News

FFL at Hand Held Learning 2008

Markr — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 10:55:00 GMT

Wednesday 15^th October three students and I attended the Hand Held Learning Conference at The Brewery in the Barbican, London. There we presented for the Teacher Development Agencies ‘Developing Teachers for the 21^st Century' break out session. We put forward the FFL perspective on the challenges and opportunities this technology offers learners in the second half of the first decade of the 21^st century.... (certainly a bit of a mouthful but it is best to be specific as it will be all change again tomorrow!) To demonstrate the possibilities Hand Held Technologies offers learning we set ourselves the challenge of making a film on the journey up to the conference from deepest Dorset. This involved filming on a mobile and editing on the train and London Eye!

See the film >>>CLICK HERE<<<

It was my job to lead the presentation, but I was very ably assisted by the 3 students from the Thomas Hardye School, Sam, Douglas and Laura who excellently represented their own experiences of learning using DV cameras, phones and laptops.

To view Sam's Film: >>>CLICK HERE<<<

Douglas' Film

Laura's Film: >>>CLICK HERE<<<

Here is a brief summary of the presentation we gave

We told the FFL story, explaining that we work at a very small level offering some training and support to schools and individuals. All contributors provide their time on a voluntary basis and there is no commercial angle to this project. I then explained what FFL is about:

FFL is students making films for teachers to explain aspects of learning which lessons/teachers are trying to communicate.... however as with all good things teachers also want to get in on the act (and why not) and make films!

Films for Learning supports learning because:

you can not make a good film to support learning without understanding the subject...
communication skills are developed through the process both in front of and behind the camera, both in production and post production.
the literacy of film is something which is almost in ‘built in' to today's learners, so this is their medium... not one they are scared of or should teachers retreat from.
team working, and collaborative skill are encouraged.
films can be shared in class or online... feed back can be given ... uniquely in the ‘timeline' facility offered the FFL Theatre
film making supports a variety of learning styles... and challenges teaching styles!

Unfortunately film making is no silver bullet to aid learning... Two years ago a primary school we worked with were excited by the apparent successes they were achieving with students undertaking FFL activities until they saw no perceivable increase in KS2 results... However there is little disputing the increase levels of engagement of students undertaking FFL activities and the success of this work will be apparent later in personal development.

Whilst film making we have identified a number of challenges frequently experienced by educators and learners:

Compatibility - Incompatible file formats produced by Tape, Hard Drive and SD cards... this often requires more software to achieve the same results. Some phones and new cameras work better with Mac than PC... the less straightforward a film project becomes technically the more barriers are created for the teacher
Copyright - What does copyright free... free Music... actually it mean? DIDA/GCSE's insist on coursework remaining legal... but students are encouraged to inadvertently break the law elsewhere in the curriculum... and yet educators continue talk of the power of the blogoshere... In FFL activities we encourage students to use no music or create there own where feasible...
Safety - another barrier to creating exciting lessons.... The risk assessment... this is never insurmountable and relatively easy to address.
Time - Film making is not the quick option... a day is always better than 5 lessons... but that luxury is rare.... The dropping of KS3 SAT's may encourage more adventurous and flexible teaching?! (Keep your fingers crossed!)
Resources - FFL work with the cheapest equipment and free software - MS Movie Maker and imovie etc. are our programmes of choice to ensure our activities are as accessible as possible to all schools and students. We am keen to remove as many barriers to learning as possible... especially for teachers!
Skills - The teacher may not know all the answers, but the student is more than likely to know where to look or how to find out. The skill is for the teacher to allow this to happen safely without feeling that they have lost control. In some places ICT has been taught ‘traditionally' almost a means of control.... Some teachers are only happy when the class is sitting silently in front of a keyboard and screen... Hand Held technologies challenges these teaching styles and values.

I have now outlined enough reason why not to make film with students... so here is few reasons to make films.... !

Students get really creative. Film work produced by students really is the ‘Student Voice
By getting mobile you can get out of the class room... for that matter bring the real word into the class room... throw dummies of Cliffs, make explosions, visit real working environments, get real peoples opinions..
Students and teachers can collaborate... initiate...commission... create a new dynamic in learning through film
Filming making can be accessible to all.... Even the student who can never concentrate in lessons has been found to focus, contribute and even sit and be constructively bored!!!!
Most student have found this process to be both challenging and fun... not because it is film making but because it makes the subject interesting and so engaging...

On an academic level we are convinced that film making can address the ‘Personalised Learning' agenda...

Of the nine Learning Gateways here are five examples of what FFL can hit...

AfL... You need to target set, peer and self assess when making films...
Learning to Learn - When film making you are exploring and creating new ways to learn
Obviously new technologies are central to FFL.... and specifically Hand Held Learning technologies
The student voice can be clearly be identified in this work....
And any part of the curriculum can incorporate FFL this in their work...

Hopefully you will be inspired to contribute to this project...

As previously mentioned it is free...

You might have advice and resources to share through the blogs and forums in the FfL Community or Films you and your student have made to support learning which can be uploaded to the FFL Theatre.

We do insist that films contain no copyrighted music... i.e. chart hits etc and that images and footage are your own or obtained and credited to appropriate sources.

Images of children should not have their names published alongside and parental permission is obtain but retained by yourselves...

Good luck I hope we will be able t share some of your work!

Sorry! Film upload to the FFL Theatre is currently down...

Markr — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 18:58:00 GMT

We are sorry for any inconvenience this maybe causing. We expect this facility to be back up and running within the next couple of days... (Today is Tuesday 14th October!)

We will post a 'Newsflash' here when it is all up and running again...

Of course whilst you are waiting you can always be planning your next great film.... editing.... shooting.... etc!

Mark

SSAT, FFL and Microsoft announce the winners of the Capture it! Film Competition

Markr — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 11:15:00 GMT

Well done to all the entrants of this competition.This film makers competition for schools was launched in February by the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust, FFL and Microsoft at the SSAT Technology Conference at Manchester University. We challenged schools to capture the 'Big Ideas' in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM). On July 1st, 2008 we announced the winners at the SSAT’s Annual Science Conference at the Think Tank in Birmingham. The judges were impressed and really enjoyed viewing the entries. Films for Learning would like to thank the judges for their hard work. The judges were:

Paul Foster, Microsoft’s Platform Evangelist
Steve Jones , SSAT
Jan Stapleton, The Faraday Institution

Films for Learning and the SSAT would also like to thank Microsoft for sponsoring Films for Learning, the ‘Capture it’ Competition and providing the prizes.Schools and winning teams will be notified and prizes dispatched.The winners were: Science

Third: Diabetes by the Challney High School for Boys
Second: Fireworks by the Coseley School
First: Muscle Fibres by the Woodroffe School

Technology

Third: Green Power Racing by the Philip Morant School
Second: Ideas of the Future by the Thomas Hardye School
First: Zero Wheel Drive by the Thomas Hardye School

Engineering

First: Suspension Bridges by the Thomas Hardye School

Mathematics

Cross STEM

Third: Learning To Learn by the Challney High School for Boys
Second: You win some… by the Crofton School
First: Electricity from Wind by the John Kelly Girls Technology College

There were approximately 60 entries, some of which have had to be excluded from the judging process as their length was excessive or they contained material that infringed copyright we have not been able to publish them on the FFL website.

Competition Entries Shortlisted...

PeterR — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 09:49:00 GMT

Entries for the 'Capture It' competition have now been closed and selections based on number of views, number of votes and content have helped us to arrive at a shortlist to forward to our judges. There were approximately 60 entries, some of which have had to be excluded from the judging process as their length was excessive or they contained material that infringed copyright we have not been able to publish them on the FFL website.

Our independent panel of judges have received the shortlist and we will announce the winners at the SSAT Science Conference in Birmingham on the 1st of July.

Our Judges will be looking for ‘outstanding work from contributors in many areas that could include cinematography, direction, innovation, creativity and originality. They will be looking to see whether the film content is well structured and holds the viewer’s interest; whether it uses techniques and features such as use of language or animation in a relevant way; whether the film is technically proficient and well edited, makes good use of styles and conventions; and is age/audience appropriate.’

The nominations in no particular order are:(use the keywords as written in the theatre search box to find the films)

Science:	*Keyword Search*
Diabetes and Health	diabetes
Muscle Fibres	fibres
Fireworks!	fireworks

Technology:	*Keyword Search*
Philip Morant Green Power Racing Team	morant
Hovercars- Zero Wheel Drive	hovercars
Technology - Ideas of the Future	Ideas of the future

Engineering:	*Keyword Search*
Suspension Bridges	suspension
Electricity From Wind	electricity from wind

Mathematics:	*Keyword Search*
More Pythagoras	more pythagoras
Easy Quadratics	quadratics

Cross STEM:	*Keyword Search*
Electricity From Wind	electricity from wind
You win some, you lose some...	win some
Learning to Learn	learning to learn

FREE TO YOU..... A 1Gb MEMORY STICK!

Markr — Sat, 31 May 2008 18:22:00 GMT

Have you got a film just waiting to be uploaded? Would you like a funky new memory stick and want to be the envy of your colleagues and friends? We will send to you absolutely free a 1 Gigabyte memory stick just for uploading your own educational film. This is a limited offer and applies to the first fifty (50) films uploaded...

To qualify you need to submit your film and then e-mail your name, address and uploaded film title to info@filmsforlearning.org to stake your claim. Only one stick per person subject to the first fifty uploads...

Bored this Half Term? Get creative - Capture it!

Markr — Mon, 26 May 2008 08:49:00 GMT

There are only three weeks left to get your films uploaded for the ‘Capture it' Competition.

We challenge you to capture the 'Big Ideas' in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM).
This film makers competition for schools was launched by the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust, FFL and Microsoft.

You can win school and individual prizes by creating and uploading your own film that addresses one of the Big Ideas in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM). Your film should be no more than 3 minutes in duration with a minimum resolution of 640 x 480 pixels. You can upload your film as a wmv, mov or mp4 file with a file size no larger than 150 Mb.

Here is a list for inspiration. Feel free to choose one of these or generate your own big idea.

Cells, Energy, Forces, Interdependence, Water, Climate change, Sustainability, Electricity, Light, Stem cells, Cloning, Genetically Modified Foods, Nanotechnology, Genetics, Sustainable transport Systems, Time travel, Global Warming, Rising Sea Levels, Cern Particle Generator, Robotics, Bio Diversity, Other Intelligent Life, Planets, Buildings/Mega Structures.

Capture It! is a film competition for schools affiliated with the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust (SSAT). The deadline for entries is June 13th, 2008 and winners will be announced at the SSAT's Annual Science Conference on July 1st, 2008. Prizes including web cams, digital video recorders and copies of Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate are on offer to both schools and students. Please read more about the Competition and it's Terms & Conditions.

You can also view the Competition's promotional film here

Only one month left to get those 'Capture It' entries in!

Markr — Wed, 14 May 2008 14:30:00 GMT

There are four weeks left to get your films uploaded for the ‘Capture it' Competition.

Here is a list for inspiration. Feel free to choose one of these or generate your own big idea.

You can also view the Competition's promotional film here

Microsoft's UK Innovation Day

Markr — Wed, 14 May 2008 14:21:00 GMT

On Tuesday 6^th May Mark Richardson represented FFL at Microsoft's UK Innovation Day. It was attended by policymakers and politicians from all parties, researchers and public servants, business- from media to trade to manufacturing.

The aim of UK Innovation Day was to bring all these people together to showcase innovation and identify future action for the UK to remain a world wide innovation leader. It is Microsoft's belief that technology is the key enabler of innovation

Speakers included, Baroness Morgan, Dr Andrew Herbert , James Crabtree, Prof Stephen Heppell, Alex MacGillivray of Accountability and Mark Taylor from Microsoft. Michael Gove, Shadow Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families and Jean-Philippe Coutois President of Microsoft International.

To find out more about the day click HERE

'Capture it' for Science and Engineering Week, 7th - 16 March

Markr — Sun, 09 Mar 2008 18:27:00 GMT

Why not Celebrate Science and Engineering Week by making a film and uploading it to the FFL Theatre so the world can see your work or your schools work... you could enter it for our own ‘Capture it' film competition!

If you are struggling for ideas look no further than the B.A.'s own website (British Association for the Advancement of Science)

and use some of the ‘Big Questions' as your inspiration. The BA will get their team of top scientists to answer ‘Big Science' questions for you, this could lead to the production of a great film featuring Big Answers!

Four Animations from the Oxford Trust's Digital Discovery Project

Markr — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 21:08:00 GMT

Sarah Richardson from the Oxford Trust has been working in partnership with students from the Wychwood School and the Wellcome Trust to produce these four great animations on 'Big Science Issues'. You can view the films in the FFL Theatre, just follow the links below:

An animation about the ethics of Pre-implantation Genetic Diagnosis - Designer Babies.

An animation about ethics of dieting.

An animation about the ethics of animal testing.

An animation about the ethics of GM

Digital Discovery was an innovative series of workshops for young people to use digital technology to explore some of the social, ethical and personal issues that arise out of biomedical science research. It was a Wellcome Trust funded project led by and held at Science Oxford.

For more information about these animations and the project visit Oxford Trust's Digital Discovery website.

These films may provide some great inspiration for the Capture it competition FFL are running.

SSAT, FFL and Microsoft launch the Capture it! Film Competition

Markr — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 14:01:00 GMT

We challenge you to capture the 'Big Ideas' in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM).
This new film makers competition for schools was launched by the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust, FFL and Microsoft in Manchester at the SSAT Technology Conference.

You can win school and individual prizes by creating and uploading your own film that addresses one of the Big Ideas in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM). Your film should be no more than 3 minutes in duration with a minimum resolution of 640 x 480 pixels. You can upload your film as a wmv, mov or mp4 file with a file size no larger than 150 Mb.

Here is a list for inspiration. Feel free to choose one of these or generate your own big idea.

You can also view the Competition's promotional film here

Films for Learning at the SSAT Technology Conference, Manchester University

Markr — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 13:48:00 GMT

Last week Microsoft with Films for Learning sponsored the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust Technology Conference at Manchester University. Mark Richardson and Peter Roe from Films for Learning were joined by Paul Foster and Ginger Hernandez from Microsoft. We met over 100 teachers from Technology Colleges from across the country, they all gave Films for Learning a big thumbs up!

Delegates at the Technology Conference were able to see a rolling demonstration of the films on the site and have the opportunity for a guided introduction. FFL also launched their first national film competition in collaboration with the SSAT and Microsoft. Details of the ‘Capture It' competition can be found in the ‘Capture it news story', or you can watch the ‘Capture it film' or go straight to the ‘Capture it' page and deliver your first competition entry.

At the end of the first day of the conference we held a draw for Sony digital video cameras which Microsoft donated. The Camera was won by Claire Wood who teaches Food Technology at Swanwick Hall, School Derbyshire.

We will be eagerly waiting to see Swanwick School's first film uploaded on the FFL site! (No pressure there then!!!)

What a hectic six weeks... Now win a memory card!

PeterR — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 12:29:00 GMT

The first half term of the New Year has just ended... Short and intense! A busy time for everyone in education and particularly for Films for Learning. When I started this blog I had high hopes of being able to conribute my thoughts on a daily basis but that just dosen't happen because of the needs of alll the different things that need doing. In these forums alone you have to keep a check on the posts for moderation purposes, respond to enquiries or questions and give advice to those who need it. Add in films approval, moderation and uploading of our archives from the old site plus all the promotion activities on behalf of FfL and holding down your normal job and you have a recipe for long hours and working weekends!

I guess that I should feel more tired than usual but its a given fact that some activities give you energy. FfL certainly does that, its inspiring, energising and fun. When I look back at the last six weeks I can take a pride in everything that Mark and I have undertaken. There is an incredible feeling of satisfaction and achievment at seeing the Theatre and Community in its current form with a film count heading in the direction of my predicted target.

Target? What's that all about then? Well when we were at the BETT show in January I talked to many people in education, both educators and technologists and at that time the site had been live for 24-48 hours and we had uploaded just 12 films. I predicted on a number of occasions that we could be approaching 200 films by March and 2000 films by the time of the BETT show in 2009. I still think we will make that 200 number by the end of March and hopefully with some of the promotion activities that we are undertaking we could make that 2000 by January 2009.

Okay, I have to admit that I am a 'glass half full' kind of person but I am going to say it right here... We will achieve 2,009 films by BETT 2009! Thats how much I believe in this project and what we are doing. The model of films for learning works, we know that. Also out there there are numerous educators and film makers making films in isolation. What we have here is a worldwide platform for their work. It's free, it's moderated and it's 'safe'. What we need to do is reach those film makers and educators and show them just how easy this is.

If you follow the model for a staff film making workshop as posted by Mark Richardson you can see it is easy to make a film 'in camera' without major editing. Lets go another step... Video Cameras in Telephones... I have one, a Nokia N95 which offers a full 24 frames a second and a resolution of 640 x 480. Surely it is possible to harness this technology to make an 'in camera' film... Let's all have a go. I am going to be making and posting one before 7 days have elapsed from the date on this blog post. In fact for the first 3 people that post a Film for Learning shot exclusively on a mobile phone we will buy you a 4Gb Memory Card for your device. The conditions are... 1.) It has to educate... 2.) Errmmm, I am the Judge... 3.) There is no 3!

So go on, surprise me... Show us what you can do!

Footnote: Here are two films made, edited and uploaded in less than one hour using a Nokia N95 and Windows Moviemaker on Windows Vista. Both films were made within 24 hours of this blog post. No decent video camera on your mobi? Film 1 - How to set up a video camera. Film 2 - Using a Tripod.

Films for Learning is all set to go global...

PeterR — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 15:31:00 GMT

The Films for Learning website is set to go global with the backing of IT giant Microsoft. Design and technology teacher Mark Richardson and Media Development Manager Peter Roe have been working on the project for two-and-a-half years as part of their schools' Leading Edge development program.

The project and website encourages students and teachers to create their own educational films and share them with others across the world. Mr Roe said: "Its purpose is to promote film and the use of film in education. If students make a film about a subject it is generally going to appeal to the sensibilities of their peers and so engage with them."

Films for Learning has been running workshops with other schools and received initial funding from the National Endowment for Science, Technology and Arts (Nesta). As well as support and sponsorship from the DCFS (formerly the DfES) and the Innovation Unit.

Mr Roe also said "Our vision has been that students can make a film and show it to students in Australia or Africa and vice-versa. The project has the potential to be huge and when I met with Microsoft they recognised the potential and have come up with approximately £80,000-worth of development, money and time towards a new website."

Mr Roe and Mr Richardson both spent two days each at the BETT educational show in London promoting the project from the Microsoft stand. "It's not just about our school, this has developed into a major national project and the interactivity introduced into the site means it's a safe environment and a monitored community where teachers will be able to access learning resources and where students can access revision resources."

Commenting on the relationship with Microsoft, Mr Roe said "Its truly a win-win-win situation, we get the technical help and support we need to establish a world class educational resource, Microsoft get the opportunity to showcase some of their newest products to a worldwide audience and finally students get the benefit of this partnership in the form of an excellent educational resource."

"Conservatively by the end of March we should have at least 200 films on line and by the end of the year we expect it to be 2,000. The true numbers of films is expected to be a lot more, one school alone in Northumberland has developed 200 short films on aspects of science which they will share with the world."

Films for Learning goes 'live' for BETT 2008

Markr — Sun, 06 Jan 2008 19:13:00 GMT

On Friday 4th January 2008 our new FFL site (this site) went 'live'. If you are reading this and have the opportunity to be visiting BETT 2008 this week do come and see us at Microsoft's stand and find out more about how to make films and get involved in FFL. Paul Foster (Microsoft's UK Platform Evangelist) will be there to answer any questions on all four days, Peter Roe (FFL) will be attending on Wednesday 9th and Thursday 10th and Mark Richardson (FFL) on Friday 11th and Saturday 12th January. Paul will be also there representing the First Lego League.

We will also be giving a short presentation about FFL at the Innovation Unit/Edict stand on:

Wednesday at 12.30pm

Thursday, Friday and Saturday 12.00am

We hope to meet up with you there!