Assignment part 2

For the second part of our assignment we were required to create a short stop-motion animation film in pairs or small groups.  Myself and Sara Gwynn paired up to make a start on this second part where we initially came up with the idea to create a stop-motion video using clay and play dough animals and models. We started off by trying to decide how our film was going to portray a contemporary issue and how we were going to create these animals or models.  As we could not decide at first what our issue would be, we thought we would make a start on trying to create the clay models/animals.  However this did not go according to plan, having researched the types of animals we could make out of play dough we initially thought it looked like a pretty straight forward process and as we love anything to do with creativity and making things we thought we could make and create these animals/models easily.  When it came to the creative part of trying to assemble and make any type of animal it proved to be extremely difficult, the play dough would not stick together and was falling apart, and anything we tried to do was not working to our benefit. I did manage to make a fly but this eventually fell apart as well.

Below are some pictures of our initial attempt 

An ICT Rich Environment

When it comes to exploring the impacts the learning environment has on the learner, many researchers and designers of the learning environment often debate whether the learner should adapt to the environment or if the learning environment should adapt to them.  However these types of questions can be argued as wrong.  Instead a better question would be to ask ourselves, how the learning environment shapes the learner and also how the learner influences the learning environment.  This would consist understanding the incentives of the learner with respect to the time and place in which a person obtains knowledge (Lave and Wenger, 1991). 

Twenty first century learning environments are intended to be places in which the learner is engaged in self-directed, cooperative activities and the physical environment is planned so that it can be routinely reorganised to meditate learning (Partnership for 21st Century Skills, 2002). 

When it comes to school environments the goal for all teachers is to provide effective instruction that lead to student learning.  However that particular goal is dependent on having a safe and supportive environment in which teachers can teach and students can learn.  Without having an environment that learners feel comfortable in and are able to reach their full learning potential, instructional and learning time is lost.

The many different environments in which we learn can all have different impacts both negative and positive, on the way in which we develop a sense of understanding.  Montessori developed teaching tools that encouraged learners to explore their environments through self-directed and co-operative learning activates.  When focusing on ICT rich environments, it is important to understand that with all the positive effects it can bring to the learning environment and ones enquiring mind it also comes with many negative effects as well.  ICT rich classrooms can enhance the interest that young children have towards education, as they often see the approach as fun and exciting and tend to become more interested in learning and engage more.  Today’s instructional settings have been introduced with computers, tablets and SMART boards. All these different types of technologies come with the following advantages:

• ·        Using the internet for research
• ·        Playing educational games
• ·        Creating PowerPoints for classroom presentations
• ·        Using Microsoft word for essay writing and classroom displays
• ·        Allows the opportunity for learners to present work in a variety of ways

There are so many more advantages; this is merely a small list of examples. 

Many children, including adolescents tend to be distracted quite easily and become very bored with the traditional classroom environment where they just use pen and paper to do/complete their work.  Incorporating ICT into the learning environment enables these learners with the opportunity to use a wide selection of programs, and teachers can set up tasks on the computers for pupils to complete e.g. work sheets or designing leaflets.  Those pupils who have learning difficulties can benefit from many of the programs that are found on computers, that aid with drawing, spelling, reading, maths and so many more.  Most educational programmes that are used on computers are designed in a way that is attractive to the learner, with colourful and eye-catching layouts.  When I was in primary school I remember simply copying from a black board which I found very boring, you were only able to write on it in chalk, which I found very dull and would become uninterested and never volunteered to answer questions were I would have to write and answer on the board. In practically every school setting today black boards have been replaced with the interactive white boards.  Anything that is done on a computer monitor can then be replicated on an interactive white board.  Teachers are able to create engaging lessons such as matching activity where pupils can match items using their fingers or a pen; this is creative experience for pupils and a fun way for them to learn.  This technology makes the one-computer classroom a workable instructional model.

Once issue that comes with ICT rich classrooms, is that all teachers and staff are expected to know how to incorporate and use ICT in their classroom.  Many teachers may find it difficult to understanding the different functions of computers and how they work, which causes some concerns.  These concerns would be that some teachers may not understand the numerous functions of computers and how they generally work, thus becoming unwilling and unconfident to incorporate them into the classroom environment.  Many teachers can believe that one of the biggest disadvantages to using ICT within the classroom is the use of the internet, and can tend to argued that not only can it become addictive but can possibly prevent children from thinking from themselves, as they can simply search the internet (google) for answers to questions.  Nowadays you can search the internet for practically anything you need to know, and pupils may take advantage of this, thus I believe they are not fully engaging in the learning experience.  When teachers set task sheets with questions of previous lessons, pupils can simple search the internet for the answers without even thinking about it.  This could become a serious problem if teachers do not limit pupils access to computers, as well as limiting their usage to prevent them becoming addicted. 

Overall I believe that integrating ICT into the learning environment has certainly changed the way in which teachers are able to teach, and has positive effects on engaging pupils within certain aspects of learning.  I think that all the advantages that I have read and researched outweigh the negative and believe that ICT can be a rewarding experience if used within education and has encouraging prospects on the enquiring mind.

Refernces:

Lave, J. and Wenger, E. 1991. Situated learning. Cambridge [England]: Cambridge University Press

Partnership for 21st Century Skills, 2002. Learning for the 21^st century [pdf] http://www.p21.org/storage/documents/P21_Report.pdf [Accessed: 16 Apr 2014].

Here are some links that I found quite interesting:

http://www.inquiringmind.co.nz/inquiry_&_ict.htm

http://www.oecd.org/edu/school/43023606.pdf

http://www.johnseelybrown.com/newlearning.pdf

http://www.leeds.ac.uk/educol/documents/00001201.htm

Here is a video full of useful information:

Clay animation

Clay animation or clay motion is one of many forms of stop motion animation. It is produced by recording each frame, or still picture, on film or digital media and then playing the recorded frames back together to form a film like animation. Each object involved is sculpted from clay or Plasticine etc,  and then arranged on the set. It is photographed in its initial position and then every slight movement made is also captured. The more photos taken the smoother the film will run. Most Normal film runs at 24 frames per second. Because of this you have to ensure the object is not accidentally moved and nor the lighting or camera changed otherwise your photos will be different and wont flow. A famous clay  animation is morph, which I loved watching on the television program art attack.

Despicable Me 2

The last animation that I watched was Despicable Me 2

The 2013 Amerucan 3D computer-animated comedy-film and the follow on from the 2010 animated film Despicable Me.  A secret laboratory near the Artic Circle is stolen by a mysterious vehicle using a giant magnet. The Anti-Villain League (AVL) tries to recruit former super-villian Gru, now a devoted father to Margo, Edith and Agnes, to find out which evil person stole the lab, which contained a powerful mutagen known as PX-41 which can make indestructible and extremely aggressive monsters out of living organisms. They asked Gru because he, being an ex-villain, knows how villains work. But Gru refuses to help, saying he is a legitimate businessman now. Then Gru learns that Dr. Nefario, his friend and assistant, has decided to leave him for new employment, because he "missed being evil." Gru reluctantly partners with undercover AVL agent Lucy Wilde, and together they search The Paradise Shopping Mall, where they are given a bakery called "Bake My Day" as their headquarters. Gru suspects Mexican restaurant owner Eduardo Perez of being a super-villain called "El Macho", a bad guy who supposedly died after being TNT-laden, skysurfing a shark into the center of an active volcano. After Gru and agent Lucy Wilde have broken into the bakery to try and uncover who the villian is, the story more or less is based around both of them trying to catch the bad guy. Here is a link to give some more information about the films story line: http://cinema.theiapolis.com/movie-2SVK/despicable-me-2/storyline.html

Below is a short tailer to introduce you to the film.

Audacity Recording

Audacity Recording


Todays in Mandys lesson, I have learnt how to create a pod cast recording for my science module. The process was really confussing to begin with, but I think I kind of understand it now. Below is a recording of me and my friend talking about science. To make the recording I used the document Audacity, and then uploaded the recording onto archive so I could embed it onto my blog.

Fun House

For our lesson we had to use an app installed on an iPad called Hopscotch.  This app simplifies the creation of stories, games and animations by providing the user with straight forward blocks to fill in. The app is based on coding to create different things e.g. shapes/games.  Using the app I created a house using different quirky animals (which I found made the app more appealing and fun to use), and had to enter different coding and controls to create the shape of the house.  For someone new to this app like myself, it can be very difficult to master at first but with a lot of practice it can be quite fun.  Hopscotch can be a very useful app to use with children as through trail, error and constant repetition, they will learn how to manipulate the code as well as think creatively and critically.  This app can enable any person to learn fundamental programming logic which is a useful skill to hold in this era of technological advancement.

Below are some pictures of my house created on Hopscotch.   

My lesson game plan

After we had our games lesson, we had to look over our work sheets that we had completed on all the games that we played. Once we had looked over our notes, we had to come up with our own lesson plan for one of the games and explain it to the class. Below is a copy of my lesson plan: Games Station Lesson Plan Learning Objectives Tennis (year 6) For children to; Learning Objective: Gain knowledge and understanding on the sport tennis by communicating and helping one another. Previous learning: Previous knowledge about tennis, understanding of the rules involved or any skills obtained from similar games. Key skills: explore, research, discuss, develop, analyse, compare, understand, practice, and demonstrate skills to each other through explanation, prediction and describing. By appraising own game and others can enable them to see both their own and others strengths and weaknesses. Resources: Demonstrations through, Tennis magazines, books, videos, Computer or TV. Nintendo WII console Introduction: Max 30 mins 1. Describe activity to the class and explain that they are going to play the game in pairs, so can help each other if need be 2. Split into pairs; preferably paring up one child who has tennis experience or experience with using the console with another child who does not. 3. Give them at least 10 minutes to explain to each other their gained experience and information through explanation and resources 4. Set them targets and a time limit to play the game 5. Ask them to note down their scores 6. Get them to analyse both their own and their partners game by looking at their strengths and weaknesses and note down how they think they could improve these. Main activity: 1 hour in Groups: 1. Ask the groups to load a new game on the WII, this time including more games 2. Get them to again discuss from their game play and observation what they need to do to improve 3. Keep note of all the scores for feed back 4. Discussion on their strengths and weaknesses and if they feel they have improved or not 5. Compare their new results with previous results 6. Get the children to discuss their opinions on their game with the class, reflecting on the two games played and describing what they do and do not like about it 7. What did they learn from the game? Has it improved their tennis skills? 8. What do they feel is the best way to learn how to play the game and how would they verbally teach someone with no experience to play the game. 9. Explain these methods to the class 10. Get children to design and create their own teaching plan (resources will be provided). Plenary: Maximum 30 mins: A mini plenary would be carried out after the first game and again at the end of the game. At The end ask the class what they feel they have learnt, how they have benefited and if they feel they have now gained greater knowledge, skills and also a better understanding of the sport. Along with this ask the children if they think they would have had better outcomes and scores had they played a different game and why. Questions asked to explore their understanding: How do you play tennis? What equipment is involved? How many players are involved? What previous knowledge and experience did you put to use whilst playing the game? What helped you to play the game? Explain the key vocabulary used with the sport: Advantage/ duce/ serve/out/second serve and also the rules and way the points are scored. Carry out an assessment of the children's success, through observation, and also verbally ask the class how they felt about the game before the playing it and after. Look back over the scores form both games and see if there is an improvement and see if the children have been able to either criticise or praise them selves.