Games and Digital Resources in School are an important and serious goal in the 21st century focus on the changing face of Education, I wrote on Digital schools versus digital teachers
Let's talk about another important digital resource: Movies in classroom.
The performance or display of a movie by teachers in a course of face-to-face teaching activities in a classroom or similar place devoted to instruction like learning environment can be one of the most interesting educational resources for k-12 and junior high school. It's a rich interactive approach of exploring Literature for children and youth. Students enjoy it a lot.
There is no doubt! Mobile devices are fantastic! But why forget movies? And 3D movies?! Impossible !
Movies can offer teachers and students a nice motivating push!
A narration lets us know something. It tells us what happened. It tells us a story. Our students love to hear narrations.
They strain to hear the latest news among their friends about what happened over the weekend and they rush to see the latest films that promise a good story! We know that! Look at movies, like Avatar, New Moon, that are on now.
"Movies present language in a way that is often more natural than that found in course-books, the fantastic visual context aids understanding and boosts listening, and students just simply love them."
Steve Louw
Movies based on children and youth Literature books are an attractive and enjoyable digital resource to motivate students reading in the school.
Many literature classics for kids and adolescents have been made into movies. Movies like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl, The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis, Harry Potter's Saga by J.K. Rowling, Lord of the Rings Trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien, and many others, give the chance to teach and learn Literature in a complete different way. The final result is always the best! And the list is enormous!
So, we can capture new young readers, presenting literature books trough movies. Gorgeous educational resource!
Take the exemple of "Twilight Saga" by Stephenie Meyer. Adolescents for all over the the world are addict fans. With this saga, the success is on reading Meyer's books and watching the films.
Displaying a movie in a face-to-face lesson, or going to the movies with a class allows to profite the increadible adventure of 3D before reading books.
So, reading a book and after, in a comparative process of learning, display the movie in the classroom, or mobile device, even go to the movies are interesting points of vue that educators can't throw way.
I practiced all these activities with a lot of success. The key is the students interest. And of course reach the goals of learning.
Alice in Wonderland is a lovely book but not a simple one. Well, we all know the kindergarden adaptation by Walt Disney! But Lewis Caroll's novels are more complex than that!
"The exchanges between Alice and the creatures she encounters turn out to be puzzling and apparently nonsensical and absurd. However, a more careful reading of the books reveals the fact that they constitute complex reflections on the philosophical questions of the Victorian Age in Britain. From this perspective, there is very little nonsense in these books. It can be said that the adventures of Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass are not only the stories of a little girl in two different dream worlds, they are also the stories of how human reason confronts traditional problems which have troubled mathematicians, logicians, philosophers and linguists."
Some literature is difficult for modern young readers. Movie renditions can introduce and help students to comprehend these works, to appreciate and enjoy the book with a new look.
Now, Gen-Y deeply loves the new ghotic literature! So, there we are!
Introducing Lewis Carroll to students by Tim Burton new 3D film based on the novel Alice in Wonderland, who explores the gothic universe of the author, keeping, however, the feerique and wonderful descriptin of Lewis Caroll's world, could be a very good choice to face-to-face teaching.
Alice in Wonderland by Tim Burton
Watching the film before reading the book (full-version) can help poor readers to comprehend challenging texts boosting them to a higher level of critical thinking and language analysis.
But if the class has read the book, you can display the movie (legally purchased), or ask the students to go to the movies, individually or in groups, and then ask them to write an essay on the differences between the film and the book, what new understanding of the story they came to after watching the film.
Alice in Wonderland
by Linda Woolverton
Puffin 2009
You can also use the book of the movie, screenplay by Linda Woolverton, Puffin Books, London 2009, to complete activities of reading and writing.
Propose an activity in small groups in order to exchange ideas, awaken each other's attention on aspects that they unnoticed and discuss questions raised by the teacher, now in a big group.
Finally, ask the students to rwrite some conclusions or an essay.
As teachers we can use this interest to help students learn to write and, at the same time, meet most of the curriculum standards associated with writing skills. When their heads are into it, young people can write far better than when they are simply doing an assignment. Narratives, perforce, put their heads into the task.
If you have English class as a Second Language, that's ok too! This will broaden students understanding of the words. They will also hear English language and its inflection, practice and improve their English skills in a attractive and innovative 3D environment.
Propose an activity in small groups in order to exchange ideas, awaken each other's attention on aspects that they unnoticed and discuss questions raised by the teacher, now in a big group.
Finally, ask the students to rwrite some conclusions or an essay.
As teachers we can use this interest to help students learn to write and, at the same time, meet most of the curriculum standards associated with writing skills. When their heads are into it, young people can write far better than when they are simply doing an assignment. Narratives, perforce, put their heads into the task.
If you have English class as a Second Language, that's ok too! This will broaden students understanding of the words. They will also hear English language and its inflection, practice and improve their English skills in a attractive and innovative 3D environment.
You can also display in the classrom this Youtube video where Johnny Depp presents his own character, "The Malicious Mad Hatter", and talks about Tim Burton ideas too.
With curly red hair sticking out from his quirky hat, a ghostly pallor and bohemian Victorian clothes, Johnny Depp is unrecognisable in his latest role.
It will be great to present some characters vocabulary.
Don't miss this dark version of the tea-drinking hat maker in Tim Burton's upcoming remake of Lewis Caroll classic which will be on scene next 5th March.
Social medias as Facebook or Twitter as teaching environments? Why not?! It's so exciting! But... always tutoring if they are under 13 years old.
Conclusions:
"It provides the necessary information to understand the educational benefits of digital resources and virtual worlds and to learn how to use them as educational and motivational resources."
Games in Schools
The challenge will not be in how to learn, but in how to use learning to create something more, to communicate.
My inspiration for this post is in my way of loving Teach with Tech!
G-Souto
19.02.2010
References:
Souto, G., Assessment of Digital Resources use in Education, V International Conference on Multimedia and ICT in Education (m-ICTE2009), Formatex, vol.II
Teachwithmovies
http://www.teachwithmovies.org/copyright.html
Games in School
http://games.eun.org/2009/09/teachers_handbook_on_how_to_us.html
Using Movies in the Classroom
