Background

As part of transition our Primary 6 children planned a short video that would be useful to new parents and pupils of the school. They decided that they would video a typical school day, familiar faces and some of the work that they were really proud of to help answer any questions that new starts might have or alleviate some fears.

Learning and Teaching

The children worked in small groups to film different aspects of school life. They then added all footage to I Movie and took turns to order and edit the video clips. When they were satisfied with the video footage they then added music and titles with important details about the school day. After this they then showed a preview to some of the other classes and then used their evaluations to make final changes before burning disks for all of the new children coming to the school.

Advantages of Flip Cameras

The cameras were really small, light- weight and easy to use. All children managed to film and add footage to I Movie successfully. The fact that these cameras were portable was their main advantage as the children could film both outdoors and indoors in a variety of places.

Conclusion

The children learned a lot during the filming and worked well in cooperative groups. The cameras were really easy to use and could easily be used with younger children as well as with children in the upper school. The children felt really proud of the final DVD and many commented that using the cameras and making the DVD had been the highlight of their year. The new starts were also delighted with their gift. I’m sure that we would work on a similar project in the future as a way of helping with transition.