can have an impact on the rest of one’s life, giving courage and confidence.

About the innovation

What is it all about?

Teachers face many demands at work and carry a lot of educational responsibility. In addition, the profession is quite supervised and regulated, depending on the country. These demands are combined with the changing role of the teacher, due to changes and progression in society. When content becomes older faster, will the teacher become more of a facilitator and supervisor?

Although teachers’ work is facing changes and challenges, the teacher’s role for an individual student may be significant.

The Thank Your Teacher campaign is an excellent way of highlighting the importance and appreciation of teachers, which is needed in these changing times. The campaign clearly shows that the role of a teacher for a person’s life is much more than just teaching content. For many, the teacher has been the only safe adult who has provided guidance with a lasting impact.

In the campaign, influencers from different fields share their stories about the teachers who have influenced them, encouraging others to do the same. People are encouraged to share their own stories through social media, blogs, or other public forums.

A successful campaign brings the importance of teachers review to everyone's lips and helps us recall those teachers who truly made a difference.

The Thank Your Teacher campaign increases the appreciation of teachers and the visibility of their work in society. If implemented on a regular basis, it increases the appreciation and attractiveness of the teacher's profession.

Impact & scalability

Impact & Scalability

Innovativeness

The campaign brings multiple voices into the discussion on teachers and highlights exceptional school memories and stories.

Impact

The concrete role of teachers' work in the lives of individuals is made publicly visible.

Scalability

The campaign can be implemented anywhere, regardless of the school system.

Media

Minna Tervamäki : Kehu opettajaa | HundrED

Arman Alizad – Thank Your Teacher

Saku Tuominen : Kehu opettajaa | HundrED

Implementation steps

Inviting public figures along

Only a few people are required for the campaign − preferably from different fields and different age groups. Representation is important because the campaign wants to highlight a variety of stories.

When you ask people to participate in the campaign, it's important that they know what they are getting involved in and get the information they need in a clear, but precise way.

Steps 1 to 2 can be done in either order: if public figures become interested first, it may be easier to get media partners on board. Similarly, reliable partners can increase the individual's desire to participate in the campaign.

Media and collaborators

In order for the campaign to achieve maximum visibility, it is best to combine multiple resources.

There is potency in social media, however, an actual phenomenon arises when the traditional media presents the message as well. Magazines, newspapers, radio and television all suit this purpose. Propose collaboration! In the best case, the media partner can provide the settings for video production and interviews.

It’s also worthwhile considering other collaborators: could a YouTube personality be interested in spreading the message? Or could you find a notable person to join the campaign as its patron?

The basic elements of the campaign

Agree on the permanent basic elements of the campaign with the collaborators.

These include at least

A hashtag for sharing stories

A campaign logo

Sponsor logos and their visibility

Campaign website and its implementation

Schedule for publication

There is no need to set up new social media accounts for the campaign if the hashtag can be made visible enough through the organizer’s and collaborator accounts. The campaign's own website can well be enough if there’s a good tool for collecting all the campaign messages.

Video production

Although stories can be shared in a variety of forms, the stories of public figures have most momentum when they are on film.

By this stage at the latest, it should be clear how many videos and what kind you want to include in the campaign. For example, each interviewee shares one memory or story, which is filmed and edited to run no longer than two minutes. In addition, a compilation of the best or most noteworthy excerpts can be used for advertising purposes.

Create a filming schedule and guide the interviewees to think of a story they’d like to share.

The videos form the foundation for the entire campaign, and their uniform look is central. Filming should be arranged in the same studio within a limited time frame and use the same camera operator for all the shots.

Campaign implementation

It’s worth building momentum around the campaign before it goes public. The videos, basic material and the website should all be ready prior to this.

The campaign website can be very simple: it doesn’t need other content than a couple of paragraphs describing the purpose of the campaign, the logos of the involved parties, the campaign video embedded in the social media feed that collects the content with the hashtag you need.

Prepare for the fact that you might have to do a bit of tidying up with the messages posted on the website. You should choose a tool that makes moderating the website possible in some way.

Once the website is up, upload the videos for viewing. When the campaign launch is approaching, it's a good idea to go through the steps with those involved: who tweets, what and when? The dates for each publication? Who has been asked in advance to share their experiences?

Feedback and review

When the campaign has been implemented once and feedback has been collected from collaborators, the campaign can be developed into an annual event.