Personally, I view myself as digitally native. Having being brought into technology at a young age I was always very curious when it came to touch screens and how a simple tap on the screen with your finger could control a device. IMovie was something which I remember using during Primary, especially at upper school. Creating videos to portray road safety, for example, was one of my most significant memories of my experience, and a positive one at that. After hearing that this session was going to be about iMovie, I was really excited to contribute to this lesson due to previously having such great memories.
Primary schools can use iMovie in a variety of ways to inform children about the subject that they are learning about. Its multimodal features can increase the pupil’s comprehension if used effectively. Having the ability to bring lessons to life through the use of videos, sounds and pictures which creates a short movie attracts the pupil’s attention and in result, has a positive impact on their learning.
Within the classroom iMovie can be used to raise attainment since there is evidence which proves that when effectively used can “raise the speed and depth of learning in science and mathematics for primary and secondary age learners” (The Scottish Government 2015). Other benefits with this app include: the ability to teach pupils in ways traditional learning cannot – “students think and process information fundamentally differently from their predecessors” (Prensky, 2001, p.1). Since younger generations are being enveloped in technology, this idea of teaching in traditional ways may not be the best solution. The solution would be to integrate technology into teaching since this could potentially increase their motivation levels since it is what they use at home. Another benefit is that the learning experience is quicker and more enjoyable since it is more attractive to look at (Beauchamp, 2012). With having these impacts within the classroom we can see why the use of iMovie can address subjects as well as topics like e-safety since it can grip an audience.
Teachers in general, can only advise their classroom as much as they can about the positive and negative aspects about the online world. However, it is important that they are realistic about the dangers. To not only educate the pupils knowledge, but to make them aware of the dangers that are out there. “The most successful schools… in terms of e-safety ensured that pupils knew what to do when things went wrong” (Beauchamp, 2012, p.60). We should advise them that their accounts should stay private, that they do not share personal details and if they feel uncomfortable to tell an adult straight away. Overall, the pupil should also be aware of what they comment and post towards others as well as to never meet up with someone you do not know. This is very important since the person may not be who they say they are.
For our own iMovie, my group decided to discuss the issue of catfishing and how keeping your account private is more important than what it seems. Many people feel like it is okay to let people they do not know follow them as well as become their friend on Facebook or other well-known social media apps; like Snapchat. Our iMovie started with me, scrolling through my Instagram: posting photos on my profile, sharing my personal information (location, snapchat name) as well as having my account not private. This meant that anyone could view my details. This resulted in me getting cat fished since anyone (Ross) could view my photos. Ross screenshotted my photos, created a new account pretending to be me as well as messaged my friend (Lynne) who believed that I had just made a new account. This then led her to meet up with my catfish believing that she was meeting me. Our story then ended with my group going through all the different ways in which this could have been prevented. Listing these at the end consolidated this information for the viewer’s. It advised them through tips and gave them facts which they were to keep in mind when creating their own social media accounts.
The learning outcomes which we would cover for this activity would be from Digital Literacy on the aspect of Cyber resilience and Internet Safety.
I can explore online communities demonstrating an understanding of responsible digital behaviour and I’m aware of how to keep myself safe and secure. TCH 2-03a
This outcome can be succeeded through using iMovie since you can clearly get your message across to your audience. The topic of internet safety is a significant area which is happening around us today. Digital Literacy is important for us to be able to contribute in today’s society fully (Weiss, 2017). This overall, demonstrates that we do need to use digital technology to give the children the knowledge which they need to live and be able to adjust to the world around them. For myself, reflecting on this lesson, I can agree with this and feel more aware of this issue. This lesson gained many skills for myself as our group struggled to begin with – feeling like we took a while to get officially started. In the future I would think that a smaller group may have been better for this since not all of us were actually in the movie and could have maybe made it fairer for them to be more included.
References
• Beauchamp, G. (2012) ICT in the Primary School: From Pedagogy to Practice. Pearson.
• Prensky, M. (2001) Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants. MCB University Press.
• Scottish Government (2016) A Digital Learning and Teaching Strategy for Scotland. Edinburgh: Scottish Government [Online] Available at: http://www.gov.scot/Resource/0050/00505855.pdf
• Weiss, D. (2017) Time to Know blog [Online] http://timetoknow.com/blog/essential-digital-literacy-skills-for-the-21st-century-worker/ [Accessed: 5.2.18]
