Innovative use of technologies in schools

View the digital story here: Unavailable temporarily (See transcript below)

Rosehill Secondary College

Project Coordinator: Damien Toussaint
Technologies used: Claymation software and digital cameras.
Subject (VELS Domain): Maths, English, Science & History.
Year Level: Year 7

  The process involved:

1. Question formation - The student selected a topic relating to the concept or idea being studied in class during the early stage of discovery / learning. With the assistance of the teacher(s), the question was framed (for example – ‘How does sound travel from the source to the ear’, ‘How does language create meaning?’, `How and why did the Vikings build ‘long boats’?', ‘What causes a solid to change into a gas?’).
2. Articulating prior knowledge - The student, with teacher guidance through the process, demonstrated their prior knowledge about the selected topic by creating a short animation. The teacher could use this to identify the depth of the students’ factual knowledge, understandings relating to changes etc as well as identify any misconceptions, future learning opportunities and possible research questions. The animation could become a rich source of direction for the teacher if the student is given enough time to fully demonstrate what they know about the topic and concept.
3. Classroom learning activities - The student participated in further learning about the topic in class, doing research and exploring the topic/concept and questions in more depth.
4. Revisiting, revising and recreating - The student then is then given an opportunity to revisit their prior knowledge (the original animation) and incorporate new factual knowledge, understandings and findings from their classroom learning and research and incorporate these into the original.
5. Presentation and Reflection - The student presented their animation to an audience (the class / a panel of students) and discussed the final product. The audience and/or teacher asks questions to probe for further details and explanation about the content, encouraging the student to pause the film and explain certain parts in detail (highlighting at the same time ‘gaps’, missing information/facts, misconceptions and further questions) and the process used by the students. This step also provides an opportunity for the teacher and student (with the assistance of the class) to suggest future research possibilities and questions for future learning.

Transcript of the digital story:

Students Using Animations to show Understanding of Concepts — A Learning Design for Learner-Created Animations

Niddrie Secondary College

[Music playing] [Damien Toussaint (teacher) speaking] A couple of years ago I remember watching the students race around the school bouncing from classroom to classroom, from subject to subject completing tests, aiming for targets. Coverage rather than understanding loomed at me. The outcomes to be met hovered over me like a dark cloud. I wondered what would happen if I started to start to slow the learning down. I wondered what it would be like to work at a slow school where understanding mattered more than coverage.

[Music playing] [Damien Toussaint (teacher) speaking] At about this time I was reading some of the writing of Moriss Holt, a professor of education at the University of Colorado at Denver.  Holt wondered just to slow food is driven by how the innate qualities of ingredients can be realised why not slow down the learning experiences to students and emphasise how the ideas are conceptualised and communicated.  My interest in clay-mation and harnessing the power of ICT in the classroom led me to a learning design called “slow motion animation” – or slow-mation.

A teaching approach that uses a four stage learning design. As I experimented with this approach and putting myself in the shoes of the learner and slowing down I started to see the enormous potential.

I started to see how I could encourage my students to swim beneath the surface and provide them with the knowledge and skills to slow down and move beyond the surface.  I wanted them to move into deeper waters and to be able to see and touch the coral and the weird and wonderful creatures of the deep.

[Music playing] [Damien Toussaint (teacher) speaking]  Since then I’ve used and further developed this framework to enable students and teachers to slow down and have the time to discuss, argue, reflect on and re-visit knowledge, ideas and understanding.

Initially, the slow-mation design (background noise: a student explaining the animation) was intended to enhance understanding of a particular science concept. As children have to analyse a concept into its smallest parts. Visualise it, devise a sequence and then synthesise it back into a complete whole again using the technology. Instead of being consumers of animation they are the creators.  The children discuss, plan, analyse, design, visualise, make, model, photograph, record, play, edit and present.

But by working with my colleagues, we have been able to enhance this design and as teachers swim into deeper waters.

The design now enables students to articulate prior knowledge.  To show new knowledge.  Develop deeper understanding about science concepts.  And develop understanding by creating metaphors.

[Students speaking]

[Student 1] As the sun is a star in our solar system. We represented the sun as a piece of toasted bread. We chose this because the sun is the biggest star of all the stars in our solar system. Also the other planets are smaller than the sun.

The other ingredients placed in the burger fit on top of the bread. As the sun is the hottest star in our solar system, the toast of the bread provides the rest of the ingredients with warmth.

[Student 2] Mercury is the first planet of our solar system, so we represented mercury as a warm beef patty. We chose the beef patty because mercury is the closest planet to the sun which makes it the hottest ingredient in our burger.

Also, we know beef patty is just cooked it tends to stay warm for a long time and eventually cools down. As mercury is hot in the day and goes cold at night

[Damien Toussaint (teacher) speaking]

Reflect on and articulate (background noise: a student explaining the animation)  a process and show how language creates meaning. The process is rich. The understanding developed is deep.

The students and the teachers have permission to slow down.

[ End of transcript ]