Hands On Support in Shropshire

Again Barrie Fisher at Idsall comes up trumps for innovative use of ICT.  Today’s HOS session was aimed at delving into digital video; we toyed with the idea of looking at Pinnacle but instead went for Movie Maker 2 which amply fulfils the requirements that Barrie had for it.

Barrie worked through the different aspects of MM2 including the titling and the voice over.  Then we hit on the idea that this would be useful to pupils assessing their own performance - they watch a video of themselves and add a voiceover as they watch.  This could be so powerful in the classroom, as well as meeting targets for GCSE (particularly the AQA specification) where pupils need to provide analysis of their own or others’ performance.  And the nature of a Movie Maker 2 project means that they can add the video of their improved performance at the end after they’ve done it.  I can imagine moderators being highly impressed with a DVD of pupils assessing their own performance.

Today I worked with the PE staff at Thomas Adams school, giving support using cSwing performance analysis software in a gymnastics lesson. We were only expecting to be using the “Live” mode of the software for pupils to replay their techniques instantly and improve on their performance, but moved on to using the motion analysis techniques also. I helped out by the “forward roll and cartwheel” mat where pupils worked in pairs and we saw some real and rapid improvements in performance due to the use of the video replay software.

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Working with a PE department today in the north of the county who are very keen to adopt performance analysis software as a means to enhance learning in their classrooms. We looked at using cSwing as a way to allow pupils to assess their own performance on-the-fly, to make an instant appraisal and make improvements. The use of this software addresses a number of points in raising achievement through assessment for learning, notably in learners measuring their own improvement against stated goals.

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It’s a privilege to meet such lively and enthusiastic teachers as those I worked with today. It makes my job so much more enjoyable when teachers have already seen the value that ICT can bring to a learning experience, through new skills, new ways of working, immediate changes and revisions to work. Isn’t that what it’s all about, to make learning fulfilling and a process that is worthwhile to the learner? ICT isn’t the only answer, it’s just part of the contemporary mix of tools at a good teacher’s disposal so when I meet teachers who deny pupils the benefits that ICT might bring I get very disappointed. Happily though, the teachers I work with are always inspiring to their pupils and the vast majority are keen to adopt new ways of working if it means that their learners will have more opportunity to succeed.