Leigh Primary Using Video Animation
Leigh Primary Encourages Learning by Using Video Animation
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A Hyde Primary School uses video and ICT equipment to inspire and motivate pupils to learn has been recognised at the prestigious etameside awards run by Tameside Council.
Teachers at Leigh Primary School on Walker Lane use simple web cams and cheap digital cameras to combine moving images, graphics, text and sound to help pupils with difficulties using one sense to use another to reinforce learning and improve accuracy and creativity. They've filmed and broadcast at school interviews with pupils, staff and visitors, created 'video diaries' and made animations using plasticine models.
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Sue Mott - Headmistress
"The animation project we started because we had children who were disaffected and switched off from learning. And we found a way of opening up children's interest again. Children use the animation project by making their own short films, and they used software called Inspiration and the cameras they use are called Digital Blue. And the children started to do interviews with each other and film what they were doing and started to put together little animated films and this really tuned the children back into learning.
At the end we had some films that we could showcase in our entrance hall for our parents to see as they came to school. Only today, a parent came in because her som wanted her to see the film that they had been making. So they're very proud about that and parents are really interested."
Dave Ogden - ICT Co-ordinator
"The original idea to use videos came when we were using PowerPoint, when the children write stories they didn't like writing with pencils. But shortly afterwards we found out about the digital blue camera. It's a wonderful tool for using with the computer and children become fascinated by the ability to make a piece of plasticine start walking and moving around. The original animations were very short but with the software that comes with the camera you're able to join little clips together and make a longer film. Quite a few of the children realised that they could add sound effects and very soon the most able children were making longer films with quite dramatic sound effects, and using an old dolls house from the nursery that had been abandoned, they turned it into a sort of Coronation Street set.
I've now moved down to year 3 and working with the younger students in the school, and they're just as enthusiastic about using film and cameras, some of them like the animation some of them prefer to make films about daily life in Leigh Primary School. So hopefully these children at the age of seven and eight will be taking those skills through the school and be able to teach their own teachers when they get into other classes, how to use the stuff and how to make use of it and make exciting films about the school."