Marysville Insitu

Description

At Marysville, we were fortunate enough to experience using stop-motion video with a real-time Grade 3 class. We were given a group where we received limited instruction besides incorporating the students’ desk pets into the videos on what to do, we weren’t given firm criteria, and this allowed our group to let their imagination run wild and come up with some wacky ideas, such as an alien invasion and a “moose rodeo”. My group started with a storyboard to create a skeleton of what we wanted our video to look like. Our group took around five minutes to plan this; we all put forward some ideas on what direction we wanted the video to go; we drew out a rough draft of a haunted house with ghosts and ghouls and the desk pets coming to save the day. There were some minor creative differences among the students, but overall, everyone worked really well together to get some great ideas on paper, and we soon got to work on putting the plan into motion. After completing our storyboard, we got to work with set design. We decided that we wanted to build a haunted house out of Lego and a car for our characters to ride on. After finishing, we filmed. This part was the real meat and potatoes of the class. It took around twenty minutes, and there were some moments where I had to tweak the setup as the students moved the camera a ton, ruining the set. Other than that, the students were very good at using the stop-motion app, and with only a few tweaks and advice, we created a video that I was genuinely proud of. I was super impressed with how well they were able to use the iPads, and I found myself thinking they were better than me, the students added some minor sound affects in post editing and the video ended up turning really good. After finishing, we were lucky enough to present our video in front of the class, and many other students were super impressed with our video. I even heard a student say, “That video was the best,” and kids in my group seemed super proud of the work they presented; I was too.

Feelings

For this Insitu, I was nervous but excited. I was super excited to use stop-motion in the classroom, but I did not know how the students and the technology would react in the class. I had no clue if the students knew how to make stop motion, and in the last class I had to use tech in, it made it super challenging to help the kids, the technology that we used did not work at all, and instead I had to improvise what we were going to do, so using technology in such a young classroom made me a little bit nervous. As the class went on, I was super relieved. I didn’t know if it was just my group, but they made working with them super easy. I was very invested in our video, and at times, I felt I almost overstepped with helping the students as I really wanted the video to turn out crisp, but I might not have let them fail. The students I worked with were amazing. They were polite, creative, and eager to use my experience in stop motion. They made working with the technology super easy, and I am really glad they were In my group. As we worked, I felt very proud of how the kids were able to work together, and even though they weren’t my students, I felt a sense of how they worked. There was a creative difference in what they wanted the story to be at one point. Instead of fighting and pouting, they were able to communicate at a really high level for their age, which BLEW my mind. While we presented, I was super pleased. I think our video turned out well, and I heard students whispering, “That one was the best.” This made me feel super gracious that I could work with such creative, great kids. The whole experience was enjoyable, and it definitely gave me some great ideas and a much more promising feeling about experimenting with technology in the classrooms, especially the lower grades.

Evaluation

Looking back on this experience. It was an overwhelmingly positive experience for me. This event really gave me some excitement for using tech in the classroom because of how smoothly it went and how well my group worked together. The best part of my experience was working together with the students to film the video and seeing how proud they were to show the video to the class afterward. The whole process of creating a story, building the set, filming, and presenting was super enjoyable. I think I was able to manage the group while also taking a step back and letting the kids loose in a really effective way. This led to an end product that the students felt super attached to, but I was also able to reel them in at times and help them use some techniques to make their videos work better. And even though this was on a super small scale, if I am able to bring that type of fluidity and fun into my classroom, I will be thrilled. If I had to change something about the experience, I would have liked to see a demonstration of some good and bad techniques. I know some groups missed out on the experience because they didn’t have a firm grasp of how to make stop-motion pop, and that bummed me out. I think this could have been partially prevented if the students had been given some techniques to make their animations a bit smoother. Setting aside five minutes to show some common mistakes, such as moving the characters too much or adjusting the camera, would make the student’s videos pop, leading to a better experience for everyone. Something that has stayed with me, that I don’t know if I was right or wrong, was my correction of the camera work with the students. I think it could have been beneficial for the students if I had let them “mess up” their videos to show what they had done wrong. Instead, I took control of the situation and made the video better. I don’t know if I should have let them mess up or not, but I hope to learn the answer as I grow as a teacher. Overall, I had a great experience and gained many new ideas to work with for the future.

Analysis

I think this experience was super successful for the students and me. I believe this is due to a couple of reasons. Firstly, I think stop-motion is a good platform for allowing students to be creative and work together, so doing this led to good teamwork and creative thinking; it allowed students to work together and to take on the rolls that they wanted to do, such as a set builder, or cameraman, this created a really high level of participation for each student which is hard to mimic in traditional lessons. The class was also super unstructured; this lack of direction allowed the students to do their own thing and make their videos personal. I really like how this was structured, and I think it produced more creative videos then if it was structured around an idea or concept, the students I was working with really went wild with their imagination, and the end product they created was so unique, and I don’t think this would have happened if there were strict criteria. Lastly, the involvement of myself and the other members of my cohort. Having two extra “teachers” per group helped the kids stay on track and correctly manage the technology; as stated before, I think I did a good job, but definitely not perfect, but I believe Ashlyn and I did a really good job of working together with the students to create something awesome. Could the project have been completed well without our help? But I do think our involvement led to less stress and an overall smoother, better video than if we weren’t there.

Conclusion

Some of the things I would have done differently would be to show the potential of stop motion before letting the kids get to work. In past classes, I have talked about this, and I think it would be relatively easy for a teacher who knows their students to find a video that captures the student’s interest before the lesson. I think this could also lead to some more long-term learning, as this could Inspire students to take up stop motion at home. Another thing I would have done differently was to show some of the students some of the common mistakes that students often make while doing stop motion, such as a shaky camera or an inconsistent background. I think this would have better prepared the students and allowed for the class to create better videos. Lastly, as previously discussed, I might have given the kids a little bit more freedom to make some mistakes, but I still don’t know if this would be the right thing to do. To add to this, I think I would have used some metacognitive assessment skills; I think if I knew what they were thinking while they were doing it, I would have gotten a deeper understanding, which would have allowed me to approach this problem with greater confidence. I don’t know the exact strategy I would use to assess this. Still, I think implementing an exit slip or just communicating and asking what they were thinking would have given me an accurate understanding of the students thinking. I think if the last two solutions solved each other’s problems, If the students got a bit more instructions on what to do beforehand, I think I wouldn’t have had to step in as much, and instead, the kids could have gone nuts. I do feel like we could have been given more time as my students were still super engaged, which could have been used to show some of the students some tips and tricks, but I understand that there is a finite amount of time in a day, and I feel fortunate enough to have been allowed to work with the students. Overall, I enjoyed this experience, and I hope to involve things like stop motion in my classrooms, as the possibilities for creativity feel endless.

Action Plan

If I had the opportunity to do this again, I really don’t know what I would do differently. I really think what I did was the right way to handle the experience. I was not only a good “teacher,” but also a good learner. I think I gained a lot from this experience that I can use when I become a teacher. And with minimal prior experience in a classroom, moments and experiences like these are crucial for preparing me for my future career. Saying that I think if I were to do it again, I would really try to ask questions and get students’ opinions on projects like these. Knowing firsthand how the students feel about stop motion, about stuff they like and don’t like can really empower me as a teacher. Overall, I really enjoyed this experience, and I am super grateful to have been able to participate and learn from it. I hope I get future opportunities in the program and in my classroom to effectively incorporate tech in the class like I was able to do here.

UVIC Teacher Competancies

The competency that I feel fits this experience the most accurately is the “practice of effective communication appropriate to the context and audience, enabling responsiveness to diversities of learners.” I know this is the most accurate explanation for this situation due to the diverse ideas and learners that were present during the activity. Because all my students had different ideas on what they wanted to do, I had to work hard to allow myself and the rest of my students to communicate effectively, which made everyone’s ideas feel welcome, even though I did have some biases. Another reason for choosing this skill was the different skill levels of my group members because some students had used the stop-motion app before, and some hadn’t; I really had to work hard at balancing my communication and teaching so that everyone was able to get the appropriate level of instruction that they needed.

Citations

Lipton, L. (2009). Pathways To Understanding. MiraVia