An Interesting Way to Teach.

Today I came across a fantastic visual literacy website; The Literacy Shed, that offers animation that can be used within educational planning. In their Shed Full of Animations there is a fantastic array of animations to choose from to incorporate into lesson planning.

This animation; BROKEN: Rock, Paper, Scissors offers a wonderful insight for children into what it would be like if Rock, Paper and Scissors from the popular game, ever met.  The animation itself creates an awe inspiring atmosphere without words with the ambiance created through the fabulous 3D animation and atmospheric music.


 

The story line is gripping, a little scary and extremely moving which, in my opinion, will entice the viewers attention and create Identification, empathy towards the characters thus allowing the educator to embed many of the aspects of the curriculum such as P,S,E, Literacy, Creativity, Communication, Thinking Skills and ESDGC into this creative lesson.

 

The Literacy Shed offer these ideas into meaningful and thematic lesson planning for this particular animation which will cover most learning objectives in Key Stage 2 however could be adapted to Year 1 and 2 in the Foundation Phase, and supports outcomes required by the Literacy and Numeracy Framework.
 

Teaching Ideas

• Write character profiles for the 3 main characters.
• Compare and contrast the character traits.
• Write a description of paper from the point of view of Rock.
• Think about the game and how Rock could defeat scissors.
• Create a wanted poster for Scissors.
• Create models of each character out of suitable materials, e.g. origami for paper and clay for rock.
• Create setting descriptions for each character's home.
• Write the story from the point of view of each character.
• Write the dialogue between Rock and Paper when he tried to persuade her to come with him.
• Add tension to the narrative for the chase and battle scenes.
• Focus on story endings, starting when Paper wakes up. 
• Write 'Origins' stories for each of them, where have they come from? How where they created?

This web site really is a fantastic resource and I am glad that I found it.  Planning creative interesting lessons for children that will engross and interest the children is a key requirement for todays learners so they believe that learning is fun and is also invaluable to the practitioner to combine many curriculum requirements into one lesson. 

Watching animation to deliver a lesson however comes with many angles of learning and as Ploetzner and Schlag (2013) explain learning strategies must be developed for the learner to internalise and draw meaning from the animation.

Stories in the Making.

Creating a story board is the initial stage to creating an animation.  By doing this you organise your ideas and create a step by step plan to incorporating movement with sound.



 

By using this technique, as a group, we created a storyboard for our animation The Circle of Life.  Karen J Lloyd  explains that a storyboard is not simply a bunch of pictures, it is a form of communication that explains the process of an animation sequentially and in an organised manner.

 

With our storyboard completed we were then able to start creating our characters, organising audio through music and sound effects, choose backgrounds and decide upon movement. We decided to challenge our creative abilities by using clay for our stop-motion animation.
 

 

Our Storyboard

Our Characters

The use of a story board to  plan our stop-motion animation has enabled myself and other group members to plan the story, sound and movement.  This is an invaluable tool, not only as the group were able to make decisions prior to filming, it gave focus to the groups aim and encouraged debate, reflection, organisation and decision making.  We were able to brain-storm our ideas and compromise direction as well as delegate different tasks.

Reflecting on the use of a storyboard has allowed me to understand the collaborative work that has to be conducted.  Working as a team, sharing and decision making are all skills that the learner will construct as they bounce off ideas in a fun and interesting learning experience.

Making the figures was a very enjoyable. We used oil based clay to mould the characters as this was provided.  This type of clay is according to Stop Motion Softwear website the best for shape durability and movement.  Water based clay such as Play Doh will dry out and crack.  I made the baby, the grown man, the woman (including her growing tummy) and the stork.  I tried to make as much of each character out of one piece of clay, however with clothing it was quite difficult so with my characters the head, hands and legs or feet in the case of the grown man, were separately connected.  This concerned me as I thought that they would detach but after connecting them and trialling movement I was pleased that they remained connected.  I also found that balance was an issue so producing a figure with equal weight and out of proportion feet was time consuming and sometimes fiddly. 

Not being as experienced as some in creating models for animation I followed the advice given on a blog called Animation for Education which I found very useful.

 

When making models from Plasticine look for the following:

1- Simple, bold designs.

2- Large features which are easy to animate and bring to life.

3- Make sure the models can stand up on their own.

4- Make models large enough to animate and move.  (Animation for Education, Accessed 2014)

 

Global News: An Auditory Space.

Making an interesting sound recording which can grab the listeners attention with only using their hearing sense is a difficult task.  Within a group today we published a spoof recording of a news report for the class to peer review. Using the theme of news readers, myself and two others recorded a topical news report on Audacity.

This fun, hands on learning tool allows the learner to record themselves along with other sounds relevant to the theme that the learner has chosen.

This requires many skills including team work, communication, organisation and it also builds confidence.  During the lesson there was a learning buzz with laughter and team discussion as each individual organised and got into character.

On reflection of this activity I was interested to research further how sound in animation can change a viewers perspective of a character.  During our attempt at becoming newsreaders we instinctively changed our personas to become the characters that we were playing.  We became professional, clearly spoken with a tone replicated from what we hear of newsreaders on the television and radio attempting to make our characters credible.  This has made me realise that sound has a profound affect on the listener.

Collins (2013) explains how the use of sound in film and animation influences Identification, and Psychological Role-Play, where we understand, empathise and feel that we become the character on screen, in equal extent as the visual aspects of film and animation. The author argues that especially within animation, sound brings reality and credibility to the animation allowing the viewer to identify strongly with the characters.  The visual representation is also argued not to be the only space where a viewer identifies and experiences the story, but auditory space is as important when representing a the stories and characters of film. However, sound must be organised in a way that a camera would be and is a scientific process of auditory space.  Cleverly, sound, can create difference in scenes by using placement of microphone and speaker set up allowing a sense of distance, to make the viewer turn to view another aspect of the film, to create mood and develop auditory proxemics: volume to create empathy and identification.

Sound in film is a scientific and technical process that surprisingly has many strands. In the case of our topical news, many of the aspects of auditory experience were intuitive, however on reflection many of the different components that Collins (2013) argues could have been used to improve the quality and deliverance of our Global News coverage.

 

The Importance of Sound

'[Sound] is a magical thing...it is the thing that can add so much emotion...it's a thing that can add all the mood...It sets the tone...'         

 David Lynch

Silence can arouse emotion in itself, it can feel peaceful, mournful, lonely, moody or sinister, but in film can it mean the same thing?  If you have ever tried to watch something without the sound it can be quite boring and meaningless.  Sound in film, as David Lynch film producer states, can be 100% of the film itself.  Sound relays meaning and mood, giving the viewer a feel for the situation the film is portraying.  Reflecting on this I was reminded of the famous Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho shower scene.  This 1960's classic horror is filmed in black and white, a far cry from modern HD high specification colour films.  However this film is iconic and a perfect example of how sound sets a mood and conveys the emotion of a character.  Try watching the scene without the sound first, then watch it again with the sound, you can see and hear that the appropriate sound makes a tremendous difference to the film.







 

Knowles-Marshall for Film Sound lists three different types of sound that is used in film.

   

1. Voice

Voice adds personality and expression to film.  It can transfer feelings such as fear, hate, love, comedy or simply give dialogue to tell a story. 

2. Sound Effects

Synchronous sound effects will allow the viewer to hear a door opening while watching a door opening of footsteps crunching through autumnal leaves. Asynchronous sound is added to increase emotion or add a touch of realism to a scene.  For example the sound of cars beeping their horns could connote a sense of urgency and also give a realistic view of time of day.

2. Music

Music in film is not normally noticeable but can add mood and emotion to scenes. It can also be used to link different scenes together or be used to recognise the oncoming of danger or happiness.  Music can also be linked to a particular character or area of the set for instant recognition for the viewer.

 

Similarly, in animation sound is used to connote actions, emotions and pace within the story which makes the animation come to life.

Animation for Learning

There is no denying that visual technology can engross a person so much so that person were asked to repeat what they have watched a detailed description is often verbalised back.  Nonetheless, when it comes to learning, do visual spaces really help a learner and develop their thinking skills and deepen their knowledge?

Animation in learning could be regarded a dyadic genre of learning. Firstly, the making of an animation through either manipulation or computer programmes such as Zu3D can develop a multitude of essential skills.  Secondly, viewing animation as a learning tool to explain domain specific information can enhance the learners ability to understand more deeply than when explained verbally.

Learning through Making.

In this fast moving, technological world, children remain to develop the same basic skills but in a more current and up to date way. Making stop-motion animation draws and develops many skills in the learner.  To begin with an idea has to be thought, then discussed with a learning group, developing communication skills and tolerance, or thought through by the individual.  As animation is regarded a mechanism to tell a story, a story board must be developed to organise these thoughts and ideas using organisation and literacy skills using higher order thinking. Then with the manipulation of material that is used for the animation fine motor skills are developed. Finally photographing each frame and developing sound encourages tolerance and patience along with motor skills.

 

Lowe (2003) argues that manipulation of materials to form stop-motion animation fosters a deeper learning experience than computer animation.  However computer animation through Go!Animate and Scratch as a growing teaching resource are said to provide rich learning experiences for children in topics ranging from language through to history and mathematics.  So the 21st Century educator cannot ignore growing technological educational tool to stimulate the modern learner.

To allow me to experience of model making for animation we were given the opportunity to produce a clay model from scratch.  With modelling clay I made a man.

During this process we were advised to model our characters from one ball of modelling clay as to prevent limbs from detaching when moving them.  I began with the head and moved onto the body.  The thought process was stimulating my own higher order thinking skills as I thought deeply to analyse and evaluate my actions.  I had to think about body shape, proportion, weight distribution for balance and strength for the durability of my model.  Then the smaller details had to be moulded, the nose, mouth and eyes for example took patience and fine motor skills. The whole process was deeply thoughtful as well as a creative learning experience which is transferable to any learning environment with any age group.

However, it is not only modelling that can be used in animation for learning.  Any materials can be used such as paper, cloth or even the learners themselves as seen in this Children's FLY! workshop production.



An example of children working together to create stop-motion animation

Learning through Watching.

It is argued that watching animation as a tool for learning can be complex and it is important that certain criteria are met so that it benefits the learning process. Lowe (2003) explains that for a learner to benefit from watching animation it must be designed specifically to meet the domains learning criteria. Then the animation itself must not have too much going on as it is possible the learner will focus their attentions on an area which is not relevant. It is also important that the learner can extract the information and organise this information cognitively within areas of already conceptualised knowledge.  For this to work, the learner must have some knowledge of the subject before they view any form of visual learning tool. If the learner, for example has no knowledge that a ball bounces up and down and they view a visual learning tool that explains to them a ball bounces from side to side, the learner will internalise this misconception. It is also explained that any intrinsic, form, or extrinsic positional transformations must be relevant to the subject domain or those changes could cause misconceptions.  However, these forms of change within an animation can enhance the learning if contrasted to the background giving the learners eye direction.  Ainsworth (2008) adds to this by explaining the importance of segmenting animation; the learner has control over the viewing experience.

It also important to recognise, as Ploetzner and Schlag (2013) explain, cognitive theory of multimedia learning developed by Richard Mayer in 2001.  Mayer theorises that the working brain can become overloaded with information so it is important for teaching professionals to organise their animation for learning in a way that can optimise the students learning experience and internalisation of maximum knowledge.

 

Nonetheless, if these criteria are successfully met Lowe (2003) argues that using animations to explain subject matter does in fact aid learning allowing a fruitful and enjoyable learning experience for the student.

 

 

A Box, A Lamp and a Rainy day.

Watching animations are a pleasure to many children and adults alike but, how about making one?  If we reflect on the process of making an animation it is clear that many different skills are needed, therefore skills that can be learnt and developed within a space for learning.  Communication, creativity, fine motor skills, higher function thinking skills and patience to name a few. 

Today, I made a Thaumatrope.  I used a simple technique which still caused me a little difficulty.

 

After one failed attempt I managed to make one that worked. Reflecting on the task made me realise that even though my thaumatrope was primitive, there was a vast thought process and deep problem solving skills that had to be made.

 

By spinning the pencil quickly back and forth the fish appears within the fishbowl. 

We then were introduced to more complicated forms of  cameraless animation.  My group and I were assigned the task of building of a working magic lantern, an early representation of a projector and invented circa 1650; it's earliest recorded users being Christiaan Huygens and Athanasius Kircher.  We used the designs from The Historians Toybox which informs about all styles of vintage cameraless animation.

 

 

Our animation was of lightening striking on a rainy day, however it did not work out as well as expected.  On reflection our slides were too far apart allowing our brains to understand and compute a gap between each one.  We also found that we had to place the magic lantern close to the wall to see a reflection after having to change from colour to black as colour did not show up at all.

 

Nonetheless, even though there were flaws in our animation, the design of the box worked really well.  As a group, within our own learning space, we communicated, problem solved, researched and took in instructions, followed instruction and built a magic lantern from a box, a lamp and a rainy day.

 



Breadwinners: Animation

The earliest animations recorded are argued to be as cave paintings, then later examples are seen from ancient Egypt, Iran and China.  The first animation ever recorded was in 1900 called the Enchanted Drawing and was regarded in those days as black magic and witchcraft.

These days animation is a daily viewing.  It is seen in adverts, children's channels, as adult cartoons and on the big screen.  Breadwinners is a regular animation in my home.  My ten year old enjoys watching it very much and I often hear her laughing...loudly, while watching.

 

 

This animation is screened on Nickelodeon's Nicktoons and it's primary audience are children even though as an adult I enjoy it very much too. James (2014) for the New York Times explains, Breadwinners is a cartoon about two ducks, SwaySway and Bubdeuce who are best friends.  Their job; delivering bread in a rocket fuelled van, comes with mishap and mayhem but stands to deliver an underlying message the they"always deliver and never give up."

 

Animator Gary (Doodles) DiRaffaelle and writer Steve Borst invented Breadwinners in a Studio City apartment dubbed 'The Doodle Chamber' in 2013 and was aired for the first time in February 2014. Milligan (2014) for Animation Magazine states that the animators use 2D animation using digital technology giving it a retro video game experience, producing a fresh new concept in cartooning.

This is a long way away from animations from the past.  If we reflect upon one of the earlier popular cartoons, Mickey Mouse we can see a huge difference in technique and quality.  However in its day it was considered ground-breaking.

 

 

Walt Disney's first animation with sound was Steamboat Willie and was first shown November 18th 1928 and is a primary example of stop motion animation.  You can see just by viewing this cartoon how animation has changed with the invention of new technologies in the past 86 years since this Mickey Mouse animation. Dialogue was minimal when making Steamboat Willie as pairing sound with animation was extremely primitive.  The animation itself was drawn frame by frame to coincide with  the tempo, beat and dialogue and was incorporated onto the film itself and not separately as was the norm; the first sound on film technology of its kind.

 

Walt Disney was argued to have found himself bankrupt having to sell his car to pay for Steamboat Willie to be made and was turned down at first, whereas  DiRaffaelle used technology himself and uploaded his pilot Breadwinners onto You Tube where it was noticed by Nickelodeon; a very different start for both. You can also see that the subject matter is completely different revealing how much the tastes of children and what is allowed to be viewed on television these days is worlds away from each other.  Mickey Mouse can regarded as a wholesome innocent cartoon, however the Breadwinners collect bodily excretions!  But without the work of pioneers like Walt Disney would we have the animation we have today?



 



What is a learning environment?

Any learning environment must be adaptable and considerate to each individual learner.  But how can it be perfectly described?  This can present itself as a physical area, an ethos or an infinite invisible space. A learning environment can be traditionally observed as a classroom.  This physical space is adult prepared to stimulate the learner being rich with resources to engage the learner towards a central focus.  However, on reflection, everywhere can be viewed as a learning environment.  People learn at work, at home, with their friends and family...the list is endless.  However, the 21st Century learner can now enjoy an infinite space as a learning environment.  Virtual Learning Spaces, (VLS) are increasingly being used in schools, colleges and in the home as a new and exciting learning environment. 

Children of today need to be engaged and see relevance to their own learning or it is argued that they will become detached from their learning. The Schools Effectiveness Framework (2008) saw the calling for children to become responsible for there own learning, to become engaged in their learning within formal and non-formal learning environments. This recognised the need to change how and where children learn. Then in 2011, the then Minister for Education and Skills in Wales, Leighton Andrews reviewed digital learning in Wales and saw the beginnings of HWB which addresses the learning of all Welsh learners ages 3 to 19 years.  It is now clear to see that within classrooms today there is an array of digital learning tools from laptops to I Pads. The use of such tools for learning can be for research purposes, exploring film and music, to literacy and numeracy games that spans across the curriculum. The new Welsh Minister for Education and Skills Huw Lewis has published a new document Qualified for Life where he emphasises the development of skills that are transferable into the workplace.  This importance for transferring skills into a rapidly changing technological age is also noted within the document Essential Skills Wales. 

Palmer (1998) cited in Infed talks about a learning environment being bound; open; hospitable; inviting the learners voice; honour the students silence and welcome the learners speech.  So, positive, engaging environments for learning are essential with regards to technology in the classroom and at home to allow the learner to embrace their learning, take ownership of their learning and transfer these skills around the curriculum and into adulthood.  To marry virtual learning spaces into the physical learning space allows the learner to embrace learning in the 21st Century to develop skills to embrace new technological breakthroughs well into adulthood, allowing the learner to contextualise their learning into their own experiences at home, outside, or at school.