Renters Have Rights is an 18–minute video made by a fundamentals class at Malaspina University-College, Cowichan Campus. As the title suggests, the focus is on landlord-tenant law. The instructor, Kate Nonesuch, wrote a series of scripts which were read by class members who appear on the video. Kate prepared an accompanying User’s Guide with suggestions for using the video, a handout that summarizes the information from the video, as well as some discussion and/or writing questions. There are also two exercises for students who may have difficulty with reading and writing some of the words in the video. One exercise is a Word Find; the other is a group activity where students match sentence parts to form a complete statement.

There are many positive outcomes of using this video:

• Very often, adults with low academic skills do not feel they have rights, and the video does an excellent job of stressing one’s rights. One student said, “Now when I have trouble, I’ll tell my landlord that I know I have rights.”
• Many students indicated that they learned from the video where to go for help, and they hadn’t been aware of this before. For example, what is the RTB and what can it do for you? One student commented, “Now I know there is a place to go and get some satisfaction.”
• Many students said they would recommend the video to a friend who needs help with a tenant problem.
• “I like it because it encourages people to help each other out.” wrote one student.

One tutor stated Renters Have Rights contains excellent information and is presented well, especially for those who have difficulty reading. It is presented in a clear, easy-to-follow manner.”

Some students commented that the video is repetitive. However, for many people, repetition is effective for learning. Other students, on seeing the video, commented that they could make a video like that!

I believe this video is an excellent resource, intended for the adult learner who is functioning academically at a basic level.