Week 4, Reflection 3

My digital journey continues... this week I have completed a number of activities, as featured both here on my Blog and on my Weebly (See prior posts below for examples and brief summaries of my experiences with photo editing, movie making and animation).

I approached each task with a subject in mind – geography for animation, history for photo editing and HPE for movie making. I found that while completing these activities I also made connections between subjects (my photo editing exercise is one I will also feature in my Literacy assignment) and this is exactly what happens in the classrooms – students discover links between what they are learning and the outside world, a key goal of our curriculum.

For this reflection I would like to focus on video and animation. After sourcing a site named GoAnimate, and spending some time becoming familiar with the navigation tools, I decided that it would be a site that a year four student would be able to use. With this in mind, I went to ACARA to develop a lesson plan that would respond to the KLAs of Grade 4 Geography (see link) using the above mentioned animation. After putting the students in groups of four, I would supply information on the Savannah biomes (via videos and handouts), the impact of humans, mining and subsequent global warming. With this information in hand, students would then be asked to write a script and create an animated clip responding to specific questions/areas of interest.

I believe this exercise responds to the SAMR Model as follows:

Substitution	Students are supplied with information relating to the subject, via handouts and video footage.
Augmentation	This information supplied extends beyond basic information as students can visualise size of Savannahs and distances via video.
Modification	Creating videos and sharing on line.
Redefinition	The curriculum could be planned around use of this technology eg a flip classroom, where students could develop new videos and ways to share information. The creation of the film itself is previously inconceivable.

The Go Animate site has a number of layers and the animation can be far more detailed than my example. I chose a basic shell that required no further manipulation, students simply had to choose the characters (in this case animals) and voices, then type in their script (with each segment limited to 180 characters). Upon conclusion, students simply save and share, download or email their video. The GoAnimate site is free, though for the more advanced options a subscription is required.

I feel that the animation was particularly suited to Primary school students and the fact that students themselves are not featured meant it was a less threatening environment for those students who might shy away from wanting to be videoed. There were also less legal/ethical issues to address in regards to permissions. I purchased a membership so that I could share my video on these forums.

The National Teacher Training Institute highlight that teachers using videos report “students retain more information, understand concepts more rapidly and are more enthusiastic about what they are learning.” I believe the collaborative process of my lesson would enhance Higher Order Thinking. Below is a PMI table outlining my thoughts on using this animation and videos in the classroom.

PLUS	MINUS	INTERESTING
Responds to a variety of learning needs – especially visual learners. Keeps the classroom environment dynamic.	Technology can be a challenge in itself for many, it is very time consuming and some students may be “left behind”	Ability for students to illustrate a wide variety of concepts through animation and video.
Engages students in problem solving activities.	The school may not have equipment or access to programs.	Students can “travel” around the world.
Appeals to the tech savvy Generation.	Copyright and permission considerations.	They can also travel in impossible areas, such as inside the body!
Encourages collaborative work.	Technolgy “overload”	Experiments that cannot physically be done in class can be done via animation and video.
Help students to develop “media literacy”		Opportunity to bring to life history, literature and more.

In conclusion, all three digital tools featured were easy to use (once I found a site/App that worked for me) and they all offer exciting opportunities in the classroom. I would especially like to work with students to create videos as I believe this is an engaging activity that lends itself to Redefinition.