Collaborative Learning

Within this elective we have been asked to work collaboratively in groups. I have been rather lucky with the groups I have been in as i feel that we worked well together as a team. If problems arose within our group they were resolved very quickly (there were no conflicts of character but problems with software). Compared with other groups in the elective, we were very lucky to have group members who pulled their weight and did not leave the work to everyone else. Within the group we played to everyone's strengths and if members of the group were unable to do things due to personal reasons, others stepped in without complaining to pick up the slack. We all had individual accountability, which Johnston and Johnston believe is the third basic element of cooperative learning

Collaborative learning is very beneficial to children. The strengths of using collaborative learning within the primary classroom are:

• Higher achievement and greater productivity are obtained.
• More caring, supportive and committed relationships are formed.
• Greater psychological health, social competence and self esteem.

Johnston and Johnston (1989)

When using collaborative learning I feel that the skills that go with it need to be taught to the children as they can not be expected to be in place when using it for the first time. These should be taught gradually and should be introduced in manageable chunks.

Collaborative learning should be used appropriately and not used for every lesson. Although it is very beneficial children can become bored with it if it is implemented too often and that can mean the loss of its benefits.

However I feel that the use of collaborative learning is of great benefit within the primary classroom.

Windows Movie Maker - A new perspective

After another input on Windows Movie Maker, I feel that I may feel a bit more confident using it as it was finally explained to me properly. Using a series of powerpoints shown in the class, it was broken down step by step. I know see that Windows Movie Maker that would be a useful tool to use within a primary classroom. using this application would only be suitable to use with a primary 6 or primary 7 class as the skills need to be taught to the children and more complex audio files need to be created on another application called Audacity. There are a lot of processes involved with Movie Maker and to avoid frustration and inability to understand how to use the product, upper primary is the place to use it. It can also be used to edit the animated movies by importing the file and following the steps on how to edit the digital movie.
It would take a series of lessoms to teach the skills of using Movie Maker in manageable chunks to make the most effective use of this tool. The use of this tool ties into curriculum for excellence I explore and experiment with the features and functions of computer technology and I can use what I learn to support and enhance my learning in different contexts.TCH 1-04a / TCH 2-04a.
As with creating digital animations there are few issues when creating a digital movie:

• Delegation of tasks - some may do more than others and some may put in minimal effort.
• When the movie is being edited only one person can do this at a time. The other members of the group will have to have other related tasks while this is being done so that the work is not left to one person.
• If the pupils are not told how to save their work properly on this application then all the editing that has been done is lost and the whole lot has to be redone.

Overall I now feel more confident with using Windows Movie Maker and now feel that it might be of more benefit to use within the classroom than I orginally thought.

Digital Animation

Digital animation is a great idea for the primary classroom. From the examples we saw it really helps to bring class projects to life in a meaningful and relevant way for the children. It allows parents to see what their children have been doing in school and how their knowledge and understanding of topics has increased.



There is a lot of hard work and time to be put into making a digital animation but it is very worth while because the end product can not only be used as an assessment tool but what is created can be shared with a wider audience. This is a tool that will provide children with a great sense of satisfaction and achievement.
I explore and experiment with the features and functions of computer technology and I can use what I learn to support and enhance my learning in different contexts.
TCH 1-04a / TCH 2-04a

When using this software there is some negative factors that equate into using it within a classroom setting:

• The skills of digital animation have to be taught and can not just be expected to be there from day one.
• The person who is taking all the frame shots may become bored or distracted and miss shots or take them at the wrong time.
• Children need to know that their film is not going to be perfect or look professional to avoid disappointment with the end result.
• Making the frames can be very time consuming and may need to be taken several times.
• If the children make the film too long without saving sections of it and then a mistake is made it can be very hard to correct the mistake and then all the footage may need to be reshot.
• If more than one lesson is required the models must be stored in a safe place otherwise they may be destroyed by other pupils who do not know that they are to be used again.

I feel that even though there are some negatives the positve benefits far outweigh these. This is definately a tool that i would use within the primary classroom. With the way society is turning to the application of ICT skills in our working community, as teachers we should be teaching the skills needed to make sure that our children are equiped to face the worl of work once they have completed their education.

This is the animation that we made.