Collaborative Learning

Today we were working in groups to create Wikis (on http://www.wikispaces.com/) relating to the curricular topic we have based both our animation & movie on: 'People Who Help Us'. We were all working on different computers and had agreed on which pages we would each do. This worked really well as Keira, Nicole and I had a clear path to follow when writing up information about each occupation. The only problem came when we were trying to link the 'Home' page to the page for each specific professional: if two of us were editting the page at the same time we were unable to save the changes that we had both made, as the last person to save would overwrite the person who had saved first. It was a minor technical difficulty and because we were sitting in the same room we were able to organise when we were changing that page. This would be different with  class of children, especially if the Wiki was being used as a home resource for children to add to. It could result in a loss of someones hard work and dent the motivation of that individual. This could be tackled simply by having a page per child and they are only allowed to make changes to their own page. A simple but effective approach to bridging the problem.
I know see some benefits of using Wikis with children. It is an effective tool for perhaps presenting a topic of work which the children have researched but can also be used as a resource for children to use during their learning. Incorporating games and activities alongside the information that children need to know (like we decided to do) can enagage the children and give them a slight break from reading/intaking information. Our Wiki on 'People Who Help Us' is aimed at nursery/early years children. To be used as a learning tool which the teacher can use in lessons but then the children can interact with to deepen their understanding.

Working on this Wiki got me thinking about the use of collaborative learning in the classroom; so I decided to do a bit more research on it. I found it to be linked with Assessment for Learning, which I think is a really good idea. AfL promotes peer and self assessment, which lends itself seamlessly to collaborative learning as all children will know what is expected of them as a group. During the task(s) they can evaluate how they feel members are contributing to the work (or evaluate how they feel they are working). They can also evaluate the end product(s) together and decide if there is anything they could have done better to improve their end results.

I also found this video on teachers.tv which discusses how a primary school in London uses AfL- http://www.teachers.tv/videos/primary-assessment-for-learning-collaborative-learning It relates more to the assessment side of things but there was a few things identified during the video which I thought were very good strategies for collaborative learning. The teacher used a method called Jigsaw Learning to allow children to learn about different types of poems. The teacher was very pleased with how her class engaged with this approach and felt that in doing so the children took a real sense of ownership of their learning. The children worked in groups to investigate a type of poem and then each person in the group had to teach another group about their findings. I think this is a really good way to engage all learners in the classroom because every child knows that they need to be equipped with the knowledge when they become the 'expert' to allow them to teach the other children. This would reduce the number of passive learners in the group and would mean that by the end of the lesson children would have a deep understanding of at least the area they researched (hopefully the areas that others researched too). I would use this in a classroom setting, perhaps during the start of a new topic to give children some basic knowledge of the different aspects to be covered across the topic, or in the same way that it was used on this video. I also think that it helps children who may struggle with researching things to work in a group so the pressure is not solely on them; it could boost their confidence with finding things out for themselves or working with a friend to solve a problem.
The childre also discuss their thoughts on using 'Learning Partners' in the classroom. They enjoy working with their learning partner and see the benefit of doing so. I too think this is a good approach to use in the classroom, especially matching up children of a lower ability with someone who can support them if the teacher is otherwise occupied. Again I would definitely use this approach in a classroom to encourage the children to share their ideas and understanding of the work, between the two children they should be able to establish a good understanding of the process/concept.

Although the ideas I have found on this video seem very effective I know that they might not work as effectively with all classes. Consideration would be required as to who should be partnered with who to result in the best learning for both children. The same considerations would be needed for grouping children to work together, some children just do not get along when trying to work in a group. Although it could be time consuming and a matter of trial and error to get the groupings right, once the children are in partnerships and groups that work learning should be limitless!

Editing

Today we were editing the clips from Monday's lesson to produce the final film. This turned out to be another chance to see technology fail us.

We began by converting the files to .wmv for use with Windows Movie Maker, for this we used a site called zamzar.com. It was very simple to use and children (who are competent with using the internet) would be able to work through the instructions with little hassle. Although once we had downloaded all our newly converted files and began to play them we noticed that the majority of them had become corrupted. This then meant we needed to find a programme that would convert the files without corrupting them. Not only did this waste time but it also (like Monday) caused some frustration and annoyance that we had to redo the work we had already done. I would be very wary to use this site with a class because it can be unreliable, Sharon told us that during peak times it can take a long time to convert the files. Not really practical for a lesson in school.
The experiences of this week have strongly cemented in my mind that when doing an ICT lesson with children, ALWAYS have a backup way to complete the same task. I think getting children to do the same task over again could destroy their morale and wreck any motivation they had for the task in hand.

Once we got the files converted Windows Movie Maker was a very easy tool to use. It is all set out in an ordered manner and children would find it easy to use after a small input of the basics from the teacher. I would use this with a class for displaying pictures of trips or class experiences, as well as a tool for movie making.

Our movie is still to receive the finishing touches, but watch this space!

Week 3 - Filming

Today we began work on our 'People Who Help Us' film for premier at Strictly Come Movies next week. As one member of the group had an appointment later tonight we decided to start working on our storyboard an hour before the class, allowing her to get away early for her appointment. By the end of the lesson we realised that it had not been of benefit to us.
We were given a camera and left the building to go to our setting, although we tested our camera before leaving the classroom when we tried to use it it did not work. This meant us returning to Dalhousie and then waiting on another group finishing with their camera. This showed us that we cannot always rely on technology to work.
From this example, I would always plan another way of completing the same ICT lesson to allow for failure of the equipment. As this resulted in us sitting around for a long time when we could have been working. I would always ensure I knew exactly how to use the equipment and test every piece thoroughly before starting the lesson with children.
By the time we got a working camera the groups morale was very low and none of us were motivated to complete the task anymore. This highlighted to me the importance of pupil motivation within lessons. After having experienced both motivation and lack of motivation for the same lesson I have gained a much better understanding of the need for children to enjoy what they are learning and to want to complete it the best they can. This links with Maslow's thinking that certain needs in children need to be met to allow them to want to move on with their learning and development. The children need to meet their lower needs (including Esteem needs which are lower down in his heirarchy than achievement needs), therefore (according to Maslow) children need to be motivated before they can achieve with their work.

We used Flip Cameras to carry out the filming today and they were very easy to use. It was the first time I had ever seen one and the controls were very simple to use and within seconds of looking at the camera I was able to figure out exactly how to use it. On watching back some of the footage, I noticed that the cameras produce a very clear picture of the scene and also pick up sound very well. I think these would be a good ICT tool in the classroom as the children could easily pick one up to record something they have made/produced or they could use them to make movies similar to the ones we have made.