Project Blueprint

Project Title (Media Type):
Be Independent and Stand Up Against Bullying (Educational Video Series)

Subtitle:
A 3-Part Educational Video Series on Confidence, Empathy, and Courage

Date Updated:
October 10, 2025

Authors:
Team Courage — Fan, Micky

Project Overview

We created this educational video series to help teenagers understand the importance of independence, self-respect, and standing up against bullying.
This topic is highly relevant to middle and high school students who are developing their identities and social awareness.

We chose this topic because bullying remains a serious issue in many schools. Through emotional storytelling and clear educational messaging, we aim to show that:

• You are not alone.
• Speaking up and seeking help are forms of strength.
• Independence and empathy can make our communities safer and kinder.

During the production process, our team realized how essential empathy, teamwork, and narrative clarity are to making educational media that truly connects with students.

Understanding Phase

Challenge Description

Students often feel powerless or scared when facing bullying. They need to learn how to think independently, express themselves, and seek help bravely.

Context and Audience

Our target audience includes middle and high school students (ages 12–17) who may have witnessed, experienced, or participated in bullying.

Typical users: Students who experience verbal or online bullying in school settings.

Extreme users: Students who have faced severe exclusion, physical bullying, or long-term emotional harm.

Needs: To understand what bullying is, how to respond safely, and how to find support.

Motivations: They want to feel respected, accepted, and confident.

Psychologically, many students desire belonging and self-worth but fear confrontation. Behaviorally, they often remain silent or passive witnesses. This project aims to empower them to recognize injustice, speak up, and take constructive action.

POV Statement

A student who feels isolated or bullied needs to learn self-expression and help-seeking strategies so that they can stand up against injustice, maintain dignity, and support others.

Learning Objectives

Main Objectives

• Understand the definition and emotional impact of bullying.
• Learn appropriate strategies to respond to bullying (refusal, reporting, seeking help).
• Develop independence, confidence, and empathy.

Sub-Objectives

• Strengthen communication and self-expression skills.
• Recognize the role and responsibility of bystanders.
• Encourage the creation of supportive, inclusive school environments.

Hidden (Meta) Learning Goals

• Promote social responsibility and self-worth.
• Inspire students to see courage in many forms — speaking up, listening to others, and standing together.

Planning Phase

Ideation

We brainstormed around keywords such as independence, courage, empathy, support, and change.
We decided to create three 1-minute videos, each representing a key stage of anti-bullying awareness and action.

Video Concepts:

Video 1 – Recognize Bullying
Show different types of bullying (verbal, cyber, physical, and social exclusion).
Learning focus: Recognize what bullying is and why saying “no” matters.

Video 2 – Find Your Voice
A student decides to speak up and seek help from a teacher.
Learning focus: Expressing and seeking help is a form of courage.

Video 3 – Build a Supportive Community
Students create an anti-bullying campaign together.
Learning focus: Independence doesn’t mean isolation; empathy creates change.

Prototype Description:
An animated short following one student’s story — from being bullied, to speaking up, to inspiring others to stand together.

Script

Video 1 – Recognize Bullying

Scene 1: A girl quietly wipes insults like “Ugly Duckling” and “Monster” carved into her desk.
Narration: “Sometimes, the cruelest words are carved where everyone can see, yet no one dares to erase.”

Scene 2: Three classmates mock and push her while others stay silent.
Narration: “Silence becomes survival, and cruelty hides in plain sight.”

End: A quiet classmate offers her a tissue and a candy.
Narration: “Kindness can come from the quietest corners.”
Text on screen: “Recognizing bullying is the first step to change.”

Video 2 – Find Your Voice

Scene 1: The same girl hesitates outside the teacher’s office, holding an anonymous report letter.
Narration: “Fear keeps us quiet, but silence doesn’t change anything.”

Scene 2: She finally hands the letter to the teacher. The teacher listens carefully.
Narration: “Speaking up takes courage, but it can begin the change.”

End: Her quiet friend smiles and gives her a thumbs-up.
Text on screen: “Speaking up creates change.”

Video 3 – Build a Supportive Community

Scene 1: Students hang posters and prepare for “Anti-Bullying Day.”
Narration: “Change begins when we stand together.”

Scene 2: The once-bullied girl now helps organize the event. She speaks on stage.
Dialogue: “Kindness is not weakness. Courage is standing up for others.”

End: The crowd cheers. She and her friend exchange smiles.
Narration: “Independence means not being controlled by fear. Courage is standing together.”
Text on screen: “Together, we can stop bullying.”

Applicable Principles

This project is guided by Multimedia Learning Principles frameworks:

Coherence Principle: Remove unnecessary visuals or audio distractions.

Personalization Principle: Use conversational tone and relatable characters to build empathy.

Contiguity Principle: Synchronize visuals and narration to reinforce understanding.

Segmenting Principle: Divide content into three short videos to manage cognitive load.

Emotional Engagement Principle: Use emotional storytelling to help learners feel and internalize the message.