Month: February 2018

The subject of this weeks class was to learn about and use the iStop Motion application on the iPads to create a scene from our own made up stories.

We discussed how the use of digital technologies can allow children to fully delve into literacy. For example, you may ask a child to write a story and they might not be able to create a stimulus and therefore they would struggle. However, with the introduction of applications like iStop Motion, children can often create imaginative stories instantaneously without even realising that they are doing so. Beauchamp (2012, p.54) similarly states that ICT allows pupils to “achieve something that would be very difficult or even impossible to achieve in any other way.”

When creating iStop Motion animations, Moving Image Education states that there are 5 main types of animation, these are as follows;

1. Cutout
2. Stop Motion – For example, plasticine
3. Pixillation – Where humans become puppets
4. Drawn – For example, classic disney
5. Computer

The scene that my partner and I created consisted of a family of aliens visiting Earth for the day and the father being bumped from a falling apple on the tree overhead. We created our scene from a paper background and our characters were made out of plasticine. We decided to challenge ourselves by using cutout animation and pixillation animation however, this proved to be quite time consuming as it took us one hour to create a 6 second video. Moving Image Education believes that you should start easy then work up to using harder animation techniques, “animating in the classroom doesn’t have to be with plasticine models – cutout animation is by far the easiest technique to start on.”

I believe that this application can be used for a long-term lesson plan, where in which every day or week, the children can add to their stories by creating more scenes. Over time, the teacher can introduce the five different animation types and this will fully allow the children to explore their understanding of the application whilst gaining enriching life skills.

my partner and I  associated this activity with the first level in the CfE:

“I can explore and experiment with digital technologies and can use what I learn to support and enhance my learning in different contexts. TCH 1-01a”

Thus, the child can create multimodal texts with regards to such subjects like literacy. Therefore, they are enhancing their knowledge in literacy through the use of digital technologies.

To end this weeks blog, I am going to leave a quote from the Children’s Parliament which emphasises the importance of movie making within the classroom:

“Making movies was important to most of the children. They wanted the opportunity to remember things and create their  own content to share.” (Children’s Parliament, 2016).

References

›Beauchamp, G. (2012) ICT in the Primary Classroom: From Pedagogy top Practice. Pearson.

Children’s Parliament (2016) A Digital Learning and Teaching Strategy for Scotland: The View’s of Children [Online] Available from: http://www.childrensparliament.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/REPORT_digital-learning-consultation_Childrens-Parliament-1.pdf [Accessed: 20 February 2018].

›Moving Image Education website: [Online] Available from: https://movingimageeducation.org/create-films/animation [Accessed 20 February 2018].

 

The focus of this input was to learn how to create iMovies, which, we as student teachers can take into the classroom with us. Once we understood how to use the application, we were then asked to create iMovies to encourage internet safety.

Beauchamp (2012, p.58) discusses internet safety and states that “…the key idea [is] that e-safety is not about restricting children, but about educating them.” In other words, children should be encouraged to go online and use technologies. However, when they are online, they should be aware of the dangers of accepting and communicating with people that they do not know. He further states that schools with effective e-safety standards will have pupils who know exactly what to do if they feel that they are not safe online. Furthermore, a document created by the Children’s Parliament investigated children’s views of digital technologies within school, the research found that children knew to inform their parents or other adults if they did not feel safe online. The document further states that children had also received sufficient information and guidance around the issue of internet safety from parents, teachers, police officers and ChildLine (Children’s Parliament, 2016).

The Scottish Government states, “digital technologies appear to be appropriate means to improve basic literacy and numeracy skills, especially in primary settings.” Thus, showing the importance and usefulness of digital technologies within classrooms in the 21st century. 

The iMovie that we created was centred around the story of Shrek. The movie started with Princess Fiona sleeping and is awoken by a text from a stranger. The stranger tells her that he is “Prince Charming” however, the stranger is actually Shrek. The stranger then says that he will come and save her from the castle. The movie then shows a clip of Shrek and Donkey on their way to the castle. Once they arrive in the princess’s room, she realises that Shrek is not Prince Charming. The overall message of the movie is that you shouldn’t communicate with people that you do not know as anyone could be behind the screen.

I have associated this task with the first level of the CfE, the experiences and outcomes are as follows;

• I can extend my knowledge of how to use digital technology to communicate with others and I am aware of ways to keep safe and secure.  TCH 1-03a.

• I have the opportunity to choose and explore a range of media and technologies to create images and objects, discovering their effects and suitability for specific tasks. EXA 1-02a

Overall, I found this task to be very fun and exciting. I enjoyed creating our own masks and costumes for the characters. We used the iPads to record our clips and we inserted these clips into our movie. I will definitely be taking this into the classroom because I believe that this is a fun way to ensure children gain knowledge of how to be safe online.

References

›Beauchamp, G. (2012) ICT in the Primary Classroom: From Pedagogy top Practice. Pearson.

Children’s Parliament (2016) A Digital Learning and Teaching Strategy for Scotland: The View’s of Children. [Online] Available from: http://www.childrensparliament.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/REPORT_digital-learning-consultation_Childrens-Parliament-1.pdf [Accessed: 13 February 2018].

›The Scottish Government (2015) Literature Review on the Impact of Digital Technology on Learning and Teaching.  [Online] Available from: http://dera.ioe.ac.uk/24843/1/00489224.pdf [Accessed: 13 February 2018].

This weeks class was to use the Book Creator app on the iPad to create a teaching tool and discuss the benefits of using this within the classroom.

The principles and practices of literacy and English, created by Education Scotland, states that the most effective ways to teach literacy and English is by providing “frequent opportunities to communicate in a wide range of contexts.” (Education Scotland, n.d., a). A multimodal text features 5 semiotic systems: gestural, audio, visual, spatial and linguistic thus, covering a wide range of contexts. Alongside this, the document states that there should be “the appropriate and effective use of ICT”, which can be gained from using multimodal texts within the classroom.

There are a number of advantages to using multimodal texts during school time. (Education Scotland, n.d., b) states that ICT in school helps to raise attainment and achievement, closing the gap between the advantaged and disadvantaged and thus, providing them with the skills for the digitally advancing world that awaits them. In the principles and practices document for Technologies it states “[children] establish firm foundations for lifelong learning and, for some, for specialised study and a diverse range of careers.” (Education Scotland, n.d., c). This statement helps to emphasise the importance of digital technologies in the classroom as many children will need these skills for their future careers.

The teaching tool that I had created during today’s session was based around “The cat in the hat”. As the teacher and class progress through the e-Book, they are exposed to many semiotic systems in which this multimodal text involves. The children will be asked to identify rhyming and repeated words, use adjectives and respond to the text.

The areas of the CfE that surrounds this teaching tool are for first level and are as follows;

References

Education Scotland (n.d., a) Curriculum for Excellence: literacy and English, principles and practice [Online]. Available from: https://education.gov.scot/Documents/literacy-english-pp.pdf [Accessed: 6 February 2018].

Education Scotland (n.d., b) Technologies in Curriculum for Excellence [Online]. Available from: https://education.gov.scot/parentzone/learning-in-scotland/curriculum-areas/Technologies%20in%20Curriculum%20for%20Excellence [Accessed: 6 February 2018].

Education Scotland (n.d., c) Curriculum for Excellence: technologies, principles and practice [Online]. Available from: https://education.gov.scot/Documents/technologies-pp.doc [Accessed: 6 February 2018].