Welcome back once again to my Digital technologies reflective blog. I hope this blog has been enjoyable for you so far and I hope you have learned something from my reflections and also taken some value from them.

This we have been working on movie making using the iMovie editing software. The task was to create a short film to promote internet safety and how to properly conduct yourself on the internet as well as how to keep your information safe. However, due to a short illness I was unable to attend this input, so this task was completed at a later date.

So, how can short films be used to convey important information to children? Can short films be used to enhance the education of young learners? How can software such as iMovie be used in the classroom? Do short films have less learning value than a physical teacher? All of these will be answered before you know it.

Short films can be used to provide an alternative platform to learning in the classroom. Short movies can convey information in a way that teachers cannot. Short films incorporate multimodality of text. By the use of music and animation films can reach the subconscious mind of the audience which can allow them to get more value from the messages being conveyed. Furthermore, short films can add a cinematic effect to the classroom which engages the learners.

Like all films, short films can come in many formats, whether it is live-action, animation, stop-motion or any other form. Furthermore, learners favourite characters from television or games can be used to relay important information to them. These are characters that the learners already engage with so will take value in what they are saying and will be more likely to retain the information than if it was being taught by the class teacher.

Finding different ways to convey important information to young learners is essential as they need to be kept safe and taught how to live in a safe way. By using short film to support the teaching and learning of health and wellbeing learners can acquire the necessary knowledge to live happily and securely.

Health and wellbeing is an importand part of the curriculum with the following CfE E’s & O’s: HWB 0-05a / HWB 1-05a / HWB 2-05a / HWB 3-05a / HWB 4-05a

“I know that friendship, caring, sharing, fairness, equality and love are important in building positive relationships. As I develop and value relationships, I care and show respect for myself and others”.

All of the themes and topics in that experience and outcome could be taught through the means of short film. By using favoured characters and a realistic, relatable context the young learners will be able to connect with and learn from their situations. Connecting with characters is something short film can achieve that is much more difficult for a teacher. Therefore, using short film in the classroom has a valuable place when teaching young learners about certain values and behaviours.

However, all this being said, short films can only convey the messages stated within them. They cannot answer any questions the audience may have since there is nobody there to hear them and respond. Film also cannot give examples directly related to the young learners, which can cause the information to be generalised and non-specific. Moreover, concerns could be raised about exposing young learners to excessive screen time which could cause issues with their health.

The making of a short film could be a valuable task to do within a classroom. This would encourage the learners to gain new skills and have a small insight to what the film making process can be like. Furthermore, learners could be given a topic to make their film about resulting in them having to seek out new information about a subject. This would allow for learning to develop over multiple areas.

In conclusion short films have their place in the modern classroom for teaching some off the essential skills required to live safely. However, the input from a real person can be invaluable as experience is shared. There are potential risks in allowing young learners to have too much screen time watching film and not having enough active earning as well as not fully engaging in the material. Ultimately there has to be a balance between physical and virtual learning.

signing off.

References:

Education Scotland. (2019) Curriculum for excellence Experiences and Outcomes [Online] Available: https://education.gov.scot/scottish-education-system/policy-for-scottish-education/policy-drivers/cfe-(building-from-the-statement-appendix-incl-btc1-5)/Experiences%20and%20outcomes [Accessed: 6th April 2019].