Video technology is fast becoming an
increasingly popular vehicle for delivering aspects of the entire curriculum
and is no longer restricted to media related courses. This technology provides educators with the tools to enhance the teaching
and learning process. Many teachers have already enthusiastically adopted
creative media technology to help to engage their students with curriculum
content whilst simultaneously developing their literacy, team work and soft
skills.
Creative video based learning can
either be the application of the use of film production techniques to schemes
of work within the curriculum or can support education regarding film and film
making. Having listened to feed back from a number of our educational customers,
there are some real supporting pedagogical outcomes resulting from the
implementation of video based learning which I have explored in simplistic
terms in this article.
Curriculum based
Focusing on Learning and Creativity:
Video technology delivers an enjoyable and effective way of learning, where
students communicate with each other to question, analyse and solve problems
supported by teachers' mediation. The technology can be engaging and captures
students' imagination. It allows teachers and students to modify the content of
courses to better meet individual student's needs in ways that traditional
resources do not facilitate.
Hidden Learning
The fun side of video based
learning for students is in the process of filming, recording and then
showcasing their final work. The learning is disguised within the research and
planning carried out in preparation. This can be applied to virtually any
subject to engage and involve all students with a practical and creative method
of teaching.
Personalised Learning
The use of classroom based
video technology should create an engaging and innovative teaching and learning
environment enabling all students to participate. Students can be creative and
use their individual skills to help to research, plan, present and produce a
final production. This work creates tangible results in the form of video
files, DVD or web based formats that provide students with collateral to show
their peers take home or submit as a form of assessment. This process can aid
individual development and progress whilst providing the student with a sense
of positive achievement thus supporting the ethos of personalised learning.
Digital literacy
Being confident in the use
of modern technology is extremely important and engaging students with video
technology often introduces them to equipment that they would not have access
to at home. The use of cameras, tripods, live production and green screen
equipment develops niche skills and aids ICT skill development in general.
Cross curricular – Academic
and practical use
Video technology based
learning is great for sparking life and energy into classes across the
curriculum. With ‘green screen’ technology students can be placed into virtual
backgrounds, providing a sense of reality which engages and excites learners.
As the backgrounds can relate to anything, it is applicable for every subject.
For creative arts this technology inspires students to tap into their
imagination and express their ideas in new and challenging ways. With craft
based subjects such as art, students are able to use the medium of video to
present their artwork as an alternative to written reports.
Focusing on Soft Skills:
Video technology based learning supports the development of soft skills. Soft
skills are character skills as opposed to academic. They are the life and
people skills necessary for learners to progress, not just with their education
but in all other aspects of life, particularly at home, socially and in the
working environment. In a challenging job market employers no longer consider
academic and technical competencies to be sufficient in their own right and are
emphasising the vital role that soft skills play in the workplace.
Team work, collaboration
and interpersonal skills
Film and TV production crews
work as a team and likewise, so can students. In groups they can research and
plan their production and once recording commences they can be allocated
specific responsibilities. Usual roles would typically include cameraman,
director, microphone operator and presenter. Adopting video technology in the
classroom requires students to work and gel as a team, thereby subtly
developing interpersonal skills.
Communication
Communication skills are
fundamental to all relationships and in the modern workplace this vital soft
skill is a prerequisite for employers. Working in groups requires
communication, whether it is discussing the objectives or physically presenting
the production. Video technology based learning requires students to
communicate with one another and the camera to deliver work they can be proud
of.
Confidence
Confidence and self-esteem
empowers individuals to have a realistic and positive attitude about
themselves. This is a key soft skill that learners require to express their
thoughts and feelings clearly and effectively. The use of video technology in
the classroom enables students to present their ideas both in front and behind
the camera, thus building on and developing their self-confidence.
Motivation and enthusiasm
Working as a production crew
requires all aspects of a project to be covered by the whole team. This is
where motivation and enthusiasm are key to the success of an assignment. The
ability to take initiative and complete tasks without being prompted is another
important trait that employers look for in a potential candidate.
Problem solving
Problem solving and
critical thinking explores the learner’s ability to use knowledge, facts and
data to effectively solve problems. Video based learning can engage students as
a group and encourage them to solve issues together, for example deciding who
will fulfill certain roles, or what area of study they would like to target.
Film & Film Making
Education
The document Film 21st Literacy
(redefining film education) tries to offer up a definition of film education.
In this Jim Barratt from Bigger picture Research wrote that film education is
“Learner - focused activity that is intended as educational”. Making Movies
Matter also identified four competencies, which they say will form the bedrock
of film education.
•
Analytical
Competence
•
Contextual
Competence
•
Canonical
Competence
•
Production
Competence
Learning
objectives are summarized also as providing young people
•
Their
enjoyment of film
•
Their
knowledge about the variety of forms
•
Their
understanding of how the moving image language works
•
Their
ability to articulate what it is they value and enjoy in films
•
Their
skills in making their own moving images
All
of the evidence of when film is most effective is clearly defined by the
learner being at the centre of the experience. Film education as a context can
be found in many other areas of the curriculum and is used widely to stimulate
learning. Many techniques are used in the classroom such as.
Clarify purpose of scene, context or
character
Watching
a range of different interpretations of the same scene or film to allow the
students to explore the characters and deepen their understanding of them. Then
the idea would be to recreate the scene with their own script and use the video
technology to enable students to become part of that period in
time. This potentially facilitates the ability to achieve higher levels in
examinations because of the quality of their description of characters and
social scene.
Adaption
Taking
the film as a start position and adapting the style to a piece of written work
for instance a performing arts class looking at pantomime production. Students could
study a wide range of different productions on film and then write and adapt their
own production and perform it as part of an assessment. The use of video
technology enables virtual scenery changes saving on time and expense in
building and creating complex sets.
Debate
Taking
films and debating them from different view points, historical contexts, social
contexts, propaganda and accuracy enhances the student’s ability to question
and write accurately about key issues.
By Matthew Hastings
