Friday, 21 March 2014
Evaluation
The aim of the project was to bring to light the importance of recycling, although from the the research i under took i realised that there is still alot of energy used in the recycling process, such as sterilizing, reshaping and transporting the recyclable material. This is not cheap and all the processes need to be powered whether it is for fossil fuels via petrol or electricity it can still have a negative effect on the environment. So my slogan is reuse where ever possible and then recycle, recycling is still far better than just 'throwing away' your rubbish. The video i created showed rubbish transforming, this is a meant to show the possible that recycling and reusing can have.
All in all the project went well i would have liked to add more however it was a little more time consuming than i first through. The biggest issues i faced was lighting from the research and discussion undertaken in class i knew lighting would be an important factor so i insured i had plenty of lighting, both natural and lamps. However i found that the lamps had a more focused light that would reflect off the materials i was using (aluminium cans) and this reflection made the images unclear and the video look poor quality, so i tried to use natural lighting as much as possible.
All in all the project went well i would have liked to add more however it was a little more time consuming than i first through. The biggest issues i faced was lighting from the research and discussion undertaken in class i knew lighting would be an important factor so i insured i had plenty of lighting, both natural and lamps. However i found that the lamps had a more focused light that would reflect off the materials i was using (aluminium cans) and this reflection made the images unclear and the video look poor quality, so i tried to use natural lighting as much as possible.
Chroma Keying
Chroma Keying
Chroma keying or more well known as ‘green/blue
screen’, it is a special effects technique where the user can layer together
two separate video’s or images, most famously would be weather forecast broadcasts
but it Is also commonly used in films and video games, an actor or actress acts
out a scene in front of a coloured screen, anything that is the colour of the
screen is replaced by another image making it appear as though the actor/actress
in that location, the obvious thing to remember is that anything that is that
colour will show up with the image on it which can limit other colours in a scene,
particularly clothing and this can be a time-consuming process. However if you
want your actor/actress to have a missing limbs or even floating head it will work
perfectly.
- Usually screens are green or blue because these colours are furthest away from skin tone.
- It was developed in 1930 and is credited to Larry Butler.
- The first movie which used chroma keying in a simpler way as it is now would be ‘The Thief of Bagdad’ (1940) which won Academy Award for Visual Effects.
These are just a couple of examples:
Before:
After:
Before:
After:
The Importance of Sound
The
Importance of Sound in Movie and Animations.
When you first think about a film or animation you essentially think
visual but you cannot underestimate the importance of sound. Music can instil
emotions in the viewer and help intensify their feelings, or try to create a
different emotion to shock or scare the viewer. For example some films will
play slow and quiet music to build tension before a surprise moment. The ‘jaws’
music is famous for building up the viewer’s anticipation whereas ‘The Titanic’
brings other emotions such as love and loss.
Wednesday, 19 March 2014
Thaumatrope, Zoetrope and Phenakistoscope
Thaumatrope
A thaumatrope is a piece of card with picture or photo on both sides attached to rubber bands/string and when it is spun quickly the two images appear to combine and produce a single image. It was a popular toy in the Victorian times. They are widely thought of as inspiration to cinematography and in particular animation. It is generally agreed that an the Englishman John Ayrton Paris invented The Thaumatrope in 1826.
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How to make a thaumatrope :
Step 1: Grab a firm bit of material, cardboard works best and cut out a circle.
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Step 2: Now draw a picture on each side of the cardboard, the key to this is trying to keep both pictures central in the circle. The pictures must align for the image to appear correctly.
Step 3: Cut two holes in the at the top and bottom of the circle.
Step 4: Now insert a rubber band though the hole loop it over and pull tight, do this to both holes.
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Step 5: Finally firmly hold both rubber bands and carefully twist/wing up the cardboard circle, then release. You have created a thaumatrope.
I also had go trying to create the illusion of movement it this was my result:
Zoetrope
A zoetrope create the illusion of motion by quickly spinning pictures.
It is a cylinder with vertical slit cut into it which you user looks though, the
images are on the inside and when spun at the right speed produces the illusion
of motion, and the slit stops the images blurring together. The earliest record zoetrope was found in China around
180 AD. The zoetrope has many similarity to the modern day stop-motion
animation that I will be creating, both uses picture/frame played sequence at a
rapid speed to produce the illusion of motion, the processes/software that I will
be using are much quicker, easier and produce a better finished result along with
more option to experiment but the idea is basically the same.
Pixar produced a 3D
zoetrope for its touring exhibition and features characters from it’s very
popular movie Toy Story.
Phenakistoscope
The phenakistoscope was invented in 1832 by Joseph Antoine Ferdinand Plateau a Belgian Physicist. A phenakistoscope is fundamentally two wheels that have picture/drawing on, and when placed in front of a mirror and a single user can look thought gaps in the wheel and when spun produces a basic animation reflecting the mirror.
Sunday, 9 March 2014
Wednesday, 5 March 2014
The impact the learning environment has on the learner. In particular what an ICT rich environment has on the enquiring mind.
Those students who did not attend BETT should research the impact the learning environment has on the learner. In particular they should discuss what an ICT rich environment has on the enquiring mind. Write 500 words approx. on their blog, with links to examples.
Dewey (1938) is mostly commonly described as the founder of ‘inquiry-based’ learning although it can be traced back to Socrates and his philosophy where he posed questions leading to development of self-knowledge. I believe this quote best describes ‘inquiry-based’ learning.
‘Inquiry takes students out of the pre-digested format of the textbook and into the process of learning from a variety of sources to construct their own understandings. They learn to think through subject content apart from prescribed responses or pre-set solutions. They are guided through a process of intellectual construction that enables them to build on what they already know and come to a deeper understanding of the concepts and problems underlying the subject.’ (Kuhthlau, 2003, p.6)
The main aim of ‘inquiry-based’ learning is to identify strategies which achieve their goals and gather evidence to reflect on the process and look at the next steps. ICT programs help enhance the learning curiosity of students and develop it both inside and outside the classroom, ICT as helped teachers move away from textbooks. The philosophy of education has come on leaps and bounds with ICT being one of the main components for this, interactive whiteboards are in almost every classroom along with iPad’s and laptops. Using E-learning tools help to develop higher order thinking skills along with critical reflection. This can be witnessed In the foundation phase. ICT enhances pupil’s willingness to explore.
Brain-based research shows that utilizing as many senses as possible when teaching capitalise on the students learning experience in many different ways, senses such as:
Authentic learning is similar to ‘inquiry-based’ learning in that it engages all the senses helping pupils to create a meaningful, beneficial, shared outcome. Authentic learning delivers tasks that provides the pupils with opportunities to associate with the real world.
One example of ICT benefit the classroom would be our very own ‘moodle’ providing resources used within the class along with extra links to websites which can increase knowledge and arouses interest regarding the subject area.
If a system like this was available in primary schools which linked staff, pupils and parents together could improve communication with parents along better engagement, allowing daily input from parents and extending the classroom into the community so parents will know what their children are being taught and can therefore give their input and encouragement in the home environment. An example of this is a company called ‘Ultranet’ which works well over in New Zealand (http://www.ultranet.co.nz/).
An ICT rich environment can have both a positive and negative effect on a pupils enquiring mind, but in my mind the positive far out weights the negatives ICT in the classroom encourages pupils to take a new approach to their learning in an exciting and interesting way such as educational games, research from the internet and programs like Microsoft Publisher and PowerPoint so pupils can produce education posters and slide shows one down slide I have noticed from my brief work in schools is that in sum instances when children do experiment with Microsoft publisher their end results can sometime be very similar so if they see one pupils idea and like it or they see the pupils given them praise will copy is idea, so like with many things in the classroom and life in general the creative pupils can be more creative. Although the greatest positive impact has to be for pupils with learning difficulties, there are many programs designed to help with reading, writing, spelling, maths and the list goes on there are even programs to help with pupil interaction.
A study by Jan-Marie Kellow in (2012) looking at the perspective of a primary school teacher.
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From the same study by Jan-Marie Kellow in (2012) this time she asked the pupils to rate the helpfulness of ICT for inquiry.
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If you think back to the times when the teacher’s only resource was the blackboard, they would use discipline to keep the children’s attention, the children had to learn or they would be punished. However nowadays technology is relied upon to keep the pupils attention and now the pupil wants to learn instead of having to learn, which I think everyone would agree is a far better way and has been proven by many (quote) one possible problem is that teachers are expected to have a good level of competence when around ICT some teaching staff are unwilling to incorporate ICT in the classroom. Technology is changing and improving rapidly and teachers mush also, it is the schools job to supply proper training along with the correct ICT resources one will not be productive without the other.
A common argument against ICT in schools is that websites like ‘google’ and ‘bing’ stops children from thinking for themselves. I appreciate their argument and there is some truth to this but my opinion is the more research available to children can only be a positive as long as the correct support is in place. I believe I am well over the 500 word recommendation but my argument is that the word ‘approx’ loosely interpreted. Before I finish I must also mention the importance of teaching ‘cyber safety’ will is paramount these days, along with the possibility that pupils can get addictive to the internet, both these point must also be taken into consideration.
This study investigates the use of inquiry-based learning with primary school pupils, focusing on ICT. The study examines the ways in which pupils and teachers use ICT as an inquiry-based learning process. This investigation found many ICT tools were supportive in many different ways. It needs to be noted that the research investigated was carried in New Zealand.
http://www.inquiringmind.co.nz/FinalResearchReportJMK.pdf
There are a number of inquiry-based models being implemented in schools. This website gives examples along with a brief description. Although most of these inquiry-based investigations are more science based. http://www.cii.illinois.edu/InquiryPage/php/join.html
References
Dewey, J. (1938). Experience and Education. Indiana: Kappa Delta Pi.
Kellow, J. 2012. Inquiry Learning in an ICT-rich Environment [Online] Available at: http://www.inquiringmind.co.nz/FinalResearchReportJMK.pdf [Accessed 20 February 2014]
Kuhlthau, C. (2003). Rethinking libraries for the information age school: Vital roles in inquiry learning. School Libraries in Canada, 22 (4), pp. 3-11.
Dewey (1938) is mostly commonly described as the founder of ‘inquiry-based’ learning although it can be traced back to Socrates and his philosophy where he posed questions leading to development of self-knowledge. I believe this quote best describes ‘inquiry-based’ learning.
‘Inquiry takes students out of the pre-digested format of the textbook and into the process of learning from a variety of sources to construct their own understandings. They learn to think through subject content apart from prescribed responses or pre-set solutions. They are guided through a process of intellectual construction that enables them to build on what they already know and come to a deeper understanding of the concepts and problems underlying the subject.’ (Kuhthlau, 2003, p.6)
The main aim of ‘inquiry-based’ learning is to identify strategies which achieve their goals and gather evidence to reflect on the process and look at the next steps. ICT programs help enhance the learning curiosity of students and develop it both inside and outside the classroom, ICT as helped teachers move away from textbooks. The philosophy of education has come on leaps and bounds with ICT being one of the main components for this, interactive whiteboards are in almost every classroom along with iPad’s and laptops. Using E-learning tools help to develop higher order thinking skills along with critical reflection. This can be witnessed In the foundation phase. ICT enhances pupil’s willingness to explore.
Brain-based research shows that utilizing as many senses as possible when teaching capitalise on the students learning experience in many different ways, senses such as:
- Exploring,
- Interacting,
- Collaborating,
- Manipulating,
- Sharing, and
- Discussing
Authentic learning is similar to ‘inquiry-based’ learning in that it engages all the senses helping pupils to create a meaningful, beneficial, shared outcome. Authentic learning delivers tasks that provides the pupils with opportunities to associate with the real world.
One example of ICT benefit the classroom would be our very own ‘moodle’ providing resources used within the class along with extra links to websites which can increase knowledge and arouses interest regarding the subject area.
If a system like this was available in primary schools which linked staff, pupils and parents together could improve communication with parents along better engagement, allowing daily input from parents and extending the classroom into the community so parents will know what their children are being taught and can therefore give their input and encouragement in the home environment. An example of this is a company called ‘Ultranet’ which works well over in New Zealand (http://www.ultranet.co.nz/).
An ICT rich environment can have both a positive and negative effect on a pupils enquiring mind, but in my mind the positive far out weights the negatives ICT in the classroom encourages pupils to take a new approach to their learning in an exciting and interesting way such as educational games, research from the internet and programs like Microsoft Publisher and PowerPoint so pupils can produce education posters and slide shows one down slide I have noticed from my brief work in schools is that in sum instances when children do experiment with Microsoft publisher their end results can sometime be very similar so if they see one pupils idea and like it or they see the pupils given them praise will copy is idea, so like with many things in the classroom and life in general the creative pupils can be more creative. Although the greatest positive impact has to be for pupils with learning difficulties, there are many programs designed to help with reading, writing, spelling, maths and the list goes on there are even programs to help with pupil interaction.
A study by Jan-Marie Kellow in (2012) looking at the perspective of a primary school teacher.
From the same study by Jan-Marie Kellow in (2012) this time she asked the pupils to rate the helpfulness of ICT for inquiry.
A common argument against ICT in schools is that websites like ‘google’ and ‘bing’ stops children from thinking for themselves. I appreciate their argument and there is some truth to this but my opinion is the more research available to children can only be a positive as long as the correct support is in place. I believe I am well over the 500 word recommendation but my argument is that the word ‘approx’ loosely interpreted. Before I finish I must also mention the importance of teaching ‘cyber safety’ will is paramount these days, along with the possibility that pupils can get addictive to the internet, both these point must also be taken into consideration.
This study investigates the use of inquiry-based learning with primary school pupils, focusing on ICT. The study examines the ways in which pupils and teachers use ICT as an inquiry-based learning process. This investigation found many ICT tools were supportive in many different ways. It needs to be noted that the research investigated was carried in New Zealand.
http://www.inquiringmind.co.nz/FinalResearchReportJMK.pdf
There are a number of inquiry-based models being implemented in schools. This website gives examples along with a brief description. Although most of these inquiry-based investigations are more science based. http://www.cii.illinois.edu/InquiryPage/php/join.html
References
Dewey, J. (1938). Experience and Education. Indiana: Kappa Delta Pi.
Kellow, J. 2012. Inquiry Learning in an ICT-rich Environment [Online] Available at: http://www.inquiringmind.co.nz/FinalResearchReportJMK.pdf [Accessed 20 February 2014]
Kuhlthau, C. (2003). Rethinking libraries for the information age school: Vital roles in inquiry learning. School Libraries in Canada, 22 (4), pp. 3-11.
Wednesday, 26 February 2014
In this week's seminar I created a video animation with Zu3D, my plan is that i will use this software to create my final piece. at first Zu3D did give of the image of being very basic and simple, but as it it aimed at children I understand why they have set it up this way however the more I played around with it the more features I discovered. As you can see from the video I produced and upload i am still learning and have not full grasped every aspect of the software yet.
Stop-motion Animation
Stop-motion is a type of animation technique in which an object is physically manipulated and photographed in order to make it appear to move on its own. The object which can be anything is moved very slightly between each picture and when the series of frames are placed together in sequence create the illusion of movement.
Not all stop motion requires figures or models; many stop motion films can involve using humans, household appliances and other things for comedic effect. Stop motion using objects is sometimes referred to as object animation While researching stop-motion animation i came across this video which i though was very well produced along with being particularly creative and wonderfully imaginative.
Pixilation – is the use of live actors as puppets/characters, with the slight movements between frames gives the illusion that the person is moving, this technique is popular due to the lack of effort need although it does beg the question why not just make a video instead.
Cut-out animation – is created using characters made from card or paper or something similar, and uses a similar technique although not as popular due to how time consuming and needs a certain skilled drawing, on the other hand it does have few limitation with the freedom to create almost any idea.
Not all stop motion requires figures or models; many stop motion films can involve using humans, household appliances and other things for comedic effect. Stop motion using objects is sometimes referred to as object animation While researching stop-motion animation i came across this video which i though was very well produced along with being particularly creative and wonderfully imaginative.
Stop-motion animation is
very popular due to its uniqueness to animate objects that cannot move by
themselves, along with the fact that almost anyone can do it, creatively and patience
seem to be the limiting factors with stop-motion animation. All you need is a
camera, a computer and an imagination. Nowadays these facilities are common so start-up
costs can be quite low, amateur productions can be created with a camera or iPad, however creating an effective stop-motion animation involves specialist
equipment with experienced animators not to mention the hours of time they take
to create to produce.
(How to create an
animation video)
The average profession animation
consists of:
- 24 frames per second, thats
- 1,440 frames for one minute
- meaning 129,600 pictures for a 90 minute film
There are many advantages
to stop-motion animation in education a fun and exciting classroom task to
create a stop-motion animation can excite pupils and motivate them to research their
chosen subject area along with improving communication and teamwork skills,
team work is essential when creating a stop-motion animation and both these are
transferable skills which are essential though out life.
More recently stop-motion
animation have become very popular on video sharing websites and social networking
websites, I have witness many of these first hand and are common on my Facebook new feed and they can be very creative and enjoyable to watch, like with
many things that thrives on social networking sites animation has been picked
up by businesses for advertising purpose their uniqueness and ability to make
an inanimate object appear to move fits in perfectly to many business media
marketing strategy and advertising campaigns
http://www.qudos-animations.co.uk/
is one example of this and shows how you can make a successful business from
animation.
Another example of this is at the box office, the table shows the
amount of money a good animation film can make. So chicken for example made $106,834,564 that is approximately £64,249,772 (when this was published).
Styles of stop-motion animation:
Claymation - in my eyes is
the most complicated taking up a lot of time and patience to do well and as the
name suggests uses clay models, the advantage are that you can create almost anything
and move it in almost any manner the disadvantages are that the clay models can
easily be damaged while filming.
Pixilation – is the use of live actors as puppets/characters, with the slight movements between frames gives the illusion that the person is moving, this technique is popular due to the lack of effort need although it does beg the question why not just make a video instead.
Cut-out animation – is created using characters made from card or paper or something similar, and uses a similar technique although not as popular due to how time consuming and needs a certain skilled drawing, on the other hand it does have few limitation with the freedom to create almost any idea.
Silhouette animation – very
similar to the cut-out style, silhouette uses lighting to reflect the
characters it has been around since the early 1900’s this styles tends to be
easy to create and produce and creates an impressive final pieces.it is ideal
for animations with a gloomy atmosphere, seen in a lot of Tim Burton’s marvelous creations.
A Brief history of stop-motion
animation
- Stop-motion animations started out as short 20-30 second animations and are now used to create full feature length films.
- It is widely believed that the first ever stop-motion animation was created by Albert Smith and Stuart Blackton around the 1890’s titled ‘The Humpty Dumpty Circus’.
- Emile Cohl a French animator brought stop-motion animation popular with his used of puppets and drawings, his first animation for ‘Fantasmagorie’, (1908) consisted of 700 drawings that he photographed to produce the animation.
- Willis O’Brien produced ‘The Lost World’ (1925) which combining animated dinosaurs with live-action footage of actors which was a major leap forward for stop-motion animation, and later when to produced ‘King Kong’ (1933).
- And more recently Nick Park man behind 'CreatureComforts' and 'Wallace and Gromit', has brought stop-motion animation in to the 21st century.
- Stop-motion animation has changed dramatically of the years, with the development of 3D digital animation films can be created quicker and easier.
Animation
I cant quite remember the last animation i saw, it was one of two great animations either the classic cartoon show which is the Simpsons or equally amazing and marvelously creative app 'Dumb ways to Die' it is a public service announcement campaign produced by Metro Trains in Melbourne, Australia, to promote rail safety. This campaign video went viral in a big way back in November 2012.
The idea behind the campaign was the advertising agency McCann Melbourne, and their creative director said "The aim of this campaign is to engage an audience that really doesn't want to hear any kind of safety message, and we think Dumb Ways To Die will." Regardless of its popularity the statistics train safety has shown little change in the majority of areas. A video was developed by Pat Baron, animated by Julian Frost and produced by Cinnamon Darvall.
• It was viewed 2.5 million times within 48 hours.
• It was viewed 4.7 million times within 72 hours.
• After the first two weeks, the video had been viewed 28 million times.
The music in the video was written by John Mescall with Ollie McGill providing the sound. In May 2013, Metro released a game based around the video as an app, the game was produced by Samuel Baird and Julian Frost. The aim of the game is to avoid and complete different stupid and dangerous activities, such as keeping a rattle snake as a pet and eating a two week old unrefrigerated pie, along with the app, the user can also make a promise to "not do dumb stuff around trains". since its release this viral video as gone on to win many prestigious and respect awards within its field both nationally and globally. Find how more by following this link:http://dumbwaystodie.com/
The idea behind the campaign was the advertising agency McCann Melbourne, and their creative director said "The aim of this campaign is to engage an audience that really doesn't want to hear any kind of safety message, and we think Dumb Ways To Die will." Regardless of its popularity the statistics train safety has shown little change in the majority of areas. A video was developed by Pat Baron, animated by Julian Frost and produced by Cinnamon Darvall.
• It was viewed 2.5 million times within 48 hours.
• It was viewed 4.7 million times within 72 hours.
• After the first two weeks, the video had been viewed 28 million times.
The music in the video was written by John Mescall with Ollie McGill providing the sound. In May 2013, Metro released a game based around the video as an app, the game was produced by Samuel Baird and Julian Frost. The aim of the game is to avoid and complete different stupid and dangerous activities, such as keeping a rattle snake as a pet and eating a two week old unrefrigerated pie, along with the app, the user can also make a promise to "not do dumb stuff around trains". since its release this viral video as gone on to win many prestigious and respect awards within its field both nationally and globally. Find how more by following this link:http://dumbwaystodie.com/
Exam Results
I have just received my mark
for the ‘game based learning’ assignment and i am thoroughly pleased with the
result, at first i was not sure about the assignment and worried it might be
slightly boring as it was not an area in which I thought was practically exciting.
When I was at school any game based learning was nowhere near as fun as
anything I did at home. With this being said it was one of the most interesting
assignment I have ever had the pleasure of writing there was a great deal of
relevant and interesting information and studies written about game based
learning, at some points it was difficult to know what to include into the
assignment and what to keep out being it was only 2000 words. Game based
learning despite having been around for a long time is in the forefront of
education and is very current. There are many new and old ideas and theories
centered on game based learning it was practically interesting researching a
subject that is developing so quickly and is current within the education
system, if you enter in to most learning environment you can see first-hand
game based learning, it does make a nice change to research a subject which is
kind of new and shows great potential for the future. This subject area has really
motivated me; I will even be continuing research around this subject area
despite already handing in the assignment. This is a very rare occasion. I
don’t tend to much extra work outside of what needs to be done, which only show
how captivating this subject area is for me at least. Although this could also
mean that I am essentially a nerdy individual and am interested boring computer
stuff.
With this being said the next assignment does also look like it will be
as fun and interesting as the last and I am very eager to get started. I have
many possible ideas on what I wish to achieve, I only hope that the images and
ideas in my head will actually work and the video I create will indeed look
like what I want it to, because in several case what I imaging and the reality
are to very different things.
Monday, 17 February 2014
Gaming Lesson
Gaming Lesson
For the final session for this year we first discussed the ‘game day’ which I have already blogged about and then we had to create a lesson plan based around a game. In this lesson we discussed as groups the:
• Learning objectives
• How it links in with previous learning
• Key skills
• Resource
• Time
Activities Other areas that also need to be considered are:
• Vocabulary
• Support staff Activities
• Cross curriculum links
• Assessment opportunities
For the final session for this year we first discussed the ‘game day’ which I have already blogged about and then we had to create a lesson plan based around a game. In this lesson we discussed as groups the:
• Learning objectives
• How it links in with previous learning
• Key skills
• Resource
• Time
Activities Other areas that also need to be considered are:
• Vocabulary
• Support staff Activities
• Cross curriculum links
• Assessment opportunities
Wednesday, 12 February 2014
Game Day
Game Day
For this session we looked first hand at gaming and tried out different games console or technology with different games. In small groups we took turn on each of these:
• Nintendo Wii – Wii Sports
• Microsoft Xbox (with connect) – Adventure land
• iPads – Mystery game
• Tablet PC – Doctor Who
For this session we looked first hand at gaming and tried out different games console or technology with different games. In small groups we took turn on each of these:
• Nintendo Wii – Wii Sports
• Microsoft Xbox (with connect) – Adventure land
• iPads – Mystery game
• Tablet PC – Doctor Who
Monday, 10 February 2014
Technocamps
Technocamps
Instead of this week seminar we went to a Technocamps conference. While there we received lecture and workshop for experts in the field, there knowledge and passion for what they are trying to achieve is contagious I could not help but be impressed by most of the information on offer.
Technocamps is a project set up to run free lectures and workshops on different ways to engage and motivate young people (11-19 years) on game design, programming, robotics almost anything new, education and ICT based. It is led by Swansea University and concentration on the students of wales and teaching them about ‘computer science and STEM and challenging them to think about the world around them in a different way’, (Technocamps website: http://www.technocamps.com/).
‘Rather than users of technology we want the young people we work with to imagine themselves as the creator of the next Facebook or next generation smartphone, or better yet something unimaginable that is going to radically change the world.’ Professor Faron Moller, Director of Technocamps.
While at the conference we were split up into groups to experience the types of workshops that are run, first off a couple of guys where explain how card magic ticks can explain coding each card trick had a type of code so when the ‘magician’ turn away and look back he would see the break in the code and know what card had changed, they had a few good tricks that did impresses children but I not sure if some for they adults in the room fully understood task let alone the children but is a unique way for explain coding and the children were engaged.
Second was CoderDojo, CoderDojo is a free coding club run by volunteers, to teach students between 5- 17 years to mainly code but also how to develop apps, games, websites, programs and much more. In the workshop that I attended the student were experimenting with code, their task was to try out different codes which would guide there character through a maze. I was surprised at how effective this game was every pupil in the class was interested and their full attention was on their game, I think it left the pupils inspired and therefore was a great teaching tool.
Instead of this week seminar we went to a Technocamps conference. While there we received lecture and workshop for experts in the field, there knowledge and passion for what they are trying to achieve is contagious I could not help but be impressed by most of the information on offer.
Technocamps is a project set up to run free lectures and workshops on different ways to engage and motivate young people (11-19 years) on game design, programming, robotics almost anything new, education and ICT based. It is led by Swansea University and concentration on the students of wales and teaching them about ‘computer science and STEM and challenging them to think about the world around them in a different way’, (Technocamps website: http://www.technocamps.com/).
‘Rather than users of technology we want the young people we work with to imagine themselves as the creator of the next Facebook or next generation smartphone, or better yet something unimaginable that is going to radically change the world.’ Professor Faron Moller, Director of Technocamps.
While at the conference we were split up into groups to experience the types of workshops that are run, first off a couple of guys where explain how card magic ticks can explain coding each card trick had a type of code so when the ‘magician’ turn away and look back he would see the break in the code and know what card had changed, they had a few good tricks that did impresses children but I not sure if some for they adults in the room fully understood task let alone the children but is a unique way for explain coding and the children were engaged.
Second was CoderDojo, CoderDojo is a free coding club run by volunteers, to teach students between 5- 17 years to mainly code but also how to develop apps, games, websites, programs and much more. In the workshop that I attended the student were experimenting with code, their task was to try out different codes which would guide there character through a maze. I was surprised at how effective this game was every pupil in the class was interested and their full attention was on their game, I think it left the pupils inspired and therefore was a great teaching tool.
Wednesday, 8 January 2014
Scratch
Scratch
Scratch is a program set up to help the user to create an animation, such as stories or games.It also allows the user to share these online. At first i did think it looked a bit complicated but as i gain confidence i discovered that you are can create almost anything, adding sounds and action. All in all it was good fun to use and i could spend hours experiment and creating different animations. A very well designed program that fits perfectly into the curriculum, great for getting pupils engaged with technology and in particular 'coding' (computing programming). One great point is that scratch is free of charge and can be accessed online. http://scratch.mit.edu/ .
Scratch is a program set up to help the user to create an animation, such as stories or games.It also allows the user to share these online. At first i did think it looked a bit complicated but as i gain confidence i discovered that you are can create almost anything, adding sounds and action. All in all it was good fun to use and i could spend hours experiment and creating different animations. A very well designed program that fits perfectly into the curriculum, great for getting pupils engaged with technology and in particular 'coding' (computing programming). One great point is that scratch is free of charge and can be accessed online. http://scratch.mit.edu/ .
- Sctatch helps teach pupils with creative thinking, problem solving and teamwork along with much more.
- It was designed with learning and education as the main goals.
- The ability to code computer program is key in today's working environment.
- It was designed for children aged 8 - 16 years of age but can be used by all ages.I enjoyed using it and found the simple layout meant it was easy to pick up and the more you used it the more you could learn and create.
- It is used in over 150 counties and is available in over 40 languages.
- Due to its fun and interesting nature pupils want to play, this motivation allows pupils to learn with scratch at many levels such as maths, however you can create a project around a subject such a global warming or recycling.
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