Tuesday 19th and 26th February 2019
These past two weeks we have been looking at animation and how it can be used effectively in the classroom. During the first week of looking at animation we were familiarising ourselves with the applications ‘puppet pals’ and ‘iStopMotion’ which are both apps used to make short animations on the iPad.
Animations are often many images put together to make something appear to be moving (Jarvis, 2015). Generally, there are five particular types of animation, according to Moving Image Education. Cut-out animations are often the simplest and involve cut up images and pieces of paper which you move slightly each frame, so it appears to be moving. Stop-motion animations are also very popular, with this you could use objects like Lego men or plasticine and move them each frame. There is also pixilation, drawn and computer animation, but it’s more likely that you would use the first two in a Primary School setting.
I started off by looking at animation through using the app ‘Puppet Pals’. I generally disliked this app as you had access to very limited features, and it made you pay for the majority of the characters and backgrounds. It is however easy to work and with access to all the features the app offers I think it could be really quite good to use with children.
We then began to explore iStopMotion, I worked with a friend and we used bendy men figures to create a short animation. This really allowed us to get used to the app and explore all its features. Before using iStopMotion to create animations I didn’t understand how much work went into making short animations. Through practicing and making my own animation I realised just how much you have to move each part of the character in order to make it look as real and as professional as possible, its not just a case of moving it twice then you’re done. We had to move each body part of the bendy men a little each time to achieve a good-looking animation.
We were then given time to plan for the next week, our task was to create an animation in groups which did one of the following: recreates a historical event, represents a geographical process, recreates a real-life scenario or explains a mathematical principle. My group decided to re-create a historical event, which was the moon landing. We created a storyboard then decided which type of animation we would create.
My group decided we would create a ‘cut-out’ animation. Cut-Out animation is the easiest technique to start on and would be really good to use in the classroom (Moving Image Education). This involved us drawing each element from our storyboard and cutting them out individually. We drew and coloured the backgrounds, people and objects. For our space background we used glue on stars which I really liked. We made our animation by moving each individual cut-out and taking a picture on iStopMotion after every movement. We also added music to enhance to the overall effect of the animation. Our animation worked out well and showcased the moon landing in a really fun way.
If we showed our animation to a class of children, it could enhance their learning as it could promote them to ask questions. If the children were shown a more professional animation it might also allow them to have a better understanding of something as they are able to get a visual picture of an event or maths problem. Bertrancourt (2005) suggests three ways which animation is used to enhance learning:
- To enhance learners’ visual representations
- Illustrate processes
- Provide interactive element.
(Jarvis, 2015, p.89).
I really enjoyed using iStopMotion as it put together the animation really smoothly and you could change the framerate to make it faster or slower at any point. I also liked how you were able to add sound to your animation within the app. An aspect we found challenging was keeping the iPad in the same place. Obviously in a more professional setting the camera would be set-in place with a tripod or some sort of stand, but we didn’t have this. We had to hold the camera and reposition it as well as we could before taking a picture of the next frame. It was generally easy to use, and I think a class of children would really enjoy having the opportunity to do this task.
ICT is something that contributes to all areas of learning and isn’t considered to be a separate experience (Beauchamp, 2012). Getting children to create an animation like this allows them to demonstrate their ICT skills while also benefiting their learning in other curricular areas. I think that children would really enjoy a task like this, and it would make many of them engaged in their learning as they’d get to create something, they would be learning but in a fun way. Creating an animation would also promote collaborative learning as it is a task, they’d likely do this in groups. Children could create animations on anything from literacy to science. I think they’d have so much fun recreating something like a natural disaster after learning about it and then getting them to re-create what they have learned about could show learning consolidation.
“Successful utilisation of digital technology depends not just upon sufficient access to equipment tools and resources but also on the availability of sufficient training, knowledge and support networks for teachers” (Scottish Government, 2016). Digital technologies and the use of ICT in the classroom is so important as for this generation everything is digitalised. I have talked about this heavily throughout each week. Teachers should have access to the appropriate training and tools which can ensure they understand how to work a varied amount of technologies as teachers can’t teach a class using ICT if they don’t have an understanding themselves.
During these last two sessions looking at animation my understanding of how animations work has increased significantly through getting to create my own animation. I have a lot more appreciation for the work that is put into animations and also now understand how beneficial watching or creating an animation can have on teaching and learning. Showing animations or getting children to create animations can be really effective and can enhance learning as they can allow children to have a more interactive lesson and can help consolidate learning through visuals and illustrations. I hadn’t used iStopMotion until these recent sessions and I now feel comfortable working the app. Using iStopMotion has helped develop my ICT skills and I feel a lot more confident creating animations. I think using iStopMotion in a classroom setting would really enhance learning in multiple different curricular areas.
REFERENCES
Beauchamp, G. (2012) ICT in the Primary Classroom: From Pedagogy top Practice. Pearson.
Jarvis, M. (2015) Brilliant Ideas for Using ICT in the Classroom: A Very practical Guide for Teachers and Lecturers. Routledge.
Moving Image Education website: [Online] https://movingimageeducation.org/create-films/animation [Accessed 27 February 2019]
The Scottish Government. (2015) Literature Review on the Impact of Digital Technology on Learning and Teaching: CHILDREN, EDUCATION AND SKILLS. [pdf] Available: file:///C:/Users/User/Desktop/Uni%20Work%20BA1/Digital%20Technologies/ANIMATION%2019TH%20AND%2026TH%20FEB/Digital%20Literacy%20Impact%20Review%20.pdf [Accessed 28 February]
