Change School Chalfonts

Feeding the Birds March 3rd

2011-04-01T13:18:00.007+01:00

Digital imagery illustrating the poem, 'Eating the Birds' by Margaret Atwood.

Year 7 students created paper shadow scenes, photographed an edited their images in Photoshop.

Working with artist Clare McEwan.

This group really got to grips with the poem, keeping referring back to it throughout the day for inspiration. One group were able to combine a few lines within one image, showing great use of materials and story telling.

2011-03-01T22:38:00.000Z

Ian Usher wrote, "I worked at Chalfonts Community College on an ILP day, entitled "Building Futures" to imagine what the school could look like in a thousand (!) years' time. Each pair of students (Year 8) had responsibility for designing one of the buildings, then they were all assembled into one SketchUp model, which could be enhanced through Augmented Reality. Recorded on November 4, 2010 using a Flip Video camcorder."

Eating the Birds, photography+light

2010-11-27T13:50:00.019Z

We ate the birds. We ate them. We wanted their songs to flow up through our throats and burst out of our mouths, and so we ate them. We wanted their feathers to bud from our flesh. We wanted their wings, we wanted to fly as they did, soar freely among the treetops and the clouds, and so we ate them. We speared them, we clubbed them, we tangled their feet in glue, we netted them, we spitted them, we threw them onto hot coals, and all for love, because we loved them. We wanted to be one with them. We wanted to hatch out of clean, smooth, beautiful eggs, as they did, back when we were young and agile and innocent of cause and effect, we did not want the mess of being born, and so we crammed the birds into our gullets, feathers and all, but it was no use, we couldn’t sing, not effortlessly as they do, we can’t fly, not without smoke and metal, and as for the eggs we don’t stand a chance. We’re mired in gravity, we’re earthbound. We’re ankle-deep in blood, and all because we ate the birds, we ate them a long time ago, when we still had the power to say no.

- Margaret Atwood, The Tent

We talked about the poem, discussed the lines with most impact. The majority found it dark and unpleasant, they felt for the birds. Working in small groups, they selected a line they wanted to illustrate using scrap materials.

I demonstrated ways of constructing shapes from plastic bottles, clingfilm, paper. We set up lights and filters on the table tops and investigated how these shapes created silhouettes and showed different levels of translucency. Questions about transparency and translucency came up and were answered easily by the group, informing each other.

The group were really engaged in making their objects from their selected line in the poem. A lot of trial and error in using the materials, some found paper easier than the plastic bottles. Some were really keen to work with colour and requested additional materials for their scene, coloured fabric and tissue paper.

Some of the groups were really clear about what they wanted to achieve, requesting to take pictures on the playing fields of the birds they witnessed everyday. I asked how they would incorporate these, they wanted to combine the real with the hand made. One group went and collected photographs of grass and sky to include in their scene.

In the afternoon, groups began to photograph their objects against light and oiled paper. Lots of make-shift hanging systems sprung up on the table tops to suspend plastic birds, people, clouds, spears and feet. String was tied between stools and lights re and re-arranged, great team work from the groups, lots of discussion and sharing of the camera.

I was really impressed by the delegation going on in the groups, each finding an element to concentrate on. I think a strength of the project itself, the poem is rich and offers variety of subject matter and levels of complexity. Some chose a poetic illustration, song notes flowing from the birds mouth. Others were more literal with birds being speared or roasted. Some identified themselves with the birds, pasting their face into the scene (using Photoshop), becoming the tormentor and tormented.

Working with an English teacher was really helpful and offered insight to how the literacy levels of the students could impact the quality of images produced. Not an issue I had given enough thought to before being in the classroom that day. For some students it was the first poem they had ever worked with. I think I will be considering what more I can do to support these students in the next sessions. More choice of material, some limitation on what they make and how, showing examples of previous work?

Students worked with artist Clare McEwan

student teacher working on sound design project had a good day.

2010-11-18T16:59:00.002Z

I feel that a lot of my time was spent explaining to the pupils what they had to do – this of course took time as each group had to wait their turn. Perhaps it would be a good idea to make a small project track (say, a couple of voice recordings, some music and a jingle, all in bits) and make them all do the editing of the same piece in the morning, just to practice using the actual tools, so that when they do go away and do their own thing, they know exactly what to do.

I have experience with Garageband and Macs and so know how to use both quite well, but I feel that a member of staff who had never used any of these tools before perhaps would have found more difficulty in aiding the students.

As we discussed, perhaps having a set amount of themes in order to narrow down the decision making process could be a good idea.

Perhaps get them to hear bits of radio plays, so they have an idea of what they are and what is expected of them?

At first pupils were reluctant to ask me for help as they thought I was just “another body” with no experience in the field (perhaps this is partly my fault for having said MFL has nothing to do with media in the beginning) but when they realised that I knew what I was doing, they were eager to ask for my help.

I think the end products were quite impressive on the whole, although some more guidance could have made the projects even more interesting and involving.

New teacher at CCC on ILP day 3

2010-11-17T17:11:00.002Z

As a new teacher, I really enjoy the ILP days. It’s always nice to see the students out of Maths class but also see them engaged in something that appears to be more interesting to them. The projects are especially nice as the students see the progress they make in one day and are always quite proud of their creations (rightfully so too). As for me I like to learn about the programs being used too. I find that in the setting we currently have, you get out what you put in. So today with Peter I learned loads. I had a basic idea of Photoshop already and was able to help the students too. But with Peter there I was able to ask him questions when needed and learn from what he showed the students. It was great! I will note though that when I worked on the video making ILP last time I did feel a little useless. Having no prior knowledge of the programs, it was often me waiting for Gordon to come and explain everything. That’s not to say I didn’t learn anything (I did!) but I think for staff to learn as much as possible, and still be useful during the day, it would help if they had a basic understanding (possibly a half hour introduction) to the programs that are being used. As I mentioned, I really enjoy ILP days and found that I have learned a lot!

ILP 1 & 2 Autumn 2010

2010-11-08T23:59:00.004Z

We created Stop-Motion Animations inspired by Margaret Atwood's poem, 'Eating the Birds'. I think these ILP days have an amazing buzz about them, due to the experience building up in both the school staff and creative practitioners. The combination of such a challenging piece of writing, and the questionnaire about 'What an Artist Is' provoked some intense, philosophical debate, and seemed to spark off a genuine enthusiasm in both groups. So even before I started to introduce Stop-Motion Animation, the whole room was alert and ready to learn. I deliberately gave them no examples of animation, just showed the techniques involved, and the learners all approached it from different angles ( literally !). Having discussed problem solving and evolving technology early on meant that where technical problems arose, the learners just embraced the challenge, and together we arrived at solutions. Having emphasised this as a crucial skill it was seen as an opportunity rather than a challenge, and every group produced good results.I was impressed by the very different ways each group approached the text, the level of engagement, intelligent debate, team work and excellent behavior in both groups. Big Success !!!

Chalfonts goes 3D

2010-11-08T09:03:00.003Z

Katie Piggot is a new ICT teacher at CCC, she had the pleasure of working with Ian Usher developing a 3D Chalfonts of the future.

she wrote,

"I would like to inform you of how successful I found the ILP day on Thursday. I was really impressed with Google Sketch Up and how fascinated the students were with this package. It’s an excellent tool to engage the students and allow them to work to a realistic brief. They had to consider the practicality of their designs and this presented some exceptional team work from all students. Ian did a fantastic job in encouraging the students and displaying how their capabilities are endless.

As a trainee teacher I found this package to be outstanding and will certainly employ it in my future lessons."

click this link to see the results or watch below

Year 3 of CS starts at CCC

2010-10-14T10:48:00.001+01:00

Pippa North is an Interdisciplinary Artists who has been working with CCC for several years, we are delighted to now have her involved in the last year of the Change School program. She wrote,

"Brilliant day, the children were fantastic, totally immersed in the project, learnt a lot

about how to progress it. It went amazingly well considering it was the first one.

Just wanted to say how welcome I felt and that I was looked after really well, so thank

you all for your organisation."

Change school celebration 2010

2010-07-06T12:46:00.000+01:00

Thanks to all the creative partners who made the celebration day possible.

Poetry Day

2010-03-18T09:47:00.003Z

Year film makers worked with Debbie from OCR to develop a visual representation of Drummer Hodge by Thomas Hardy. They worked with Clare McCewan and made this wonderful piece of work………………

Debbie Daniels, Support Materials Manager at OCR said: "I am thrilled with the result, I think it has a great sense of melancholy coupled with a real sense of the surreal alienness of being in a different world, which is really in tune with the poem and its themes. Thank you very much for your contribution and everyone's hard work."

Games Design Workshop ( number 4)

2010-03-11T22:38:00.001Z

Tonight's GDW was another excellent session, after last weeks course a few staff discussed ways to generate better responses from students in the chat bar. Roxana used one strategy by enlisting the "Countdown" tune to pressurise response time asking students to answer in full sentences. This was a threshold moment as it really did the trick. Great responses, well thought through answers and loads of energy. The entire transcipt looked a bit like this....

Light and Sound Animations Feb 8th and 9th

2010-02-22T14:39:00.010Z

Student's Etrash Photoshop images were imported into iMovie to make an animation.

Some groups were able to create/borrow sounds in Garage Band to add to their animations.

Light and Sound Feb 8th and 9th 2010

2010-02-21T11:15:00.016Z

Creating imagery with etrash objects.

Using digital cameras, lights, filters and over head projectors.

Images developed in photoshop.

Image by Annalise and Danielle

Image by Sally and Roxanne

Image by Lightning McQueen group

Image by Lightning McQueen group

Image by Tilly and Alice

Image by Tilly and Alice

Image by Sam and Martin

Image by Jade and Katie-Ann

Image by Sam, Sam and Joseph

Some students comments on Stop Motion ILP

2010-02-08T12:43:00.003Z

ILP stop motion 2

2010-02-08T12:39:00.003Z

ILP Feb 2010 - Stop Motion

2010-02-08T12:21:00.003Z

Live and Direct! Todays animations about E-Waste are all underway, and there's lots of pretty snow falling from the sky!

Student Teacher Anna gets her PGCE peers animating

2009-12-14T20:41:00.001Z

Following my own introduction to animation at CCC during school ILP days, I decided to take what I had learnt and teach the rest of my course (PGCE Art students) during my workshop session.

As the only digital based workshop of the term (and probably year) it was gratefully received and almost everyone was learning a completely new skill.

Most people were surprised at how easy and quick it was to both photograph their ideas and upload and create an animation on the computers. All groups worked particularly hard and great fun was had in watching all the animations at the end of the workshop!

Hopefully now that they have all experienced the process and discussed it's possible value and potential in the school art room, the idea will be taken and introduced into different schools.

Anna's lesson plan:

Art in Animation
Aims and Objectives:
To be introduced to the skill of making a stop motion animation.
To create an animation.
To collaborate imaginatively and efficiently in teams.
To learn how to use iMovie to make stop motion.
To gain an insight into the scope of work this process can be used for.
To explore the potential and value of using this process within schools.

Structure and timing:

13:00 - Quick history of animation
13:05 - Examples of some different styles of stop motion animation
13:10 - Groups and task set. Explanation of how to set up camera and start
13:15 - Groups carry out task – discuss animation idea and photograph it.
14:00 - Demonstration of how to download photos and put the animation together in iMovie.
14:05 – Group to move to the computer room (B006). Brett and Howard to be present in case of any technical emergencies! All groups to upload their photos and create the animation
14:30 - Group return to studio and tidy up.
14:40 - All animations are shown
14:50 - Evaluation of work and discussion of task
15:00 - End

Task:

Using ‘The Transformation’ as a starting point, in groups of 3 discuss and decide a possible sequence of the piece. Set up a camera and background to work on. Using the plasticine and any other objects you wish start photographing the animation. Add any objects or drawing that you wish. Each group should aim to get at around 100 photos taken in the time.

Light and Sound Nov 4th and 5th 2009

2009-12-03T18:43:00.010Z

Student's final e-waste images developed in Photoshop.

Student's used the idea of a mini-city to create their e-waste installations.

These mini-cities were then photographed and uploaded onto the macbooks.

Imagery was developed in Photoshop, bringing elements of various images into one resolved piece.

Student's worked with artist educators Kevin Mathieson and Clare McEwan.

Some students worked on a number of images and created an animation in iMovie, adding their own soundtrack developed in Garage Band.

Views from a student teacher

2009-11-27T14:25:00.000Z

Hi! Here is my opinion on the ILP days.

I found the ILP days extremely enriching for both the teaching staff and the students as they allowed us to broaden our knowledge of every subject. Curiosity, group work and a wide range of skills were involved during the ILP days. Focusing on topics that are not necessarily part of the schemes of work, or learning new skills was very engaging. It could also encourage pupils to choose a particular subject for their future career as they are given an glance of the vastness of all subjects.

As a trainee teacher, I thought these days were a great experience and I had the opportunity to see some of my students using different skills. I also learnt a lot in a very short amount of time and I really benefited from these ILPs.

Christophe
Trainee Teacher in Languages

November Stop Motion ILP's

2009-11-23T13:59:00.007Z

Well another four successful workshops! I am amazed by how different each group I work with are. Some rush through it in no time, and others only just get something produced by lunch time. One day I had to work very hard to persuade one group to leave at lunch time, they were so engrossed. I was also pleased that all the teaching staff seemed genuinely captivated by the process, and I really hope it was enough to get more animation happening in the school.
I think I have become much better at managing the long first session, by breaking it up a bit and being clear about the time scales. I also think that a good introduction to the topic has a positive impact on the ideas that come out. Jo Addington gave a thorough introduction to the E-Waste topic, which clearly had an impact on the students, and gave them a sense of purpose I felt.
I have to also comment on the students, I felt that this years' cohort tackled the whole project with real focus and enthusiasm. I don't know if this is down to a familiarisation with ILP's or the greater emphasis we have put this year on explaining why ILP's have been introduced, but I definitely felt they were listening hard to what I was saying, asking thoughtful questions, and giving well thought out answers in their feedback.

Light and Sound Feedback

2009-11-13T10:44:00.005Z

Introducing the project to the students has been challenging. How much to show them in advance without spoiling the magic of discovering for themselves. The aim is to create a temporary installation using etrash objects and project their imagery onto it. This combination of effects causes confusion which is normally relieved by the end of the day when they see the results. My query is whether work could be pushed further by the students themselves throughout the day, if they are more clear about the potential of the final piece from the beginning.

On reflection, I may give a bit more time/example to what an installation is and what it can do, especially in relation to a message about etrash.

Feedback from the students has sounded like;
'it was a lot better than I thought it was going to be', 'enjoyed being independent, working things out for themselves', 'enjoyed using the laptops' The first time using photoshop and imovie for most students, and were excited to be using macs rather than pcs.

Students worked in twos and threes and showed excellent teamwork in this way. Particularly negotiating building and photographing the installation. There were clear ideas being expressed and commented on within the group, lots of trial and error. I was aware of deliberately standing back in this first hour while they made their decisions, which got more confident as the day progressed.

Using Photoshop:
10/15 minutes tuition using projector. Students watched, taking notes. Although every group has been reluctant to take notes, it has definitely improved flow of the session, and allowed students to work more independently. With future groups I'm going to try and demonstrate different tools and see how results change.

Using imovie HD:
Every group were very quick to sequence their images and add transitions. Nearly all groups have included sound effects and soundtracks to their animation which has been a surprise to me in terms of time available. Students have really enjoyed being able to do this. I feel I want to be able to offer greater range of sounds/tunes which relate better to the subject. Students have attempted to search on the internet which has been difficult using the laptops. Garage band is available on the laptops which would be a more creative way to add sound. The challenge is to find time in session to demonstrate this without limiting image making time.

I was very fortunate to have some Adobe Premier instruction from James Michie at the end of the last ILP. Building on success of the video ILP using Premier, I'm keen to try this application in favour of imovie. It will offer more control and creativity around their sequencing, particularly when using transitions.

With so many technical processes to experiment with throughout the day, I am aware the 'story' of etrash may be getting bit lost along the way. How to maintain the focus of subject while encouraging a freedom to use equipment is a tricky one. And this attention really varies between students. What is encouraging is the way every group has worked hard to complete something. There is always a sense of pride about showing the work to the whole group.

All student work from ILP 4th and 5th November is here on VLE

Light and Sound ILP Nov 4th and 5th 2009

2009-11-12T16:34:00.023Z

What we did:

Students used etrash objects to make experimental photographs with light.

The photographs were edited in Adobe Photoshop.

These Photoshop images were imported into imovie to make an animation.

The animation was then projected onto their etrash objects.

Creating etrash installations:

Student Photography:

Developing images in photoshop:

Using photoshop images to make an animation:

Animation projected onto etrash installation

ILP Day 2: Broadcast (Video) - Final Post!

2009-11-05T15:05:00.003Z

The day was a great success - check out the VLE in a few days to see the student's work.

On reflection I think it would be prudent for us to consider reducing the number of students in Room 79 doing video. There were some students off task during the editing process, this was partly due to the nature of the task and the size of the room.

6-8 of the students could be dispersed between the radio / podcast projects or be given a different video based task to do. This would alleviate some of the pressure within the room.

On a more positive note seeing the students make a piece of video within a day on Adobe Premiere Pro was extreme;y gratifying and certainly proves that pro apps have their place not only in the KS4/5 curriculum but KS3 as well.

I think it is important being in the second year of this project that we seek to follow up with some of the students and ensure that they are using these skills in other subject areas. I am going to try to collate information from some of the students I have worked with as the year progresses about times and opportunities they have had to reuse the skills they have learned during the ILP day.

ILP Day 2: Broadcast (Video) - Post 4

2009-11-05T14:10:00.004Z

All the work was finished on time and now (after lunch) they are back in their groups recording some feedback answering the following questions:

What new skills have you learned?
What did you enjoy most about the day?
What did you enjoy least?
What would you have liked to have done that we did not have time to do?

ILP Day 2: Broadcast (Video) - Post 3

2009-11-05T12:48:00.001Z

As lunch approaches the students have all managed to film and edit their videos - here is a sample video from one of the groups:

November 4th/5th ILP Radio/audio with Lawrence Fernando Day 2

2009-11-05T11:59:00.006Z

Some students are using ACID software, similar to Garage band to create their backing track for their jingles and interviews.

Students work in groups on their scripts and practice their lines with the backing tracks before recording the final version.

Day 2 Radio/Audio with Lawrence Fernando

2009-11-05T10:43:00.005Z

Students use the radio station to record their jingles incorporating backing tracks created on Garageband.

ILP Day 2: Broadcast (Video) - Post 2

2009-11-05T09:33:00.004Z

The students are using the Internet to do research into their topics/products:

Some are collating images for use later and some students are creating scripts for their segments.

Radio & Sound Broadcast ILP with Lawrence Fernando

2009-11-05T09:18:00.015Z

Students have created jingles, adverts, news reports, weather reports and interviews using Garage Band and ACID along with the new Chalfonts Radio Station.

Click here to listen to the radio show produced on November 4th

(Please be patient while this downloads)

Student Voice - What the students thought about their day:

"it was very fun and I have never done it before, but when I get home I think I might download the software."

"today was great fun, we neede to work as a team to come up with our own jingle to be put towards Chalfonts radio, the software we used was great as it was easy to use."

"I found working as a group was fun and t helped me work better. We worked well as a team and we listened to each others ideas. I found it hard to make the music and make it sound good and i also found it hard to make the music and the jingle in time."

ILP Day 2: Broadcast (Video) - Post 1

2009-11-05T09:08:00.004Z

...and we are off.

Students are creating brainstorms exploring ideas for the briefs that they have been given:

One group has been asked to anchor the entire event creating lead ins/outs
Another has to create a report on Cervical Cancer vacinations
Two groups are creating adverts for "Yummy Chocolate" and "Quickwork Homework Spray"
Another group is creating a report about litter
And the final group is creating a report about why John and Edward should win X-Factor.

Now they have to complete research and begin storyboarding their ideas.

Here are two brainstorms:

First round GTTP teacher's thoughts

2009-10-20T14:47:00.003+01:00

A new GTTP teacher had this to say regarding the first ILP days....

Both days were very enjoyable for everyone. I don’t think there was a single student (or adult) who did not enjoy the activity – everyone could get something from it and it offered opportunities for everyone to achieve. It was good to have complete freedom to produce something that was both interesting to the individual and also which made a contribution to the whole. Personally, it was something I had not done before and I now have lots of ideas about how to use the Stop Motion in Maths!

On the Tuesday, Jo Adkins gave a little presentation on e-waste which I think helped enormously and ensured that the students were clear about what e-waste actually was. I would recommend that something like this is adopted for future days, although we do need to be careful not to lead the students.

Building Futures

2009-10-20T10:21:00.004+01:00

Clare McEwan worked with 6th formers at the Chalfonts to create exciting images from a variety of disused computer parts.

Broadcast ILP Day 2 - October 2009

2009-10-15T20:41:00.002+01:00

Well, a new school year is underway and the first round of Integrated Learning Projects got underway. On day 2, Lawrence, Jo and I taught 14 year 8 students to use ACID to create jingles and radio segments. Some also had the opportunity to use the new school radio station - a new development at the Chalfonts Community College.

Having a pro like Lawrence and technical guru in Jo I was able to relax a little more than last year and so was able to blog regularly throughout the day capturing the kids experience of the day.

Please use the following links to see video footage of the kids work and their thoughts.

The day begins
An example jingle
Group interview
Using the radio station
ACID in action with Jordan
Student feedback

More Student voice - ideas for Broadcast & Building Futures ILPs

2009-10-01T12:26:00.005+01:00

Broadcast:

What’s important to us or we are concerned about:

· home life

· gaming

· music

· drugs

Local news

· crime in your neighbourhood/are there enough police

· Graffiti art/vandalism

· Creating interesting things for teenagers to do in their free time

World News

· cervical cancer vaccination scare

· Banned clothes in schools etc – veils/crucifixes why?

· Celebrities

· Afghanistan - why are we fighting there

They want the news explained but more grown up than Newsround.

Building Futures

Environment

· vandalism/litter in local community

· alternative energy for cars and travel

· reducing packaging

April ILP's

2009-06-15T22:22:00.006+01:00

The last two sets of ILP days were changed from two-day sessions with each group of students to one day sessions. At first I didn’t see how we could produce anything of value in one day, and was concerned that there would be no time for experimenting or discussion. However in all of the sessions the outcomes were only slightly shorter than the two day sessions.

I think the shorter time meant the pupils focussed more, and wasted less time. However it curtailed the discussion of the given topic. In this case the animations needed to be about pollution, and I think we relied on the students having a lot of prior knowledge, but they mostly did have this knowledge, and with a little prompting came up with ideas.

I think it must have been interesting for the students to experience the hands on Stop-Motion animation and the more computer -based Flash in two days, and will have enhanced their appreciation of both the fundamental mechanics of animation and the concept that there are many ways to approach a creative idea.

In all the sessions I felt the staff were given a taste of Stop-Motion animation, but would need further technical training to be able to run their own sessions.

All the staff I worked with were great at organising the day, leading discussions and generating ideas. They were also all very willing to change plans as the day went on, reacting to the way pupils progressed and were willing to go off on tangents. The TA’s were also very helpful, and good at helping out pupils who were a bit ‘lost’ and stuck for ideas.

I did find as the day progressed I was needed to sort out technical problems, and maybe show the pupils who had worked quickly how to then add sound in i-movie. This meant I relied heavily on the staff to help with all the non-technical problems. Power running low was a particular problem with limited sockets and leads draping around not being ideal. I think the lap tops could have lasted if the pupils turned them off when they weren’t animating, but they tended to surf the net and play with i-photo while preparing their drawings, and it was hard to police as they all worked differently. However I did warn them of this, so I think the one’s whose lap tops lost power should have at least learned that instructions are there to help them, not stop them having fun! (mmmm)

It was great having access to the Art cupboard, as this allowed pupils to come up with all sorts of clever ways of making things, without having to cart tons of materials around. I just put out a wide range of samples, then went and got more as necessary.

The students came up with some lovely animations, and I was impressed by the number of original ideas and creative solutions, particularly in the model making/ set design. Considering the large group sizes I think the students managed themselves very well , and worked in teams well. Once they started their animations they were generally very focussed, and keen to produce a good product. We did find if the group size exceeded three there was usually one or two that did most of the work. Even students that entered the sessions fairly determined not to participate became more engaged at some point during the day and were then really focussed from that point on.

Putting the students in such a different situation to their normal school day is challenging for them, and the potential to not take it seriously and mess about must be there, but the students responded very well and got a lot out of the day. I was very impressed by what they achieved in the time, and I think they will enjoy seeing their work up on a web site. I think they learnt as much about teamwork, communicating ideas and experimenting as they did about animating. Many of students who said they weren’t any good at art were very surprised by how much they achieved. The days were all very positive, and I would like to thank Jo for all her excellent technical support ; Hannah and Greg for all their general support, and the whole Art Dept. for being so vibrant and having such a ‘Can Do’ attitude.

Iona

April ILP - Becky Hayman

2009-06-03T09:41:00.002+01:00

ILP Evaluation

Magazine – Video

Chalfonts Community College

Rebecca Hayman

Overall Evaluation

The Video project as part of the Magazine ILP was, in general, a resounding success, enabling pupils and staff to develop news skills, engage fully in wider learning and learn specific technological techniques, which could be of use in their future lives and careers. The projects were approached with a positive attitude and, as such, enabled creativity to flourish. The scope for these projects, in the wider school curriculum and cross-curricular elements of school life is enormous. There were logistical errors there was, at times, a lack of coherence in the planning and organisation of the day. However, the results and potential for these projects far outweighs the areas of concern. Both the positive outcomes (for staff and pupils) and ideas for development will be addressed in more detail in this evaluation. Overall, these projects were innovative, fully in line with the ethos of the new 14-19 curriculum and allowed pupils to engage in learning which enabled their own individual creative talents to shine through. By introducing leaders from the creative industry and exposing students to the Media professions, students could see how skills learnt at school could be applied in the real world, inform themselves about possible career choices and do something truly new and exciting. The projects also benefited Staff professional development and demonstrated how creativity and technology could enhance lesson planning and teaching and learning in other subject areas. The major issue with the two days was a lack of coherence and organisation prior to the ILP days. As a project leader, I felt that in some ways, the potential for these could not be maximised and fully realised due to the lack of a project co-ordinator or obvious leader, basic materials/structure not being provided etc. Whilst I fully understand that creativity should not be all about structure and organisation, I felt that these projects were left to “run themselves” and it was only down to the professionalism, passion and creativity of project leaders, teaching staff and the enthusiasm of the pupils who, all credit to them, wanted to make the project a success, that they actually worked as well as they did. It could be argued that, as these elements existed, the lack of serious prior planning didn’t matter. However, in my view, the projects would have been more uniformly and consistently successful across groups, had more thought gone into the planning stage. Despite this, as previously stated, the days were a huge success given the time frame and workload pressures on teachers in general. However, if the potential of these projects is to be maximised, these considerations should be taken into account. Finally, a key element of the day for me was the fun, humour and opportunity for individuals to shine. Serious raw talent could be observed at times and this is something we should be nurturing in young people. These projects were all about diversity, creativity and innovation. I feel a great sense of personal fulfilment, having been part of them.

Positive Outcomes

Staff

· An opportunity to work with other members of staff on various levels – organisations, creative. These projects gave staff time to see and appreciate the talents of their colleagues. This could enhance the working environment in the future.

· Staff could learn how to use the technology in the Media suites, the Mac computers, the various editing programmes. They could learn a lot from pupils too. In many ways, this role reversal is essential for pupil-teacher relationships and helps break down barriers which may have existed.

· Staff could see how technology and creative skills could be used in their own subjects. Some examples are:-

Maths – pupils have to produce a Video to teach others how to solve a problem – for example equate the area of a physical space i.e the quad. In class they learn the fundamentals of maths to be able to do this. They take a Video Camera and film the measuring and collation of the information they need. Someone has to present the problem and explains how to do the measuring. They upload their footage, edit the sequence and add graphics to make a peer teaching tool. Back in the classroom, pupils watch each others videos and see if they can solve the problem.

History – For pupils studying McCarthyism and it’s influence on Hollywood in 1950s America. They may have watched anti-communist films in class. Based on their knowledge of US Anti-Communism they have to make their own 1950s Anti-Communist film, edit it and pitch it to be commissioned in a follow up lesson.

· Staff had the opportunity to see potentially difficult pupils in a new light. Many pupils who have behavioural issues really excelled on these days. This also can help build and cement staff-pupil relationships.

PUPILS

· The development of core technological skills and Creative Media (Macs, editing, podcasting), which without these days, most pupils would never have had the opportunity to experience.

· An opportunity to work as a team and feel real emotional pride when an end product is realised.

· They became aware of responsibility. If they had a role to fulfil, they had to do it properly, otherwise the team would have been let down.

· They got to see how creativity is harnessed to produce something of value and that means something to the people who have produced it

· They became aware of certain processes in the Creative Industries and saw how skills learnt could be applied to the “real world”.

· They had the opportunity to engage is something which showed off their own individual talents – whether that be as an ideas person, an editor, a presenter, an organiser.

· They became teachers of each other. It was very independent learning and learning from each other.

· They got to work through problems and try to fix them themselves, rather than give up.

· They learnt the importance of encouragement and respect for other people.

· The one day project enabled students to focus on two different media projects. E.G Radio podcasting and Video editing. This meant that skills could be transferred from one day to the next. E.G Many pupils used audio media they had created on Day 1 over the top of their Videos on day 2. It gave them an overview of the big picture.

Ideas for Improvement

Guidelines for the structure of the day should have been though out and prepared more precisely. This does not mean to say they should be set in stone because the importance of these days is flexibility. However, there was too little prior organisation.

The initial part of the day was planning and researching. This is the part of the ILP which need more prior teacher input and if not done properly, could affect the success of the whole project.

Rooms needed to have bee resourced properly - materials such as sugar paper, pens should have been readily available.

The initial part of the project – i.e the morning activities were KEY to getting the students to understand the brief. Despite the fact that these days were meant to be about something different to school and not like, pupils needed visual tools to enable them to understand the task. They needed for example to see clips of various adverts like the ones they were supposed to be making. This needed to be prepared in advance

It is common teaching practice and all good teachers now that verbally explaining to a child, doesn’t always make them understand something. They need to SEE an example of what they need to do. People from outside the profession, may not necessarily be aware of this. Their role in this is to introduce the new skills, demonstrate the technology and enhance creativity. In my view, the day needed some teacher-planned input (mainly for the morning sessions) which allowed the Media Professionals to focus on their area of expertise more. A few ideas and resources for activities, which related to the planning and researching phase of the project, could improve this project greatly. As it stood, it lacked this element.

This project must have a specific project leader in order to achieve it’s full potential. Someone who sees the bigger picture and is able to co-ordinate the various phases. There may have been one but in the 3 projects I was involved in, I was unaware who this was.

Future Development

· The pupils were so proud of the work they achieved, it would be nice to have forum for pupils to assess the creativity. One idea that could help to drive this project forward is if there was a showcase of work on the VLE. Pupils should be able to view the videos/hear the podcasts and vote for their favourites, leave comments. This would help them engage fully in the process and see the days as a long term learning process rather than a one off!

March ILP

2009-04-26T23:22:00.009+01:00

I started off this two day session pretty confident it would all go well based on the last one. I had the same teacher with me who was keen, engaged and amazing at controlling the class.
The brief was to make a stop frame animation exploring the scenario that Earth was so polluted we had to colonise Space, and how would we communicate with any Aliens on the planets we landed on. The first task we set was to create an alien language, and the kids came up with some lovely symbols. However, when we asked them to come up with a story-board for an animation they just didn't seem to be able to get going. I decided to try some drama exercises to get them to imagine the situation better. I divided the class in two, and said one half were aliens and the other human. In pairs they had to act out the human landing on the planet for the first time. Every single human just walked up to the alien , waved and said "hello".

So I then split them into groups and gave then different details about what they could or couldn't do. i.e. some aliens had never had any predators, some couldn't hear, and so on. We then repeated the exercise and started to get some more imaginative ideas. I then did some word association with them, and a few other creative thinking exercises. I then showed them a demonstration of Stop-Motion Animation, which usually gets a great response, and it just seemed to fall flat. By the end of the day I felt I had failed to engage or excite the kids, and both myself and the teacher had to seriously reprimand the kids for their behaviour.
The next morning I gathered a lot of materials from the Art Cupboard, and when the kids came in basically said, right get on with it now! They just got stuck in straight away, worked well in their groups, came up with great ideas and worked like Trojans all day, with very little behaviour issues. It was an amazing difference to day one. There was a new TA in the class, and she asked me what I had done to the kids the day before to inspire them so much, she was amazed by their ideas and concentration.
I would like to think that the exercises in mind-mapping, role play and word association helped to push their Creativity to a deeper level than what first came into their minds. I also think that part of the day may have been quite challenging, hence the apparent apathy and behaviour.
We ended up with some origional and thoughtful animations, and I felt it was a big success.

Emily Clay - New Media Artist on ILP 3

2009-03-26T07:54:00.000Z

Emily fedback:

• The project went well. I was impressed by the children's' formulation of ideas and the variety of ideas each group relayed.

• The groups worked well, each pupil was assigned a design project brief, this was effective in ensuring each pupil was on task.

• Groups met up throughout the process so that they could make sure that the process was going as planned and that the design work had a holistic sense of continuity.

• Groups worked well together, so groups needed guidance in making sure that ideas were coherent whereas others naturally made a cohesive piece which worked well from scene to scene, (by-in-large, each group member created one or a series of scenes including buttons and animations.

• The children, having worked on the project before were aware of the time-scale and adhered well to the creative and temporal demands of the project well

• I was largely highly impressed with the maturity with which they approached the project and the communication and creativity with which they worked, sharing ideas and allowing other ideas of design to influence them such as in architechture and computer aided design. The students also used ideas of natural structures to aid their design which worked well with the teachers who were working with the project.

• Children formulated ideas well and were good at compromising and collating so that different pupils could all have their creative input into the project.

• During the project, I worked with two science teachers, they learnt many new skills and also ended up teaching the students Flash skills which was great to see. At the end of the project myself and the teacher who worked with me met the Creative Partnerships mentor this conversation was very interesting as it enable me to see how the project could be useful to the science teacher and how she felt it could be utilized within her lesson, this was especially poignant and notable as she also took the pupils participating in the project for science class, it was noted that together they could use this applications to record science experiments or phem=nominons, I was particularly excited by this and it seemed relevant as, apparently the science department has to spend an alloted time on the computer and so this would widen the scope for IT use.

• It was good having the older student to help and I think she too learnt some teaching skills which was good. The children responded well to having an older child in the class and in some instances found it easier to relate to her.

• I am enjoying working on the project, I feel it is a shame I can't collate them and am not sure how I will be able to instruct the person who does collate them. It is often the way that art projects run out of money and I guess that's just something to consider next time. I will send the files on CD

• It is always interesting to meet up with the other teachers and creatives to see what they have been up to and share experiences.

• I look forward to seeing how the project progresses next term.

Gordon O'Neill - March ILP Feedback

2009-03-24T11:38:00.002Z

The last two ILP days were really great.

It was great on the first day to have three others working with me and it certainly made difference as it meant each group was able to have someone overseeing them whilst I tried to float between the groups.

It was good to get the pupils actively creating early on in day one. I think they appreciated it made learning curve slightly less steep. Although it can have the feeling of fire fighting addressing problems as they arise it meant techniques are learnt as they are needed which to a greater degree of retention.

During the day four groups made films, three made them about knife crime whilst one group tackled smoking as part of the healthy living brief.

What was different from other days was allowing the groups to split into sub groups, in this case twos, for editing. I found this really exciting as it was great to see the different edits and therefore the differing emphasis given by each group. This approach also means more of the group get hands on edit experience and that can only be a good thing.

We did still have a few technical problems, importing pictures and music, in most cases we solved this and I am sure we can refine that part of the project. The difficulty of importing pictures did though lead to an unexpected benefit. It meant groups had to edit with the footage they’d shot, importing pictures can lead to the production being little more than a slideshow. All of the films showed a good understanding of the film process and for the first time all of the groups stuck to the brief regarding time.

For the first time we did find groups completely finishing their work before lunch on the second day. Why was this?

The most obvious reason is that one group had some experience of imovie and therefore found the editing process easier and quicker. One group had shot only the footage they needed and had done it in order. This superb piece of film making meant they were very quickly able to put the production together.

We had not previously faced this issue and we had to think on our feet in order to give those who had finished another task. I think for future days I will expand on this supplementary task and give it more definition. The task was to film some feedback on the days which is a good thing to get on film and giving the task more structure and definition will only improve the feedback we get from the pupils. I have being doing a lot of thinking lately of how we can find a creative way of getting feedback and this may prove to be the way in, not just for the video part of the project, but for other aspects as well.

These days have helped me reconnect with brevity in the film making process. I did labour the point with them the need to keep their production to 30-40 seconds. I asked them to tell a story in six pictures which they did.

Professionally it is so easy to get carried away with expanding a brief, not because it needs it, but because you can. Seeing these young people tell a story in 30 seconds, or six pictures, has really inspired or reminded me that less is more. (Obviously I have not yet applied this blog writing)

I have also realised that learning is best done through doing. Although wanting to teach the basics of video production I have discovered that allowing the pupils to get hands on experience leads to a greater learning experience, they learn what they need to know at that moment. Why teach them something, valuable in itself, but only valuable to the extent they need it during the two days.

Overall a really good two days and I think it would be possible to complete the task inside a day, a tight squeeze but possible based on the last two days.

Sue Bowerman - March ILP day feedback

2009-03-24T11:37:00.003Z

1. Getting apathetic staff on board!

The staff who support / interact / get on board these projects are to me the key to their success in the long term of implementing new technologies alongside creativity in schools - so if staff don't get on it I don't see how this vision will succeed - I was lucky last time with Lee - there was consistency as he was there for two whole days which meant he was able to see the transformation of process and also progression in the students - he also naturally became more and more curious as time went on - and it was pretty easy to get him in the deep end and get his hands dirty - super glad to hear that he's now taking these skills into his daily sessions. Oh one more thing - last time, the staff had prepared materials for the students - research packs etc - this time nada - and my teacher on the first day had prepared a mini-powerpoint presentation on getting ready to film something which didn't help except to disappoint the kids that they weren't gonna go near a camera for the next two days!!! Oh dear!!!! So, my advice would be that if teachers are assigned to these projects they are briefed by the practitioners - I would like to be able to spend a little time with them to explain my vision and ask for their support - this means that they also need to set aside other things they could / should / would / like to do that day and focus on the ILP only.... no checking emails, doing paperwork, chatting to friends etc - ie. perhaps treat them a little like the students, dare I say!!! I KNOW they will have fun if they join in - there are a lot of technophobe teachers out there - and what better way to get over that hurdle than have a friendly and left of centre radio producer to guide them into the joys and delights of apple mac heaven and garageband tricks n treats! Do you think that bit of time would be feasible on the day of the session - I would suggest even 15 minutes before class begins. I also would like to perhaps assign them to one of the groups - or assign them on rotation to each of the groups so they have the same role and responsibility as the students. That way they also get to experience first hand... I could also use the teachers to demonstrate rather than using students - that way they have no choice but to join in. They need to stay in the class during all of the sessions. I could also advise them on ways to implement podcasting into their days - for example a primary school I worked with last year now use podcasting to assess the entire spectrum of literacy skills - from reading and writing, to spoken word, to confidence and performance based skills, to revision, to evidencing student's work and then just for plain old radio programmes and podcasts for the school's web-based radio station and so on and so on.

2. 1 day versus 2 day projects

Yes a 1 day project is feasible but it means changing the existing brief - in 1 day they will get less hands-on experience if they want a finished product at the end of it - and more will have to be done demonstratively and on a master machine for that to be achieved - this may mean working to a group brief and divvying up the work-load then bringing it all together on one master machine and getting some of them to come up and have a go and editing and deciding on placement of materials as a group rather than individually. It really can work - I also know that students had been told they were doing one day of radio and one day of film so were gutted they got stuck with me for two days!!!! Needs to be clear from the start otherwise you get disappointed peoples. This way also more students get experience of more fields which is potentially also a good thing. Need to decide how to change the brief - would definitely like that for next round of sessions as we could do with some different subjects to work from and would like to expand on 'news based theme if possible but keeping the magazine remit. Another consideration will be the number of students. If there are more than 20 it isn't ideal for this work unless they are all working independently - one person per machine - or two people per machine with headphone splitters - yes, that's what I meant to ask for - headphone splitters!!!!!!! Is there money or possibility to bring in a guest???? I have a plan!!!! Can we ask the students in advance for a selection of ideas of topics for a programme? That way I could prepare more in advance or bring this 'mystery idea' to life... let me know.

3. Thoughts

Still really believe in the premise of the ILP - I would like to find a way to get more integration between the differing facets / subjects / skills going on in the long term - either by creating one master project and doing an interpretation of the brief in sound, video, graphics, animation etc... to see how the young people conquer the challenge or by coming up with something that they can all contribute to - one brief that needs each discipline to make it complete. God am I getting too deep now???!!!! What d'ya reckon? I guess I would like to switch things up a little for next time...

STUDENT VOICE

2009-02-10T16:21:00.003Z

Here are some feedback comments from students taken from forums on our VLE:

"this has been great fun because we have had a chance using a camara and that we can film other people !!Also I have enjoyed working with a professional camera man he was the funniest and was very honest with us as well. "

"I think that working with a real cameraman really helped because he knew what he was doing, and he helped us alot to do our vids. He taught me how to use a video camera and tips on how to make a good video."

"I've learnt loads. Honestly, I've had the best time of my life. It's fun working with people you get along with really well and that you can trust. Being trusted with all this equipment and working with a professional has been brilliant. How was it working with a professional? It's been really educating. Learning how to put together a advert in the space of just 2 days, i didn't think it was possible. Also understanding the pressures of the media business like dead lines and all the technical terms."

"...I have learned how to use the apple mac computers, and to use i movies."

"...we worked okay as a team but at times we got into arguments lol"

"Over the pass two days I have learnt a lot of things such as how to use different things on the video camera. I have also learnt how to put a film together. I t was really good because I was with some of my mates and it was really fun and I didn't really get bored because we was always doing something."

Click here to listen to Healthy Living News Podcast created by students at Chalfonts

Click here to listen to students' evaluation of Healthy Living Podcast.

Click here to hear a News Podcast created by students at Chalfonts.

Thoughts on long distance Games Design Workshop

2009-02-06T13:55:00.005Z

The Games Design Workshop is probably the most risky element of the Chalfonts CS program due to it being based across the planet, in terms of the content, and the process. Having spent a couple of years thinking and talking up virtual teaching and learning I am delighted to be part of such an interesting piece of research. Last nights meeting involved the usual suspects from years 7 to 13 (all boys) meeting Colin Maxwell (Designer, Artist, Photographer, teacher) and listening to a superb presentation about the design process he goes through when making his games. Roxana held the meeting together with a sophisticated balance of questioning, discussion, humour and challenge. Students responses were considered, creative and knowledgable as various games, processes, language and ideas were thrown around.

Having spent the first part of today working on the new Creative and Media Diploma plan I have no doubts this course could be very important in our thinking when we start to bring more and more experts into our classrooms through virtual technologies as experts and professionals.

Inspiring, fascinating and possible.

Iona Fabian - November ILP

2009-01-28T23:59:00.006Z

Hi, I'm Iona Fabian and I led a two-day Stop Motion Animation workshop as part of the November ILP.

My brief was to enable the students to create a stop-motion animation on a given theme. They had to design and animate forms of transport 400 years in the future. I was working with a teacher who specialised in PE.

The teacher introduced the topic and I then did a brief introduction to animation. We then asked the students to design futuristic forms of transport, then story-board an animation that included their invention. I was impressed with the originality, of the student's concepts, and some of the scientific concepts involved. One group devised a space ship powered by the CO2 from the occupant's breath!

In order to allow the students to work in small groups we used web cams on clamps from the science labs. I usually work with video cameras on tripods, which gives a better quality result, but would be prohibitively expensive in large numbers. I felt that the loss of picture quality was a worthwhile sacrifice for small groups of students to work independently. I was impressed by how quickly the students grasped both the scientific and artistic concepts, and they were very engaged throughout the two days, which is something in itself!

By the end of the two days we had some lovely animations of a wide range of transport ideas!

Specific feedback:

C1: The ability to identify and address new issues and challenges creatively.

The brief gave students the challenge of an over-crowded planet needing to find new methods of transport. The students were given a small amount of time to come up with solutions, and I was impressed with the how animated discussions in the groups were, and the ingenuity of the ideas that evolved.
The second challenge was illustrating their concepts without being able to write or record speech. I think this was a bit of a tall order, and some of the detail they had considered was lost. Maybe next time it would be good to get the students to write down their concepts, just for the record, as it is difficult to portray everything visually, and the resolution on the web-cams means writing in the animations is unreadable.
However, the groups all worked independently and came up with a wide range of ideas.
They also used, with some encouragement from me, and access to a well stocked art cupboard, a range of materials and techniques.

C2: The development and communication of new skills, ideas, knowledge and understanding.

The students were very aware they were off-timetable and part of something a bit different, so I felt thier engagement levels were high. They embraced the conceptual and practical challenges presented with enthusiasm, imagination and creativity. They quickly grasped the principles af animatin, and worked well in thier groups. I was also impressed with how the groups worked together, and were often very patient whilst waiting for technical help. I heard a lot of negotiating occuring over both the content and practical approaches to the animations. As a team-building excercise it was largely sucessful, with even the most reluctant students engaging.
I think this excercise gave them the opportunity to creatively use their scientific knowledge in both a practical and conceptual way.

C4: Co-constructing of learning with young people.

I think that the students picked up on the experimental nature of this project, and the risks the school was taking by having a more open and un-scripted couple of days. I had never worked in quite this way, and the teacher I worked with had never done any animation, or a project like this before. This meant we had to keep communicating with each other, and be very flexible with our plans, responding and adapting to how the students were engaging and performing. The fact no-one involved had worked this way before added to the student's excitement and willingness to co-operate, even when they had to wait a while for attention.
I felt the students responded well to being put outside the normal school routine, and were very active in thier involvement. I felt as though the students were very much part of a team with me, trying to acheive something to be proud of.

Sue Bowerman - ILP Feedback podcast - click here!

2009-01-26T12:59:00.003Z

Here is Sue's Feedback podcast following the November 2008 ILP.

Here is the Disability podcast Sue mentions in her feedback

Click here to listen to the feedback podcast from the team who created the Disability podcast.

Magazine ILP Nov'08 - Anti- bullying advert

2009-01-20T14:11:00.022Z

I have posted here a variety of work created by students during the 2 day November ILP. Working in teams using a variety of skills including planning, filming, recording and editing students worked in groups to produce their videos, podcasts and animations.

Here is an example of a poster created by students working with Ben Bowen

iotaMEDIA

2009-01-14T11:38:00.001Z

Hi, my name is Gordon O’Neill and I am the founder of iotaMEDIA. iotaMEDIA is a full service production company working with a diverse range of clients form blue chip companies to SME’s and charities.

We have been involved in running creative video courses in schools, colleges, youth organisations and business for the last five years. The courses enable students to explore their creativity, stretch their imaginations and come away with a sound understanding of the video production process, as well as develop valuable key skills that enhance personal development such as team building and project management.

We have worked on several occasions in Chalfont Community College, myself and members of my team have greatly enjoyed our time working with students. It is a great thrill when you see a young person have an idea and through the process we take them through translate that idea into a production to be viewed by others.

C1 The ability to identify and address new issues and challenges creatively

Video production involves planning, it is important that the students are led through this planning process emphasising that this will enable them to create the best production possible production. A camera is a technical tool, in the hands of a gifted film maker it is a story teller. Our task is helping young people to see beyond the technical and to the creative use of the equipment from cameras to computers.

C2 The development and communication of new skills, ideas, knowledge and understanding

For me the biggest challenge is enabling young people to use technology and to use it in a creative way. The assumption that every young person is a computer whizz kid is inaccurate, in our experience a young persons knowledge of a computer does not go very much beyond msn or bebo.

Beyond the technical aspects, we need to encourage and enable the students to communicate their ideas. The hardest aspect of creative video making

C4 Co-construction of learning with young people

The hardest challenge is to allow the young people to make mistakes and also to come up with new ways of looking at something. Allowing people the freedom to have their own ideas however “out there” is common in the work place, particularly within the creative sector. The temptation to over direct is a strong one and the challenge during the ILP is to listen to the young people’s ideas and then try to help them realise them.

Emily Clay's feedback (1)

2009-01-12T14:48:00.002Z

Emily Clay's feedback.......

C1 The ability to identify and address new issues and challenges creatively

The children are working on a design processes that reflect contemporary creative ideologies and respond to briefs that could be set in the real world, however, the project has the creative twist that it evolves in a parallel place that could perhaps exist in the future! The briefs allow imagination but also allow an application of the Flash programme where they create web-interfaces, buttons and animated characters and landscapes.

I may have a computer game designer who could come in, would we have a fee for her, this could be exciting?!

C2 The development and communication of new skills, ideas, knowledge and understanding

The students begin with a very small amount of Flash knowledge and leave with an wider understanding of what the programme can do and what it can be used for. They also understand the dynamics of a design project. The children are working in small design groups and are intially planning their ideas with mind diagrams and presentations. The groups work in a way that allows them to delegate skills and the development of ideas thus furthering their communication and delegation skills and allowing them to understand the importance of group cohesion in creative projects both at school and in the word of commerce. The projects have a slightly open-ended nature so that the pupils creativity can lead the project into fruition, however, this is also backed up by skill sharing and practical demonstrations from myself the artist, the techer and other older students.

C4 Co-construction of learning with young people

It is excellent to see theolder sixith form students positively fostering the development of the year eight students and responding to their technical needs and questions, I believe this will be very positive for the wider school environemtna nd all of the student's digital knowledge, it has been said that one lears 75% more when teaching something. It was noted that a student who found social environements difficult was in his element when teaching the younger students, this was lovely to see! I too am learing a lot through the students and am really excited by their dynamic and fresh attitudes to their work! It is excellent to produce something so extensive in such a short space of time, this is a great confidence booster. I hope this can also be backed up through an in-school Flash project that follows in a temporally close way to the project.

C4 Co-construction of learning with young people

It is excellent to see theolder sixith form students positively fostering the development of the year eight students and responding to their technical needs and questions, I believe this will be very positive for the wider school environemtna nd all of the student's digital knowledge, it has been said that one lears 75% more when teaching something. It was noted that a student who found social environements difficult was in his element when teaching the younger students, this was lovely to see! I too am learing a lot through the students and am really excited by their dynamic and fresh attitudes to their work! It is excellent to produce something so extensive in such a short space of time, this is a great confidence booster. I hope this can also be backed up through an in-school Flash project that follows in a temporally close way to the project.

Roxana Hadad

2008-12-14T02:54:00.002Z

Hi, I'm Roxana and I live in Chicago, Illinois, USA. Officially, I work at Northwestern University as a project and instructional designer at the Collaboratory Project. The Collaboratory Project is a Northwestern University initiative that provides project consulting, training, technical advice, and Web-based resources and services to K-12 teachers and their students who are interested in using Internet technologies to advance education. In my off-hours, I work as an illustrator, animator and game designer.

I'm looking forward to working as a practitioner on the Change School project because I think the challenges that it presents will help me develop as a teacher, communicator and designer. Not only are the students I am working with more than six thousand miles away, but they are in a time zone six hours ahead of mine. While I am finishing up at my full-time job, they are (hopefully) sound asleep. So I am going to need a lot of help from them to create this workshop. I would like to test my theory that designing an effective game is not unlike designing an effective distance education experience. All games are sets of rules, but the rules should be established in a way that allows for play and exploration within the system of the game. A good game is one where interactivity is essential and provides a meaningful experience for the player. Also, a game should provide feedback often, letting the player know if they are on the right track to winning the game or if another strategy might serve them better. All of these concepts can easily translate to the online classroom. Structure is needed for a student of any age to provide guidance; however, it must be created in a way that encourages playfulness and curiosity. Students should be provided with experiences that are interactive and let them learn through direct contact with the content. Furthermore, students should be provided with an engaged learning model for their lessons; the reasons for learning a lesson should be clear and students should receive periodic feedback on their progress. As game designer Eric Zimmerman has described, game play occurs within a structure, but then transforms the structure. I hope to provide students with an educational structure that they can transform.

As for the three areas of inquiry in regards to my professional development:

C1 The ability to identify and address new issues and challenges creatively.

The students and I are going to have to work on an effective way for us to interact that provides them with clear guidance and direction for their game development, without it interfering too much with my day job. I hope that the use of videoconferencing, wikis, forums, email and chat will give us a good foundation by which to begin creating our workshop and address difficulties as they arise.

C2 The development and communication of new skills, ideas, knowledge and understanding

I have never taught a structured game design course before, and I think teaching will help me improve as a designer, making me think about the practices I use and what works and what doesn't work when I am developing a game. As an instructional designer, I create online educational experiences for others, so I am interested in trying different applications that I may be able to incorporate with the teachers I consult.

C4 Co-construction of learning with young people

Young people today have been very exposed to digital games from an early age. I think I can learn a lot from them about what a game should be and what makes a game fun. I also hope that the feedback I receive from them will help me be a better teacher and designer.

Blog from the day!

2008-12-09T10:23:00.002Z

Here is a link to the Chalfonts Community College Media Blog - I recorded reflections and images from the day. There is also a link to the Chalfonts VLE there so that you can see the work produced by the students in our (Claire and I) project.

Click here!

Clare McEwan

2008-12-04T10:50:00.004Z

Hello, I’m Clare. I am an artist working with textiles and digital media, creating abstract, fabric wall pieces and low relief works incorporating lighting. I work towards exhibitions and combine this with educational projects involving photography, printmaking and digital art.

My involvement with Chalfonts ILP days as a creative partner is a new and challenging approach for me as an artist in education. The use of new and often time-based media (animation, video, pod casting and graphics) as a tool and space for creating artwork sits differently to my own experience. Which is to use it to record and communicate ready-made still work. I think the ILP will encourage an understanding of both perspectives, providing function, purpose for student work.

As a practitioner, I can offer my experience in the creation of 2d/3d work. But in addition to this mostly singular, still work, the challenge is to develop and find ways to glue with 2d, 3d and 4d components together to answer a project brief. This, I think will be the fundamental learning aspect for me. Building confidence in combining new and different media, in a meaningful way. The project also offers the space to experiment and observe how this approach can be led in the classroom within a limited time-frame.

This November I assisted with the video element of the ILP days with year 8. I worked with James Michie, head of Media and Elise Thompson from the English department at Chalfonts. This session benefited greatly from a very clear structure, one in which students themselves could mimic in future independent work. Ideas, visual, oral and written, developments through making, storyboarding, script writing, delegating roles, gathering footage (still, film and sound), reviewing results, refining footage, reviewing again, editing media together in iMovie and finally watching the results as a whole group.

It was interesting to see the division of time spent on all these areas. Although emphasis of the ILP is using new media, the large percentage of the video project concentrated on preparation and quality of idea, working out the best way to communicate, refinement of story, clear script, well-made props- lots of traditional skills. This determined the ease and efficiency when using the new equipment and technology. It also ensured enough value was given to the content as to its presentation.

Learning Outcomes:

C1 The ability to identify and address new issues and challenges creatively

Supporting student’s use of new media-in this case film editing, which is also new to me as a practitioner. This provided a rare opportunity to be at once student and teacher, possibly freeing assumptions about student capabilities and creating empathy with the student as a new learner.

C2 The development and communication of new skills, ideas, knowledge and understanding

The opportunity to observe practical teaching methods within technology/media setting is invaluable, i.e., best use of equipment, balancing lesson time between independent, group and class contribution.

Learning from the structure of the project, allocating sufficient and quality time towards student evaluation within the two days. Putting emphasis on the working process rather than an endpoint.

As a follow on from student evaluation, it’s good to have time built into the day to review work from all the team. It has helped my understanding of the project as a whole and again suggests and solidifies how the mediums can connect and influence each other.

Making practical use of new media to maintain consistent and varied communication between partners definitely energises the project. Through the VLE, website, blog and online meetings. These new experiences of communication feel valid and purposeful for all, putting into practice immediately some new skills, which will feed through to the students.

C4 Co-construction of learning with young people

Facilitating a project carried out by groups of students rather than a class of individuals was a new format for me within an educational role. Encouraging progress within a group dynamic was challenging. I was aware of the need to distance myself from over directing a group, which could limit their own group learning. But having witnessed the energy and richness of work achieved through the group work, I am keen to try this approach with future projects.

Chalfonts ILP day 2008

2008-11-26T22:16:00.003Z

Change School Creative Partners at Chalfonts Community College

2008-11-26T11:43:00.000Z

Working in conjuction with creative Junction The Chalfonts Community College has set out to develop and explore the impact new media and new technologies has on teaching and learning. With the funding provided we have contracted several creative partners to work over the year with grouos of year 8 students on a series of new media projects, below are a few words about each practioner and their feedback from the Novemebr ILP days.