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| You are in: Education: Features |
| Saturday,
16 November, 2002, 00:15 GMT Using
digital video to enhance learning
Schools have invested heavily in
digital technology
A pilot project indicates that the use of digital
video can raise pupils' enthusiasm for what they are studying.
It can also motivate a wider range of pupils than traditional teaching methods, according to a study by the British Film Institute for the government's computer agency, Becta. Schools increasingly are using digital video to enhance teaching and learning. Fifty from across the UK took part in the evaluation between October last year and March 2002. This was too short a period to assess whether the technology would eventually affect test results. The evidence was that high quality teaching was still the main factor in raising achievement. Understanding the medium But the study says teachers believe digital video (DV) stimulates the development of other skills such as problem solving, negotiation, thinking, reasoning and risk-taking. The best work involved an understanding of what the institute calls the "language" of the moving image. Understanding that, rather than simply the technology, was the key to pupils' expressing themselves. Special effects One of the schools involved in the pilot was Mere Oaks near Wigan, which has 120 children aged between two and 19 who have physical or learning difficulties. Art and drama teacher Bob Overton is a fan of movie-making as an extra expressive medium for those who cannot readily paint or act on stage. He says the children get a lot out of using digital video. "It's motivating, it's encouraging them to work together and take decisions," he said. Lengthy project Their film, Space Oddity, shows what happens when the crew of a space craft receive a strange signal and are sucked into a time warp and visit an alien - it comes as no surprise that their teacher is a fan of the Stanley Kubrick film 2001: A Space Odyssey. The film institute team whom who visited the school described it as "a very accomplished and beautiful piece of work". Although it is only a few minutes long it took eight months to make - with an hour of work each week as part of an expressive arts course translating into just five or 10 seconds of finished film. "Our kids' access to learning is limited," Mr Overton said. "They are capable on the computer, but it takes them much longer." 'Sheer brilliance' The children were involved in editing, making the special effects and the highly atmospheric music as well as appearing in the film. "They get a lot of fun from it, but also it does give them a real sense of achievement without having to be as skilled or active as they would if it were a live stage performance." The head of promoting effective practice at Becta, Helen Walker, said: "The evaluation confirmed some of our suspicions about how teachers and learners are really getting to grips with this technology in the classroom. "It also reiterated one of our key beliefs - that high quality teaching underpinned by good subject knowledge forms a sound basis for creative learning with ICT. "Some of the examples of pupils' work from the pilot have shown sheer brilliance in terms of their creativity. "Our task now is to make sure that all teachers have access to
good quality advice about what works with digital video and in
the classroom." |
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| You are in: Education: Features | |||||||||||
| Friday,
31 January, 2003, 10:46 GMT Film
roles boost boys' behaviour
A moment of drama in the film, Welcome
Home Dad
It was an unlikely film cast that was called to a classroom a year ago - six 14 year olds "extremely close" to being thrown out of their school, according to their teachers. Today, however, they are all still attending classes and some are even preparing to sit academic exams thanks to a remarkable experiment that has transformed their outlook. Last summer the teenagers, working one day a week during the summer term, wrote and acted in a moving, 50-minute film about a family in turmoil. The just-finished film, Welcome Home Dad, was written almost entirely by the boys and centres on the experiences of a family with a violent father. It looks at the relationships he has with his wife and three children and how they resolve their many problems. Life skills Catherine Lloyd, manager of inclusion at Chesham Park Community College, Buckinghamshire, explained that the film had helped the boys mature and grow emotionally, by showing them how to work together. In return for being allowed to take part in the project, the boys had to stick at their studies and improve their often poor attendance records.
It showed them that when they put their minds to it they could produce a polished and gritty product. "We found it has been quite a tough process," she said. "They found it difficult at first and they lacked almost every skill, including being able to go in front of the camera. "They lacked the skills of working together and of doing things more than once to get it right. "They had such a negative image of themselves that they could not think they would do something right. "And for the first couple of weeks there was a lot of 'effing and blinding'. Tough group Des Webb, managing director of Mirror Circus, which produced the film following sponsorship from the Arts Council and Gulbenkian Foundation, agreed that the teenagers had been a challenge. He said: "The first couple of weeks were a bit nightmarish. These were the hardest group we have ever worked with." Soon, however, the benefits of learning new skills and working as a team began to produce some encouraging results and the boys gained the respect of the Mirror Circus team. "During the 12 weeks we worked on the film with the kids, we built up a relationship with them. This is a great product and it could inspire other special needs students. "It shows they can do anything. The kids were great," said Mr Webb.
Gary, previously a poor attender, said he had been so inspired by his work with the film that he made a special effort to improve. "I didn't want to let the group down so I turned up every time." He said that without the film, he and the others could have quit their studies. "I don't think most of us would be in school now if the staff or film company had given up on us. "I'd encourage others to do it. It helps you get on with other people and work as a group." 'Serious stuff' Ali said they had confounded expectations by producing a serious, well-considered piece of work. "I thought we'd do a film with loads of action and violence and stuff, but it has turned out a boffin film. "But that's good isn't it? I mean it is serious stuff. "It has made me think about drugs and that. I mean I know they're bad, but this made you think what they can do to a family."
During the project another two were given statements of special educational needs, for behavioural and emotional problems. She said that although the film had not made the students into model pupils, it had helped keep them interested in their school work. "We are not saying it has been a road to Damascus-type experience. They are still by no means brilliant at school as this came very late in their school career. "They are still struggling, but they are still in education and some are doing their GCSEs and they could still make it." |
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They found it difficult at first and they lacked
almost every skill