Using technology for group work: Making a How to... video

The shooting session on the field could have been better organized. Putting such a eight Y3girls together (especially some strong headed ones) and expecting them to cooperate in shooting a video was too much for them to handle. I tried to salvage by stepping in to be director, but the whole vibe was pretty rotten towards the end.

- If two groups work together, make sure there is someone in charge to direct.

- Confine them to a limited area, not run all over the field.

- Make it clear to them what they want to capture.

- Impose consequences that a group was simply messing around, and praise groups who managed to shoot useful footage.

For video editing:

- Should have made sure all the ICT was setup beforehand, instead of wasting half of the lesson connecting to the server.

- Using the iPhone as a recorder was a great idea for groups which didn't have a computer.

- The biggest problem was how to record their voiceover over the noise. Taking the laptop outside was one solution.

On the whole though, the project will be successful once it's finished. Too bad it just takes so much time with Y4s.

Civilization project / End of teaching Prac

Despite the huge amount of preparation - formatting 17 handouts (4 civilizations, 4-5 topics per group) really paid off. Students were focused throughout all 3 sessions, and I think they were really proud of their finished work. The poster design also allowed gave early finishers something to work at.

Having a quick recap/short presentation was a great idea - 1 fact per student. Also, giving them 3 minutes to prepare what they would say was very helpful. However, I forgot to give awards out for their poster... I should have taken notes on which group worked cooperatively etc.

Praising groups who were doing the right thing really seemed to work well in motivating other groups.