Implementation+Evaluation


==Learning is life long and to be an effective classroom teacher it is important to reflect on and evaluate classroom lessons, specifically concerning the integration of ICT. ‘When learners articulate what they have learned and reflect on the processes and decisions that were entailed by the process, they understand more and are better able to use the knowledge that they have constructed in new situations’ (Jonassen, 2003). ==

==This evaluation will discuss and analyse the implementation of the web-based ‘film studio’ unit featured in this digital portfolio. The student participants will be described and the implementation will be discussed including details of the learning environment, student engagement with task and an analysis of the impact on student learning and curriculum objectives. Additionally I will reflect on how this experience has impacted on my own professional practice and suggest how the planning and implementation of this unit could be improved.==


==Student Participants: The unit was implemented with a classroom of 34 Year 5 and 6 students. The student group are strong visual and kinaesthetic learners and work well when given a degree of independence and choice in terms of their learning pathways. Students were organized into groups of 4 and consideration was given for strengths in leadership, organization, creativity and thinking skills when dividing into these groups.==


==Learning Environment: The learning environment consisted of one laptop with a projector to guide the process and 6 classroom computers. In addition to this 3 sessions in the ICT suite were scheduled to ensure that students had the opportunity to complete all planning and publishing tasks. In this instance students were at different stages of the creative process. Some still working through the web quest that came prior to this lesson and recording their songs while others were ready to move on to the music video planning stage. Therefore I focused on using my laptop for modeling purposes and to record songs to a published level. Students rotated on the class computers during the planning and story boarding phase.==

==Implementation: Students were enthused about creating their own music videos and our audience of New Zealand viewers was discussed. Students were introduced to the roles within the group and given time to buzz in their ‘bands’ about who would fulfill each role. The groups that were ready to start brainstorming their movies used bubbl.us to brainstorm ideas. This was very well received and students enjoyed the visual aspect of this web tool. Research (Anderson & Ditson, 1999) supports the use of concept mapping tools for gathering and developing ideas. They could see that these ideas would give them a strong foundation for their video and most groups created a brainstorm that was fairly comprehensive and included props, actors, effects and even ideas for transitions.==

== ==Students worked through both the movie planning and story boarding phase with independence and total engagement. There was a real ‘creative buzz’ as students discussed ideas, planned visual aspects of their movie and completed their kid vid storyboards. I was gratified by the level of independence achieved by students in this planning phase with students assisting each other both within and between groups. Collaboration was clearly evident as students shared expertise and appropriated ideas (Jonassen, 2003). All groups eventually with minor support from me completed their storyboard and could articulate how they were going to film each aspect of their movie and also justify their decisions in regard to their lyrical content.==

= = ==At this point it is pertinent to comment on the use of the student lounge as a platform from which students could develop their ideas for this planning stage. As students worked in their groups on the 6 classroom computers they were able to access the different stages of planning in an independent way. Of special mention is the skills==

==Once students had been given clearance to film their videos they were given a digital camera and an opportunity to set up the ‘film location’. It was amazing at this point how interactive and collaborative the students became. Students that had finished planning became totally engaged and supportive of other students filming efforts, giving advice and offering to help as ‘extras’ and to move props around the set. There was lots of laughter and chatter. When asked about how they felt about this aspect of the learning students commented that...==



==The next stage involved the students downloading their footage onto the computers. As we would be working on the actual editing phase in the ICT suite we downloaded all footage into a ‘music video’ folder on the shared server. Students also saved their movie files to the same folder to ensure that all data was in the same place.== ==The final editing and publishing phase was probably the most frustrating yet rewarding. Students had a strong image in their mind of what they wanted their music video to look like. As we imported their songs into their movies some students wanted to re-film or include additions to their initial plan. It became clear here that those students who had spent more time on the detail in the planning phase felt more success in the actual published result. In saying this however all groups managed to produce something that represented their original lyrics and the evaluation gave evidence to a feeling of success in terms of learning outcomes.==

==Learning Outcomes : As this description of the implementation indicates students were very engaged with the whole learning process in this unit. One student even commented that it was really motivating to have all the activities in the student lounge to help them as it made them feel that ‘they had help from the computer’ and didn’t have to keep asking me (the teacher). Due to all the scaffolding and resources being available students felt empowered in their learning and could work at their own pace.==

==The student’s group reflections and their final products showed that they had achieved the intended learning outcomes. Of particular note is the movie making skills that had been developed and vocabulary that students were using throughout the process. This was an unexpected learning outcome as students bandied around the language of film such as long shot, mid shot, story boarding, lighting, action, camera angles etc.==

==Overall curriculum objectives were well met all students showed evidence that they understood the connection between oral and visual language and could construct visual images to suit an audience using features that engaged and communicated a message. Additionally a strong factor of learning was in the area of key competencies, particularly there was evidence of students both managing self and relating to others serving as a vehicle for collaborative and independent learning.==

==I felt great satisfaction from the teaching of this unit. The use of the student lounge web scaffolding took a lot of pressure off me in terms of management and freed me up to consult and facilitate thinking through questioning (Sulla, 1999). Another factor that assisted the success was that the class were largely visual/kinesthetic learners.==

==Professional Reflection: On a professional level there are implications in terms of taking time to plan and pre empt issues that may arise on a technological and collaborative level. The time taken to organise groupings according to behavior and skills was a definite factor in this units success. Additionally having all the resources organised and linked to a central place (the student lounge) encouraged independent work and limited the need for teacher direction.==

==My reflections lead me to consider any improvements that could be made to this learning activity. As the students worked so independently it could have been beneficial for the print resources(planning sheet and group evaluation) to be accessed from the student lounge. However all I needed to do was direct them to this lounge to download the necessary form. Students enjoyed having this sense of control over their learning environment. On this note, when implementing this lesson again I would give students a clipboard to attach all their planning to. This would avoid them leaving it lying around and keep it all in one place. I also think that this could help them to feel like 'professional' movie make rs.==

==Another aspect for consideration is to develop and plan the use of 'experts'. This happened naturally in this classroom but I am not convinced that this would work so well with another student group. The training up of 'experts' prior to the implementation of the unit could take pressure of the teacher and assist with the management of the task. Although the time line helped to manage the use of resources I feel that in certain student groups more structure would be necessary to avoid any behavior issues. This could take the form of a prepared timetable of events for the whole class to view and the incorporation of support activities for students to complete as they wait for the resources. In this case it was haphazard and creative chaos, but no behaviour issues arose due to the engagement with the task.==

=References =

Anderson-Inman & Ditson, (1999). computer-based concept mapping: A tool for integrating meaning. Learning and Leading with Technology, 26(8), 7-3.

Jonassen, D. H. (2003). Learning to solve problems with technology. Chapter 1: What is meaningful Learning? Upper Saddle River: Merrill Prentice Hall.

Roblyer, M. D. (2006). Integrating educational technology into teaching (Chapter 2: Foundations of effective technology integration models: Theory and Practice) (4th ed). Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall, Inc.

Sulla, N. (1999). Technology: To use or Infuse. The Technology Source, February

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