What is SIMA Academy?
Designed as a fast track to global citizenship education and social emotional learning, the online streaming platform harnesses the power of visual storytelling in service of 21st Century Education. Teachers and students access a carefully curated collection of over 240 award-winning short documentaries and VR experiences sourced from over 140 countries around the globe - with teaching resources and participatory lessons that take students on a journey from empathy and critical thinking to action.
Educational Impact
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SIMA Academy Reviews
from 3 Verified Reviews
User rating
Country
Hanna
English teacher, vice-principal
Used SIMA Classroom for more than 2 years
Nov 2020
This resource is perfect for classroom use because all the documentaries are carefully selected and accompanied with lesson plans or extra links and resources and focus on issues connected with SDGs.
Hanna found SIMA Classroom:
- Significantly improves teaching efficiency and productivity“As an English teacher, I use SIMA films to develop my students’ language skills, and also to start class discussion and motivate learners to become change agents. I aim to develop students’ global competence, soft skills, teach them to live successfully in diverse, globalized and rapidly changing world and raise active and responsible citizens. After watching “Nature Needs You” my students were inspired by the story of Australians protecting nature by working with their communities. This documentary motivated us to look for solutions of our local environmental problems. After watching “The Ark”, a 360 video about the endangered white rhinos, we understood the power of immersive storytelling and decided to use it in our campaign. Through the SIMA lesson plan “The Producer: My World 360 Challenge” my students were introduced to 360 media production. The learners’ script won a 360 media production kit from the Digital Promise Global. With it students made a 360 video showing the world through the eyes of a shelter dog. We believe that immersive video can convey feelings and emotions in a really powerful way. We disseminated our video in YouTube and social networks addressing a bigger audience, especially the youth, who find internet videos really engaging. Our video won the local youth media competition and was included in the MyWorld360 playlist.”
- Significantly improves teacher knowledge and skills“All documentaries from SIMA Classroom are accompanied with students' worksheets and extra links. The resources are up to date and have impact on teacher knowledge in methodology of using digital storytelling in the classroom.”
Ava-Gaye Blackford
Teacher
Used SIMA Classroom for 3 years (subscription has ended)
Nov 2020
This is a great opportunity to provide students will the knowledge and skills to become competent global citizens.
Ava-Gaye Blackford found SIMA Classroom:
- Significantly improves teaching efficiency and productivity“Making the teaching and learning process more meaningful and connect learning to real world situations.”
- Significantly improves teacher knowledge and skills“Sima Classroom has helped me to become more acquainted with real world/ global issues. The videos that my students and I have viewed on Sima Classroom (A Way Forward, Fledgling, Girls in Control, Hope, Inner Me etc.) has helped to improve Intercultural understanding, respective for difference, global competence, social emotional learning and promote empathy among my students. I have seen students displaying more compassion towards each other. They are also more appreciative of their culture knowing that their is gender equality especially in attending school. It is simply amazing giving the students the ability to be able to see what is really happening outside the walls of the classroom out there in the real world. They are so surprised to see some of the things that transpire in the world. This experience has been an eye-opener for students. Students also became eager to find solutions to global issues and also volunteer to support in any way they can in and and around their community. Sima Classroom has exposed students to relevant, meaningful activities that both engage students emotionally and connect with the real world. This helps to build relevance by showing how theory can be applied in practice, establishing relevance to local cases and relating material to everyday applications. On SIMA Classroom we have watched short documentaries and VR experiences that bring global human rights issues and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to life. This platform has helped students with their project based activities when they had to present on various Sustainable Development Goals. We use these videos as conversation prompts and respond to the videos by engaging in discussions. As an educator I have also introduced other global educators to this platform to use when teaching the SDGS or on other global collaboration projects. This platform help students to build tolerance, understanding of global issues and bring real-life, compelling stories from around the world into classrooms. I include Innovative project based activities. Giving students opportunities to set their own goals and monitor their progress. Give student opportunities to move around, work with others and make choices about their learning. They make predictions and conduct experiments. I help students identify their own interests, goals and values. Then provide students with the opportunity to explore the world through Sima Classroom and experiences that spark curiosity, kindness and empathy, using activities designed to foster meaningful connections among students from around the world. My students are fascinated about learning about the world around them and communicating with their peers. ISima Classroom has helped my students to make connections with the real world and learn about the global challenges we face relating to poverty, inequality, climate, prosperity, peace and justice as we make connections with others around the world. My students and I are grateful to have been able to learn from and connect to people around the world regarding global issues relating to the SDGs and global issues. I have incorporated the Lesson plans on Sima classroom into my regular curriculum to make learning more relevant.”
Camelia Benhayda
Arabic language teacher
Used SIMA Classroom for 2 years
Nov 2020
Having such a variety of films along with lessons' plan is just amazing
Camelia Benhayda found SIMA Classroom:
- Significantly improves teaching efficiency and productivity“Nefertiti's daughters has a huge impact in my students from a movie to a whole school project”
- Significantly improves teacher knowledge and skills“We can't keep in all the human and global issues, SIMA is an updated and great resource”