What is stop motion?
Stop motion is a
film created by hundreds or thousands of photos that are put together to a
film. Like the way Disney films was done in the beginning but then the pictures
was drawn.
You can see one
example of a stop motion film by this link below:
On you tube
there is a lot of stop motion films with lego and there are also films that
describe how to do stop motion.
Resources and how to use it
The resources
that it takes to do stop motion film are a simple digital camera and access to
a computer with some kind of film editing program for example windows
moviemaker.
Here is one you tube
video that describes how to import the pictures in windows movie maker and how
to work with the picture there. It also tells what stop motion is and what to
think about to do it from the beginning.
It is also a possibility to do stop motion with an I-pad because you can both take the pictures with the pad and do the editing.
How stop motion can be used by teachers and students
This can be used
in school to practice English in a different way and the same time work with technology
and perhaps integrate with other subjects for example art.
The films can be
a way to communicate. The teacher can do information films to the pupils to
give them information of a new task etc. Maybe it is a fun way to communicate
with the parents as well and tell them through a film what the pupils have been
working with.
The pupil can do
films as a form of accounting for a task to show what they have learned about a
subject through a stop motion animation. The students can also communicate with
others by sending the stop motion film to other classes with messengers or questions
to the receiver.
Other aspects (positive and negative)
One thing that
can be negative by working with stop motion films is that it takes long time
and both students and teacher have to be patient with that. Otherwise the films
will not be any good and the time is lost without the positive benefits of the
task or project. The benefit in doing films this way is that it does not demand
new advanced technology. Most schools have at least one digital camera and a
computer. Besides that I think that the pupils appropriate using technology in
school.
This could be a
smaller project if the school has limited resources. For example the pupils can
work together two or three with only one camera and when they are finished with
the camera another group takes over. Off course it would be easier if the whole
class did the project at the same time, but I want to point out that with a
little imagination as a teacher you can do a lot with little resources.
Lina
As I have been working in classrooms with pupils creating storys, fairytales and small books of their own many years in school, I can see how some of them would love to create films or small movies like this. As an additionary tool for retelling a story or making new ones up it must be a great tool fore some to work with. What I can´t see is, as you mention, how to find the time for it in todays english schedule? But as I usually try to give the children, a free chiose of expression, when they are to work with their story (displays, books, dramatizing,...) it might fit for some who allready are familiar to the technique. Otherwhise It will take a lot of resourses,time, for the teacher just to get them filming. But I can see the benefits of it. And the fun. And digital cameras is nowadays so cheap that we should be able to buy several, at least three or four for one class.... :o)
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