Linnvale PS: Learning outside of school with Minecraft

Discussing animation and Minecraft

At one point during our visit to Linnvale PS in Clydebank we stopped and chatted to three children who were out in the corridor editing a movie they were making for a presentation about the planet Jupiter. The chat was very interesting but there was one pupil in this group, Laurie, who it turned out had her own iPad at home and who was a rather expert Minecraft player. We chatted with her about this and then asked her if she would be kind enough to chat again so that we could record it.You can hear that discussion below:

lvale_minecraftgirl Discussion with P.7 pupil Laurie and Mrs Thomas (HT) about Minecraft

At a number of the schools we have visited in recent months one of the main areas of discussions and excitement with learners has been around the game Minecraft. Some schools have managed to enable collaborative working by hooking up their iPads via their wif-fi networks whilst others have been using it as a stand alone resource. Laurie from Linnvale PS was able to talk to us about a number of complexities of Minecraft including what a Mod is. She was also able to articulate what she does when she builds world and where she goes online to develop her skills as a Minecraft player.

In the audio file above you will hear us discussing with Mrs Thomas the nature of digital contexts that have cultural appeal and that resonate with learners – ones that they generally use outwith school. Much of the work that has been carried out with computer games and learning by Education Scotland is very much linked to this approach and thinking and is one that we think has great merit and potential in exploring further. It is an aspiration to explore the possibility of being able to offer a Minecraft type environment to Scottish learners via Glow but in the meantime and while we envisage such an opportunity we have a Minecraft related learning Experience on offer for learners this Autumn.

Contexts for learning such as Minecraft are becoming more accessible as a result of their ability to be installed on tablet devices. Opportunities to use tools as this are becoming greater as devices become more common in schools. If you are using Minecraft in your school on any platform we’d love to hear from you.

Linnvale PS: Learning ‘nothing’ but learning so much!

What are you learning when you create an animation?

We met with a number of the learners from Linnvale PS during our visit to the school and we were keen to get their perspective on how learning with devices such as iPads and iPod Touches were helping them as learners. Our first discussion with one P.7 learner, Josh, proved to be quite thought provoking. He was working away on the computer creating an animation that he was looking to publish on his school’s Radiowaves site. As it turned out he had become really quite skilled in the use of animation tools and was using a variety of them, including I Can Animate, to create his animations. When we asked him what he thought he was learning by creating these animations his response was, “Nothing.” We attempted to tease this out with him but he was focused on creating the next series of frames in his animation..totally focused on his creation. Have a listen to our discussion with him:

lvale_pupilperception Discussion with skilled animator Josh from P.6/7

This exchange gave us some food for thought about the nature of learners and learning, about the expectations now placed on learners to articulate their learning journey and what it means to be a Confident Individual and a Successful Learner. This learner was particularly skilled in creating his own animations. He created the characters, devised the plots, he knew how to use the stop motion animation software, how to edit it, how to add sounds and how and where to publish his finished piece of work. This was all done without the intervention of the teacher or the skilled adult in the classroom and yet he thought he was learning nothing. He clearly is learning, he clearly is skilled in this area, he is more than able to accommodate new skills and to share his expertise so why is it he thought he was learning nothing?

Is it the case that we need to keep helping learners articulate their own learning journey or is it maybe that he there is some implicit message about the nature of tasks such as animation that leads learners such as this to think that what they are doing is not something that is related to the learning that schools value or place the greater emphasis on – or is it something else?

Your comments or thoughts on this would be most welcome.

Linnvale PS: Sharing Devices and Impact on Learning

Sharing devices at Linnvale PS

Linnvale PS in Clydebank, West Dunbartonshire has been using sets of iPads and iPod Touches to support and enhance learning across the school. Their experience has been similar to the one at Dalreoch PS in that they have a limited number of devices and as a result these are shared by the learners. We spoke with Linsey Thomas (HT) about her school’s experience in using the devices and we asked her to discuss the methodology that she wanted to see employed when the devices were used in her school.

Mrs Thomas didn’t feel that her school was in any way disadvantaged by not having what may be seen as the gold standard of having enough devices to deliver 1:1 provision.  On the contrary, Mrs Thomas saw the limited numbers of devices that she had access to as an advantage because she believes that devices such as the iPad are great tools to help facilitate collaboration. She describes seeing groups of 4 children sharing an iPad and there being a genuine sense of sharing and participation around a device that is so portable and flexible.  Mrs Thomas expressed some concerns about what might happen to the collaborative nature of group work should all her pupils have their own device.

lvale_devicemethodology Mrs Thomas discusses the methodology for sharing devices at Linnvale PS.

The issue around shared devices in school be it due to lack of resource or a preferred methodology as opposed to 1:1 provision is very much one that is open to debate. The perspective from Linnvale PS is one that contrasts with the setting and perspective from colleagues at Sciennes PS. What is your take on this? Is sharing devices or 1:1 provision a preferable option? What do we collectively know about the benefits of either? Can both work equally well? Comments and thoughts welcome.

lvale_impactlearning Mrs Thomas discusses the impact on learning that the  devices are having at Linnvale PS.

Following on from her thoughts on the advantages of sharing devices Mrs Thomas went on to discuss what she thought she was seeing in terms of impact on learning on the children at her school now that the devices were in use. She again emphasised the enhanced collaboration between learners in her classrooms and corridors but she also remarked on what she was seeing as real learner discussions about learning as a result of having shared access to devices such as iPads and iPod Touches. The freedom to respond to tasks in a manner of the learners choosing due to the range of apps that were accessible on the devices was also seen as something to help address the personalisation and choice agenda and all of these benefits, she believed, appeared to have a motivational impact on the learners at her school.