Consolarium

August 3rd, 2011

1st Class Kidz Digital: Meet the DJs 3/5

Derek Robertson

Comments: none Tags: Tags: cfe, curriculum for excellence
 : Categories Aberdeenshire, Curriculum for Excellence, Literacy

This is the third of a series of 5 blog posts about the 1st Class Kidz Digital radio project that took place in Hatton Cruden PS. Introductory post can be viewed here.

One of the most important ingredients in ant radio show id the presenter, or in the case of a music station, the DJs. I met with two sest of DJs at 1st Class Kidz Digital and chatted to both. First up are DJ Groove and DJ Tic-Tac. Have a listen to our chat:

These boys said a number of things during our chat that really chimed with me in terms of how this experience had impacted on them as learners. These phrases included,

“Mr Mier has given us the independence to work on this project”

“This radio project has made me look forward to coming to school, it’s not just textbooks now!”

“Everyone is focused on their jobs and we are all responsible…well most of us anyway!”

We learn from our mistakes…it’s a good experience to learn from your mistakes.”

I then met DJ DBoy and DJ Fluff Hop and chatted with them about what the inspiration for their comedy interludes were. To help me understand this they run through a rehearsal of their forthcoming show with me. Have a listen:

It is clear from that short chat with these boys just how involved and serious about this fun yet demanding learning experience they are. Watch out for these up and coming DJs on a local radio station near you in the future!

April 26th, 2011

School of Rock 10/10: Sting with VIP in NYC

Derek Robertson

Comments: 3 Comments » Tags: Tags: apple, cfe, Consolarium, game based learning, games based learning, gaming, Guitar Hero, ilife
 : Categories Curriculum for Excellence, Literacy, MFL, Music, Numeracy, West Dunbartonshire

The band Sting hail from P.7 at Gavinburn PS, Old Kilpatrick in West Dunbartonshire. Their song VIP in NYC is due for imminent release and will, the band hopes, be featured on playlists on your music player very soon! Have a listen to their song and watch the accompanying video that the band made to go along with it:

Look at what children can do when they are faced with a challenge that is set within a context that resonates with them. Look at what children can do when a school embraces and integrates ICT in such a way that children’s skill levels progress and develop over the years. Look at what children can do when ICTs are embedded in sound teaching and learning experiences. Just look at what our children can do!

The video that you have just watched clearly demonstrates a high level of ICT literacy in the use of video editing software to tell the story of their song. In this case (and in the other nine examples in this series of posts) iMovie, from the iLife suite of software from Apple, has been used and techniques such as green screen, stop-motion animation, time lapse and transitions have been confidently and competently employed by these children in amongst the basic skills of shooting, uploading and editing their movie. A question for us to consider is where do these chidren sit in relation to progress in the Curriculum for Excellence Technology Outcomes. What would you use in order to assess performance and progress here? Your comments in relation to this would be most welcome…

Meet the children behind the band….

I managed to grab some time to chat with the children behind Sting and I asked them a bit about their experience of the Band in a Box project at Gavinburn PS. Have a listen to what they had to say:

The whole idea of the Guitar Hero (Band in a Box) Project was that in keeping with methodologies that Primary teachers have employed for many years, the actual game is used rarely in class but it acts as the source from which a collaborative story can be constructed. This collaborative story acts as the contextual hub around which learning in other curricular areas can be structured in a cohesive, purposeful and relevant fashion. The main thrust of the collaborative story that is created in this project is that the children develop a character that joins a rock band. This character then lives and breathes along with the other band members and is the vehicle through which learning is situated. As a result, associated tasks are directly linked to the developing life of this ‘rock character’ and the suspension of disbelief is continually in play as these older P.7 children get themselves lost in the developing experiences of their character. This kind of activity has the potential, if used thoughtfully, to position the aims of Curriculum for Excellence in purposeful, challenging and appealing ways.

Let’s explore how aspects of curricular learning have been developed in this project by looking at some work done by the pupils in this band:

Curriculum for Excellence: Literacy

Literacy is at the heart of this project and in particular the need to work as an effective member of a team is central to success in this project. The teachers involved in the planning of this topic wanted to focus on developing children’s ability to work effectively in teams and so decided to refer to LIT 2-02a in order to assess this aspect of learning.

The children were also presented with literacy tasks that were challenging but that sat perfectly within the collaborative story that developed as their band took life. Here we can see how the band comes to life in a magazine article that has been written by the children. Look at how they have also demonstrated their ability to use a desktop publishing application in a confident and skilled way.

One of the band members from fellow Gavinburn PS stablemate’s Explosion gets interviewed

The teachers involved in the planning of this topic decided to refer to LIT 2-02a in order to assess this aspect of learning.

This example shows how the children have demonstrated their understanding of functional writing for an audience in the creation of a merchandise ordering form for distribution to parents and other guests at the school’s Band in a Box open evening. Look at how they have also demonstrated their ability to use a desktop publishing application in a confident and skilled way.

Sting’s merchandise ordering form

The teachers involved in the planning of this topic decided to refer to LIT 2-27a in order to assess this aspect of learning.

Our experiences over the past few years in using the Guitar Hero/Band in a Box idea have been that the initial stages of setting up the band and developing a rock alter-ego to partner the pupil on the collaborative learning journey they undertake as their ‘band evolves can be very powerful. Here we meet the band members of Kcor as described by the children in the earlier stages of the project:

Meet Ozzy Pavlova from Sting

Meet Kat Marton from Sting

Meet Mason Alexander from Sting

Meet Sami Forret from Sting

The teachers involved were very interested to ensure that the performance aspects of children’s work over the course of this project and so ensured that the following outcomes were also at the heart of the planning process: Spelling LIT 2-12a, Punctuation and Structure LIT 2-22a, Sense and Purpose LIT 2-23a

Curriculum for Excellence: Numeracy
One of the earlier ideas that came with the beginnings of the Guitar Hero in class project work was the opportunity to include a European Tour. This allowed exploration of European countries but also an opportunity to present purposeful, challenging and appealing tasks involving the use of money. The idea of costing a tour was born. At Gavinburn PS, however, they have taken that a step further… Direct links with learning French are maximised because each of the bands receives a letter from a French music agent who invites them to visit a French city and play a gig there. A budget is in place and the children then have to work out all travel and accommodation costs to fulfil that gig.

Sting’s Lyon trip budget breakdown

The teachers involved in the planning of this topic decided to refer to MNU 2-09a in order to assess this aspect of learning.

Curriculum for Excellence: Music

With the use of Garageband from the iLife suite of tools that comes installed on Mac computers, the group was able to structure and compose an original song. The music you are listening to was put together using the preset loops available within Garageband. Inspired by contemporary music from the rock and R’n’B world as well as the Guitar Hero tracks, the group decided on the style of song the group wanted to compose. They auditioned and selected guitar riffs, drum patterns, bass lines and piano fills, as well as textures and other loops from hundreds of samples available. The group then created the track by arranging and layering their selected loops into verses, choruses and musical breaks. Once the original backing track was created, they then recorded the vocals. Looking at the Expressive Arts Music outcomes, it is clear to see that these young learners are displaying evidence of EXA 2-18a and EXA 3-17a.

Curriculum for Excellence: Modern Foreign Languages

Following on from the budget task the children then had to script and record their interview with a French music journalist. It is interesting to note that the Headteacher and the class teachers noting a marked change in attitude to learning French as a result of it being situated within this context. This also came through in discusions with the children.

Sting’s French music journalist interview script

The teachers involved in the planning of this topic decided to refer to M.LAN 2-07b in order to assess this aspect of learning.

Have a listen to Sting’s interview with a French music journalist:

The teachers involved in the planning of this topic decided to refer to M.LAN 2-03b in order to assess this aspect of learning.

Congratulations to all the children involved in the band Sting and to the staff at Gavinburn PS for enabling these pupils to meet the challenge of Band in a Box in such a confident and successful fashion.

Visit the other nine posts as well to see how this work was not a one-off.

April 26th, 2011

School of Rock 9/10: Riot! with The Start of the Beginning

Derek Robertson

Comments: 2 Comments » Tags: Tags: apple, cfe, Consolarium, game based learning, games based learning, gaming, Guitar Hero, ilife
 : Categories Curriculum for Excellence, Literacy, MFL, Music, Numeracy, West Dunbartonshire

The band Riot! hail from P.7 at Gavinburn PS, Old Kilpatrick in West Dunbartonshire. Their song The Start of the Beginning is due for imminent release and will, the band hopes, be featured on playlists on your music player very soon! Have a listen to their song and watch the accompanying video that the band made to go along with it:

Look at what children can do when they are faced with a challenge that is set within a context that resonates with them. Look at what children can do when a school embraces and integrates ICT in such a way that children’s skill levels progress and develop over the years. Look at what children can do when ICTs are embedded in sound teaching and learning experiences. Just look at what our children can do!

The video that you have just watched clearly demonstrates a high level of ICT literacy in the use of video editing software to tell the story of their song. In this case (and in the other nine examples in this series of posts) iMovie, from the iLife suite of software from Apple, has been used and techniques such as green screen, stop-motion animation, time lapse and transitions have been confidently and competently employed by these children in amongst the basic skills of shooting, uploading and editing their movie. A question for us to consider is where do these chidren sit in relation to progress in the Curriculum for Excellence Technology Outcomes. What would you use in order to assess performance and progress here? Your comments in relation to this would be most welcome…

Meet the children behind the band…

I managed to grab some time to chat with the children behind Riot! and I asked them a bit about their experience of the Band in a Box project at Gavinburn PS. Have a listen to what they had to say:

The whole idea of the Guitar Hero (Band in a Box) Project was that in keeping with methodologies that Primary teachers have employed for many years, the actual game is used rarely in class but it acts as the source from which a collaborative story can be constructed. This collaborative story acts as the contextual hub around which learning in other curricular areas can be structured in a cohesive, purposeful and relevant fashion. The main thrust of the collaborative story that is created in this project is that the children develop a character that joins a rock band. This character then lives and breathes along with the other band members and is the vehicle through which learning is situated. As a result, associated tasks are directly linked to the developing life of this ‘rock character’ and the suspension of disbelief is continually in play as these older P.7 children get themselves lost in the developing experiences of their character. This kind of activity has the potential, if used thoughtfully, to position the aims of Curriculum for Excellence in purposeful, challenging and appealing ways.

Let’s explore how aspects of curricular learning have been developed in this project by looking at some work done by the pupils in this band:

Curriculum for Excellence: Literacy

Literacy is at the heart of this project and in particular the need to work as an effective member of a team is central to success in this project. The teachers involved in the planning of this topic wanted to focus on developing children’s ability to work effectively in teams and so decided to refer to LIT 2-02a in order to assess this aspect of learning.

The children were also presented with many literacy tasks that were challenging but that sat perfectly within the collaborative story that developed as their band took life. This example shows how the children have demonstrated their understanding of functional writing for an audience in the creation of a merchandise ordering form for distribution to parents and other guests at the school’s Band in a Box open evening. Look at how they have also demonstrated their ability to use a desktop publishing application in a confident and skilled way.

Riot!’s merchandise ordering form

The teachers involved in the planning of this topic decided to refer to LIT 2-02a in order to assess this aspect of learning.

Our experiences over the past few years in using the Guitar Hero/Band in a Box idea have been that the initial stages of setting up the band and developing a rock alter-ego to partner the pupil on the collaborative learning journey they undertake as their ‘band evolves can be very powerful. Here we meet the band members of Kcor as described by the children in the earlier stages of the project:

Meet Anton Weiss Blue from Riot!

Meet Dax Carmine from Riot!

Meet Frankie from Riot!

The teachers involved were very interested to ensure that the performance aspects of children’s work over the course of this project and so ensured that the following outcomes were also at the heart of the planning process: Spelling LIT 2-12a, Punctuation and Structure LIT 2-22a, Sense and Purpose LIT 2-23a

Curriculum for Excellence: Music

With the use of Garageband from the iLife suite of tools that comes installed on Mac computers, the group was able to structure and compose an original song. The music you are listening to was put together using the preset loops available within Garageband. Inspired by contemporary music from the rock and R’n’B world as well as the Guitar Hero tracks, the group decided on the style of song the group wanted to compose. They auditioned and selected guitar riffs, drum patterns, bass lines and piano fills, as well as textures and other loops from hundreds of samples available. The group then created the track by arranging and layering their selected loops into verses, choruses and musical breaks. Once the original backing track was created, they then recorded the vocals. Looking at the Expressive Arts Music outcomes, it is clear to see that these young learners are displaying evidence of EXA 2-18a and EXA 3-17a.

Curriculum for Excellence: Modern Foreign Languages

Following on from the budget task the children then had to script and record their interview with a French music journalist. It is interesting to note that the Headteacher and the class teachers noting a marked change in attitude to learning French as a result of it being situated within this context. This also came through in discusions with the children.

Riot!’s French music journalist interview script

The teachers involved in the planning of this topic decided to refer to M.LAN 2-07b in order to assess this aspect of learning.

Have a listen to Kcor’s interview with a French music journalist:

The teachers involved in the planning of this topic decided to refer to M.LAN 2-03b in order to assess this aspect of learning.

Congratulations to all the children involved in the band Kcor and to the staff at Gavinburn PS for enabling these pupils to meet the challenge of Band in a Box in such a confident and successful fashion.

Visit the other nine posts as well to see how this work was not a one-off.

April 25th, 2011

School of Rock 8/10: Kcor with Party on Our Own

Derek Robertson

Comments: 4 Comments » Tags: Tags: apple, cfe, Consolarium, game based learning, games based learning, gaming, Guitar Hero, ilife
 : Categories Curriculum for Excellence, Literacy, MFL, Music, Numeracy, West Dunbartonshire

The band Kcor hails from P.7 at Gavinburn PS, Old Kilpatrick in West Dunbartonshire. Their song Party On Our Own is due for imminent release and will, the band hopes, be featured on playlists on your music player very soon! Have a listen to their song and watch the accompanying video that the band made to go along with it:

Look at what children can do when they are faced with a challenge that is set within a context that resonates with them. Look at what children can do when a school embraces and integrates ICT in such a way that children’s skill levels progress and develop over the years. Look at what children can do when ICTs are embedded in sound teaching and learning experiences. Just look at what our children can do!

The video that you have just watched clearly demonstrates a high level of ICT literacy in the use of video editing software to tell the story of their song. In this case (and in the other nine examples in this series of posts) iMovie, from the iLife suite of software from Apple, has been used and techniques such as green screen, stop-motion animation, time lapse and transitions have been confidently and competently employed by these children in amongst the basic skills of shooting, uploading and editing their movie. A question for us to consider is where do these chidren sit in relation to progress in the Curriculum for Excellence Technology Outcomes. What would you use in order to assess performance and progress here? Your comments in relation to this would be most welcome…

Meet the children behind the band…

I managed to grab some time to chat with the children behind Kcor (pronounced core and did you notice it is rock backwards?!) and I asked them a bit about their experience of the Band in a Box project at Gavinburn PS. Have a listen to what they had to say:

The whole idea of the Guitar Hero (Band in a Box) Project was that in keeping with methodologies that Primary teachers have employed for many years, the actual game is used rarely in class but it acts as the source from which a collaborative story can be constructed. This collaborative story acts as the contextual hub around which learning in other curricular areas can be structured in a cohesive, purposeful and relevant fashion. The main thrust of the collaborative story that is created in this project is that the children develop a character that joins a rock band. This character then lives and breathes along with the other band members and is the vehicle through which learning is situated. As a result, associated tasks are directly linked to the developing life of this ‘rock character’ and the suspension of disbelief is continually in play as these older P.7 children get themselves lost in the developing experiences of their character. This kind of activity has the potential, if used thoughtfully, to position the aims of Curriculum for Excellence in purposeful, challenging and appealing ways.

Let’s explore how aspects of curricular learning have been developed in this project by looking at some work done by the pupils in this band:

Curriculum for Excellence: Literacy

Literacy is at the heart of this project and in particular the need to work as an effective member of a team is central to success in this project. The teachers involved in the planning of this topic wanted to focus on developing children’s ability to work effectively in teams and so decided to refer to LIT 2-02a in order to assess this aspect of learning.

The children were also presented with many literacy tasks that were challenging but that sat perfectly within the collaborative story that developed as their band took life. This example shows how the children have demonstratedb their understanding of writing in na functional way and for an audience in the creation of a merchandise ordering form for distribution to parents and other guests at the school’s Band in a Box open evening. Look at how they have also demonstrated their ability to use a desktop publishing application in a confident and skilled way.

Kcor’s merchandise ordering form

The teachers involved in the planning of this topic decided to refer to LIT 2-02a in order to assess this aspect of learning.

Our experiences over the past few years in using the Guitar Hero/Band in a Box idea have been that the initial stages of setting up the band and developing a rock alter-ego to partner the pupil on the collaborative learning journey they undertake as their ‘band evolves can be very powerful. Here we meet the band members of Kcor as described by the children in the earlier stages of the project:

Meet Adelye Rose Blue from Kcor

Meet Flip from Kcor

Meet Princess Ame Lee from Kcor

The teachers involved were very interested to ensure that the performance aspects of children’s work over the course of this project and so ensured that the following outcomes were also at the heart of the planning process: Spelling LIT 2-12a, Punctuation and Structure LIT 2-22a, Sense and Purpose LIT 2-23a

Curriculum for Excellence: Music

With the use of Garageband from the iLife suite of tools that comes installed on Mac computers, the group was able to structure and compose an original song. The music you are listening to was put together using the preset loops available within Garageband. Inspired by contemporary music from the rock and R’n’B world as well as the Guitar Hero tracks, the group decided on the style of song the group wanted to compose. They auditioned and selected guitar riffs, drum patterns, bass lines and piano fills, as well as textures and other loops from hundreds of samples available. The group then created the track by arranging and layering their selected loops into verses, choruses and musical breaks. Once the original backing track was created, they then recorded the vocals. Looking at the Expressive Arts Music outcomes, it is clear to see that these young learners are displaying evidence of EXA 2-18a and EXA 3-17a.

Curriculum for Excellence: Modern Foreign Languages

Following on from the budget task the children then had to script and record their interview with a French music journalist. It is interesting to note that the Headteacher and the class teachers noting a marked change in attitude to learning French as a result of it being situated within this context. This also came through in discusions with the children.

Kcor’s French music interview script

The teachers involved in the planning of this topic decided to refer to M.LAN 2-07b in order to assess this aspect of learning.

Have a listen to Kcor’s interview with a French music journalist:

The teachers involved in the planning of this topic decided to refer to M.LAN 2-03b in order to assess this aspect of learning.

Congratulations to all the children involved in the band Kcor and to the staff at Gavinburn PS for enabling these pupils to meet the challenge of Band in a Box in such a confident and successful fashion.

Visit the other nine posts as well to see how this work was not a one-off.

April 25th, 2011

School of Rock 7/10: Starstruck with High School Boy

Derek Robertson

Comments: 2 Comments » Tags: Tags: apple, cfe, Consolarium, game based learning, games based learning, gaming, Guitar Hero, ilfe
 : Categories Curriculum for Excellence, Literacy, MFL, Music, Numeracy, West Dunbartonshire

The band Starstruck hails from P.7 at Gavinburn PS, Old Kilpatrick in West Dunbartonshire. Their song is due for imminent release and will, the band hopes, be featured on playlists on your music player very soon! Have a listen to their song and watch the accompanying video that the band made to go along with it:

Look at what children can do when they are faced with a challenge that is set within a context that resonates with them. Look at what children can do when a school embraces and integrates ICT in such a way that children’s skill levels progress and develop over the years. Look at what children can do when ICTs are embedded in sound teaching and learning experiences. Just look at what our children can do!

The video that you have just watched clearly demonstrates a high level of ICT literacy in the use of video editing software to tell the story of their song. In this case (and in the other nine examples in this series of posts) iMovie, from the iLife suite of software from Apple, has been used and techniques such as green screen, stop-motion animation, time lapse and transitions have been confidently and competently employed by these children in amongst the basic skills of shooting, uploading and editing their movie. A question for us to consider is where do these chidren sit in relation to progress in the Curriculum for Excellence Technology Outcomes. What would you use in order to assess performance and progress here? Your comments in relation to this would be most welcome…

Meet the children behind the band…

I managed to grab some time to chat with the children behind Starstruck and I asked them a bit about their experience of the Band in a Box project at Gavinburn PS. Have a listen to what they had to say:

The whole idea of the Guitar Hero (Band in a Box) Project was that in keeping with methodologies that Primary teachers have employed for many years, the actual game is used rarely in class but it acts as the source from which a collaborative story can be constructed. This collaborative story acts as the contextual hub around which learning in other curricular areas can be structured in a cohesive, purposeful and relevant fashion. The main thrust of the collaborative story that is created in this project is that the children develop a character that joins a rock band. This character then lives and breathes along with the other band members and is the vehicle through which learning is situated. As a result, associated tasks are directly linked to the developing life of this ‘rock character’ and the suspension of disbelief is continually in play as these older P.7 children get themselves lost in the developing experiences of their character. This kind of activity has the potential, if used thoughtfully, to position the aims of Curriculum for Excellence in purposeful, challenging and appealing ways.

Let’s explore how aspects of curricular learning have been developed in this project by looking at some work done by the pupils in this band:

Curriculum for Excellence: Literacy

Literacy is at the heart of this project and in particular the need to work as an effective member of a team is central to success in this project. The teachers involved in the planning of this topic wanted to focus on developing children’s ability to work effectively in teams and so decided to refer to LIT 2-02a in order to assess this aspect of learning.

The children were also presented with many literacy tasks that were challenging but that sat perfectly within the collaborative story that developed as their band took life. This example shows how the children have demonstratedb their understanding of writing in na functional way and for an audience in the creation of a merchandise ordering form for distribution to parents and other guests at the school’s Band in a Box open evening. Look at how they have also demonstrated their ability to use a desktop publishing application in a confident and skilled way.

Starstruck’s merchandise ordering form

The teachers involved in the planning of this topic decided to refer to LIT 2-02a in order to assess this aspect of learning.

Our experiences over the past few years in using the Guitar Hero/Band in a Box idea have been that the initial stages of setting up the band and developing a rock alter-ego to partner the pupil on the collaborative learning journey they undertake as their ‘band evolves can be very powerful. Here we meet the band members of Starstruck as described by the children in the earlier stages of the project:

Meet Thor from Starstruck

Meet Lacie Dewinter from Starstruck

Meet Marlyn Rose Taylor from Starstruck

Meet Olivia Rose from Starstruck

The teachers involved were very interested to ensure that the performance aspects of children’s work over the course of this project and so ensured that the following outcomes were also at the heart of the planning process: Spelling LIT 2-12a, Punctuation and Structure LIT 2-22a, Sense and Purpose LIT 2-23a

Curriculum for Excellence: Numeracy
One of the earlier ideas that came with the beginnings of the Guitar Hero in class project work was the opportunity to include a European Tour. This allowed exploration of European countries but also an opportunity to present purposeful, challenging and appealing tasks involving the use of money. The idea of costing a tour was born. At Gavinburn PS, however, they have taken that a step further… Direct links with learning French are maximised because each of the bands receives a letter from a French music agent who invites them to visit a French city and play a gig there. A budget is in place and the children then have to work out all travel and accommodation costs to fulfil that gig.

Starstruck’s Bordeaux trip itinerary and budget breakdown

The teachers involved in the planning of this topic decided to refer to MNU 2-09a in order to assess this aspect of learning.

Curriculum for Excellence: Music

With the use of Garageband from the iLife suite of tools that comes installed on Mac computers, the group was able to structure and compose an original song. The music you are listening to was put together using the preset loops available within Garageband. Inspired by contemporary music from the rock and R’n’B world as well as the Guitar Hero tracks, the group decided on the style of song the group wanted to compose. They auditioned and selected guitar riffs, drum patterns, bass lines and piano fills, as well as textures and other loops from hundreds of samples available. The group then created the track by arranging and layering their selected loops into verses, choruses and musical breaks. Once the original backing track was created, they then recorded the vocals. Looking at the Expressive Arts Music outcomes, it is clear to see that these young learners are displaying evidence of EXA 2-18a and EXA 3-17a.

Curriculum for Excellence: Modern Foreign Languages

Following on from the budget task the children then had to script and record their interview with a French music journalist. It is interesting to note that the Headteacher and the class teachers noting a marked change in attitude to learning French as a result of it being situated within this context. This also came through in discusions with the children.

Starstruck’s French music interview script

The teachers involved in the planning of this topic decided to refer to M.LAN 2-07b in order to assess this aspect of learning.

Have a listen to Starstruck’s interview with a French music journalist:

The teachers involved in the planning of this topic decided to refer to M.LAN 2-03b in order to assess this aspect of learning.

Congratulations to all the children involved in the band Starstruck and to the staff at Gavinburn PS for enabling these pupils to meet the challenge of Band in a Box in such a confident and successful fashion.

Visit the other nine posts as well to see how this work was not a one-off.

April 25th, 2011

School of Rock 6/10: Explosion with Poison

Derek Robertson

Comments: 3 Comments » Tags: Tags: apple, cfe, Consolarium, game based learning, games based learning, gaming, Guitar Hero, ilife
 : Categories Curriculum for Excellence, Literacy, MFL, Music, Numeracy, West Dunbartonshire

The band Explosion hails from P.7 at Gavinburn PS, Old Kilpatrick in West Dunbartonshire. Their song Poison is due for imminent release and will, the band hopes, be featured on playlists on your music player very soon! Have a listen to their song and watch the accompanying video that the band made to go along with it:

Look at what children can do when they are faced with a challenge that is set within a context that resonates with them. Look at what children can do when a school embraces and integrates ICT in such a way that children’s skill levels progress and develop over the years. Look at what children can do when ICTs are embedded in sound teaching and learning experiences. Just look at what our children can do!

The video that you have just watched clearly demonstrates a high level of ICT literacy in the use of video editing software to tell the story of their song. In this case (and in the other nine examples in this series of posts) iMovie, from the iLife suite of software from Apple, has been used and techniques such as green screen, stop-motion animation, time lapse and transitions have been confidently and competently employed by these children in amongst the basic skills of shooting, uploading and editing their movie. A question for us to consider is where do these chidren sit in relation to progress in the Curriculum for Excellence Technology Outcomes. What would you use in order to assess performance and progress here? Your comments in relation to this would be most welcome…

Meet the children behind the band…

I managed to grab some time to chat with the children behind Explosion and I asked them a bit about their experience of the band in a Box project at Gavinburn PS. Have a listen to what they had to say:

The whole idea of the Guitar Hero (Band in a Box) Project was that in keeping with methodologies that Primary teachers have employed for many years, the actual game is used rarely in class but it acts as the source from which a collaborative story can be constructed. This collaborative story acts as the contextual hub around which learning in other curricular areas can be structured in a cohesive, purposeful and relevant fashion. The main thrust of the collaborative story that is created in this project is that the children develop a character that joins a rock band. This character then lives and breathes along with the other band members and is the vehicle through which learning is situated. As a result, associated tasks are directly linked to the developing life of this ‘rock character’ and the suspension of disbelief is continually in play as these older P.7 children get themselves lost in the developing experiences of their character. This kind of activity has the potential, if used thoughtfully, to position the aims of Curriculum for Excellence in purposeful, challenging and appealing ways.

Let’s explore how aspects of curricular learning have been developed in this project by looking at some work done by the pupils in this band:

Curriculum for Excellence: Literacy

Literacy is at the heart of this project and in particular the need to work as an effective member of a team is central to success in this project. The teachers involved in the planning of this topic wanted to focus on developing children’s ability to work effectively in teams and so decided to refer to LIT 2-02a in order to assess this aspect of learning.

The children were also presented with many literacy tasks that were challenging but that sat perfectly within the collaborative story that developed as their band took life. This example shows how the children have demonstratedb their understanding of writing in na functional way and for an audience in the creation of a merchandise ordering form for distribution to parents and other guests at the school’s Band in a Box open evening. Look at how they have also demonstrated their ability to use a desktop publishing application in a confident and skilled way.

Explosion’s merchandise ordering form

The teachers involved in the planning of this topic decided to refer to LIT 2-02a in order to assess this aspect of learning.

Our experiences over the past few years in using the Guitar Hero/Band in a Box idea have been that the initial stages of setting up the band and developing a rock alter-ego to partner the pupil on the collaborative learning journey they undertake as their ‘band evolves can be very powerful. Here we meet the band members of Explosion as described by the children in the earlier dtages fo the project:

Meet Jay Jay from Explosion

Meet AJ from Explosion

Meet Ruby Ramone from Explosion

Meet Aili from Explosion

The teachers involved were very interested to ensure that the performance aspects of children’s work over the course of this project and so ensured that the following outcomes were also at the heart of the planning process: Spelling LIT 2-12a, Punctuation and Structure LIT 2-22a, Sense and Purpose LIT 2-23a

Curriculum for Excellence: Numeracy
One of the earlier ideas that came with the beginnings of the Guitar Hero in class project work was the opportunity to include a European Tour. This allowed exploration of European countries but also an opportunity to present purposeful, challenging and appealing tasks involving the use of money. The idea of costing a tour was born. At Gavinburn PS, however, they have taken that a step further… Direct links with learning French are maximised because each of the bands receives a letter from a French music agent who invites them to visit a French city and play a gig there. A budget is in place and the children then have to work out all travel and accommodation costs to fulfil that gig.

Explosion’s Marseille trip itinerary and budget breakdown

The teachers involved in the planning of this topic decided to refer to MNU 2-09a in order to assess this aspect of learning.

Curriculum for Excellence: Music

With the use of Garageband from the iLife suite of tools that comes installed on Mac computers, the group was able to structure and compose an original song. The music you are listening to was put together using the preset loops available within Garageband. Inspired by contemporary music from the rock and R’n’B world as well as the Guitar Hero tracks, the group decided on the style of song the group wanted to compose. They auditioned and selected guitar riffs, drum patterns, bass lines and piano fills, as well as textures and other loops from hundreds of samples available. The group then created the track by arranging and layering their selected loops into verses, choruses and musical breaks. Once the original backing track was created, they then recorded the vocals. Looking at the Expressive Arts Music outcomes, it is clear to see that these young learners are displaying evidence of EXA 2-18a and EXA 3-17a.

Curriculum for Excellence: Modern Foreign Languages

Following on from the budget task the children then had to script and record their interview with a French music journalist. It is interesting to note that the Headteacher and the class teachers noting a marked change in attitude to learning French as a result of it being situated within this context. This also came through in discusions with the children.

Explosion’s French music interview script

The teachers involved in the planning of this topic decided to refer to M.LAN 2-07b in order to assess this aspect of learning.

Have a listen to Explosion’s interview with a French music journalist:

The teachers involved in the planning of this topic decided to refer to M.LAN 2-03b in order to assess this aspect of learning.

Congratulations to all the children involved in the band Explosion and to the staff at Gavinburn PS for enabling these pupils to meet the challenge of Band in a Box in such a confident and successful fashion.

Visit the other nine posts as well to see how this work was not a one-off.

April 25th, 2011

School of Rock 5/10: Skulls and Rockbones with Fear

Derek Robertson

Comments: 3 Comments » Tags: Tags: apple, cfe, Consolarium, game based learning, games based learning, gaming, Guitar Hero, ilife
 : Categories Curriculum for Excellence, Literacy, MFL, Music, Numeracy, West Dunbartonshire

The band Skulls and Rockbones hail from P.7 at Gavinburn PS, Old Kilpatrick in West Dunbartonshire. Their song Fear is due for imminent release and will, the band hopes, be featured on playlists on your music player very soon! Have a listen to their song and watch the accompanying video that the band made to go along with it:

Look at what children can do when they are faced with a challenge that is set within a context that resonates with them. Look at what children can do when a school embraces and integrates ICT in such a way that children’s skill levels progress and develop over the years. Look at what children can do when ICTs are embedded in sound teaching and learning experiences. Just look at what our children can do!

The video that you have just watched clearly demonstrates a high level of ICT literacy in the use of video editing software to tell the story of their song. In this case (and in the other nine examples in this series of posts) iMovie, from the iLife suite of software from Apple, has been used and techniques such as green screen, stop-motion animation, time lapse and transitions have been confidently and competently employed by these children in amongst the basic skills of shooting, uploading and editing their movie. A question for us to consider is where do these chidren sit in relation to progress in the Curriculum for Excellence Technology Outcomes. What would you use in order to assess performance and progress here? Your comments in relation to this would be most welcome…

Meet the children behind the band…

I managed to grab some time to chat with the children behind Skulls and Rockbones and I asked them a bit about their experience of the band in a Box project at Gavinburn PS. Have a listen to what they had to say:

The whole idea of the Guitar Hero (Band in a Box) Project was that in keeping with methodologies that Primary teachers have employed for many years, the actual game is used rarely in class but it acts as the source from which a collaborative story can be constructed. This collaborative story acts as the contextual hub around which learning in other curricular areas can be structured in a cohesive, purposeful and relevant fashion. The main thrust of the collaborative story that is created in this project is that the children develop a character that joins a rock band. This character then lives and breathes along with the other band members and is the vehicle through which learning is situated. As a result, associated tasks are directly linked to the developing life of this ‘rock character’ and the suspension of disbelief is continually in play as these older P.7 children get themselves lost in the developing experiences of their character. This kind of activity has the potential, if used thoughtfully, to position the aims of Curriculum for Excellence in purposeful, challenging and appealing ways.

Let’s explore how aspects of curricular learning have been developed in this project by looking at some work done by the pupils in this band:

Curriculum for Excellence: Literacy

Literacy is at the heart of this project and in particular the need to work as an effective member of a team is central to success in this project. The teachers involved in the planning of this topic wanted to focus on developing children’s ability to work effectively in teams and so decided to refer to LIT 2-02a in order to assess this aspect of learning.

The children were also presented with literacy tasks that were challenging but that sat perfectly within the collaborative story that developed as their band took life. Here we can see how the band comes to life in a magazine article that has been written by the children. Look at how they have also demonstrated their ability to use a desktop publishing application in a confident and skilled way.

Skulls and Rockbones Magazine Article

The teachers involved in the planning of this topic decided to refer to LIT 2-02a in order to assess this aspect of learning.

Our experiences over the past few years in using the Guitar Hero/Band in a Box idea have been that the initial stages of setting up the band and developing a rock alter-ego to partner the pupil on the collaborative learning journey they undertake as their ‘band’ evolves can be very powerful. Here we meet some of the band members of Skulls and Rockbones as described by the children in these biographies (ENG 2-31a) written in the early stages of the project:

Meet Ash Rock from Skulls and Rockbones part1, part (2),

Meet Ace Wilde from Skulls and Rockbones

Meet Ashton De Lorean from Skulls and Rockbones

The teachers involved were very interested to ensure that the performance aspects of children’s work over the course of this project and so ensured that the following outcomes were also at the heart of the planning process: Spelling LIT 2-12a, Punctuation and Structure LIT 2-22a, Sense and Purpose LIT 2-23a

Curriculum for Excellence: Numeracy

One of the earlier ideas that came with the beginnings of the Guitar Hero in class project work was the opportunity to include a European Tour. This allowed exploration of European countries but also an opportunity to present purposeful, challenging and appealing tasks involving the use of money. The idea of costing a tour was born. At Gavinburn PS, however, they have taken that a step further… Direct links with learning French are maximised because each of the bands receives a letter from a French music agent who invites them to visit a French city and play a gig there. A budget is in place and the children then have to work out all travel and accommodation costs to fulfil that gig.

Skulls and Rockbones’ Bordeaux trip itinerary

Skulls and Rockbones’ Bordeaux trip budget breakdown

The teachers involved in the planning of this topic decided to refer to MNU 2-09a in order to assess this aspect of learning.

Curriculum for Excellence: Music

With the use of Garageband from the iLife suite of tools that comes installed on Mac computers, the group was able to structure and compose an original song. The music you are listening to was put together using the preset loops available within Garageband. Inspired by contemporary music from the rock and R’n’B world as well as the Guitar Hero tracks, the group decided on the style of song the group wanted to compose. They auditioned and selected guitar riffs, drum patterns, bass lines and piano fills, as well as textures and other loops from hundreds of samples available. The group then created the track by arranging and layering their selected loops into verses, choruses and musical breaks. Once the original backing track was created, they then recorded the vocals. Looking at the Expressive Arts Music outcomes, it is clear to see that these young learners are displaying evidence of EXA 2-18a and EXA 3-17a.

Curriculum for Excellence: Modern Foreign Languages

Following on from the budget task the children then had to script and record their interview with a French music journalist. It is interesting to note that the Headteacher and the class teachers noting a marked change in attitude to learning French as a result of it being situated within this context. This also came through in discusions with the children.

Skulls and Rockbones’ French music interview script

The teachers involved in the planning of this topic decided to refer to M.LAN 2-07b in order to assess this aspect of learning.

Have a listen to Skulls and Rockbone’s interview with a French music journalist:

The teachers involved in the planning of this topic decided to refer to M.LAN 2-03b in order to assess this aspect of learning.

Congratulations to all the children involved in the band Skulls and Rockbones and to the staff at Gavinburn PS for enabling these pupils to meet the challenge of Band in a Box in such a confident and successful fashion.

Visit the other nine posts as well to see how this work was not a one-off.

April 25th, 2011

School of Rock 4/10: Red Hot Ice with Burning Love

Derek Robertson

Comments: 2 Comments » Tags: Tags: apple, cfe, Consolarium, game based learning, games based learning, gaming, Guitar Hero, ilife
 : Categories Curriculum for Excellence, Literacy, MFL, Music, Numeracy, West Dunbartonshire

The band Red Hot Ice hail from P.7 at Gavinburn PS, Old Kilpatrick in West Dunbartonshire. Their song Burning Love is due for imminent release and will, the band hopes, be featured on playlists on your music player very soon! Have a listen to their song and watch the accompanying video that the band made to go along with it:

Look at what children can do when they are faced with a challenge that is set within a context that resonates with them. Look at what children can do when a school embraces and integrates ICT in such a way that children’s skill levels progress and develop over the years. Look at what children can do when ICTs are embedded in sound teaching and learning experiences. Just look at what our children can do!

The video that you have just watched clearly demonstrates a high level of ICT literacy in the use of video editing software to tell the story of their song. In this case (and in the other nine examples in this series of posts) iMovie, from the iLife suite of software from Apple, has been used and techniques such as green screen, time lapse and transitions have been confidently and competently employed by these children in amongst the basic skills of shooting, uploading and editing their movie. A question for us to consider is where do these chidren sit in relation to progress in the Curriculum for Excellence Technology Outcomes. What would you use in order to assess performance and progress here? Your comments in relation to this would be most welcome…

Meet the children behind the band…

I managed to grab some time to chat with the children behind Red Hot Ice and I asked them a bit about their experience of the band in a Box project at Gavinburn PS. Have a listen to what they had to say:

The whole idea of the Guitar Hero (Band in a Box) Project was that in keeping with methodologies that Primary teachers have employed for many years, the actual game is used rarely in class but it acts as the source from which a collaborative story can be constructed. This collaborative story acts as the contextual hub around which learning in other curricular areas can be structured in a cohesive, purposeful and relevant fashion. The main thrust of the collaborative story that is created in this project is that the children develop a character that joins a rock band. This character then lives and breathes along with the other band members and is the vehicle through which learning is situated. As a result, associated tasks are directly linked to the developing life of this ‘rock character’ and the suspension of disbelief is continually in play as these older P.7 children get themselves lost in the developing experiences of their character. This kind of activity has the potential, if used thoughtfully, to position the aims of Curriculum for Excellence in purposeful, challenging and appealing ways.

Let’s explore how aspects of curricular learning have been developed in this project by looking at some work done by the pupils in this band:

Curriculum for Excellence: Literacy

Literacy is at the heart of this project and in particular the need to work as an effective member of a team is central to success in this project. The teachers involved in the planning of this topic wanted to focus on developing children’s ability to work effectively in teams and so decided to refer to LIT 2-02a in order to assess this aspect of learning.

The children were also presented with literacy tasks that were challenging but that sat perfectly within the collaborative story that developed as their band took life. Here we can see how the band comes to life in a magazine article that has been written by the children. Look at how they have also demonstrated their ability to use a desktop publishing application in a confident and skilled way.

Red Hot Ice’s Magazine Article

The teachers involved in the planning of this topic decided to refer to LIT 2-02a in order to assess this aspect of learning.

Our experiences over the past few years in using the Guitar Hero/Band in a Box idea have been that the initial stages of setting up the band and developing a rock alter-ego to partner the pupil on the collaborative learning journey they undertake as their ‘band’ evolves can be very powerful. Here we meet some of the band members of Red Hot Ice as described by the children in these biographies (ENG 2-31a) written in the early stages of the project:

Meet Rachel Burns from Red Hot Ice part1, part (2),

Meet Dexter Sting Wilde from Red Hot Ice

Meet Ksomi Kasati from Red Hot Ice

The teachers involved were very interested to ensure that the performance aspects of children’s work over the course of this project and so ensured that the following outcomes were also at the heart of the planning process: Spelling LIT 2-12a, Punctuation and Structure LIT 2-22a, Sense and Purpose LIT 2-23a

Curriculum for Excellence: Numeracy
One of the earlier ideas that came with the beginnings of the Guitar Hero in class project work was the opportunity to include a European Tour. This allowed exploration of European countries but also an opportunity to present purposeful, challenging and appealing tasks involving the use of money. The idea of costing a tour was born. At Gavinburn PS, however, they have taken that a step further… Direct links with learning French are maximised because each of the bands receives a letter from a French music agent who invites them to visit a French city and play a gig there. A budget is in place and the children then have to work out all travel and accommodation costs to fulfil that gig.

Red Hot Ice Lyon trip itinerary

Red Hot Ice’s Lyon trip budget breakdown

The teachers involved in the planning of this topic decided to refer to MNU 2-09a in order to assess this aspect of learning.

Curriculum for Excellence: Music

With the use of Garageband from the iLife suite of tools that comes installed on Mac computers, the group was able to structure and compose an original song. The music you are listening to was put together using the preset loops available within Garageband. Inspired by contemporary music from the rock and R’n’B world as well as the Guitar Hero tracks, the group decided on the style of song the group wanted to compose. They auditioned and selected guitar riffs, drum patterns, bass lines and piano fills, as well as textures and other loops from hundreds of samples available. The group then created the track by arranging and layering their selected loops into verses, choruses and musical breaks. Once the original backing track was created, they then recorded the vocals. Looking at the Expressive Arts Music outcomes, it is clear to see that these young learners are displaying evidence of EXA 2-18a and EXA 3-17a.

Curriculum for Excellence: Modern Foreign Languages

Following on from the budget task the children then had to script and record their interview with a French music journalist. It is interesting to note that the Headteacher and the class teachers noting a marked change in attitude to learning French as a result of it being situated within this context. This also came through in discusions with the children.

Have a listen to Red Hot Ice’s interview with a French music journalist:

The teachers involved in the planning of this topic decided to refer to M.LAN 2-03b in order to assess this aspect of learning.

Congratulations to all the children involved in the band Red Hot Ice and to the staff at Gavinburn PS for enabling these pupils to meet the challenge of Band in a Box in such a confident and successful fashion.

Visit the other nine posts as well to see how this work was not a one-off.

April 25th, 2011

School of Rock 3/10: Peas On Earth with Timeout

Derek Robertson

Comments: 2 Comments » Tags: Tags: apple, cfe, game based learning, games based learning, gaming, Guitar Hero, ilife
 : Categories Curriculum for Excellence, Literacy, MFL, Music, Numeracy, West Dunbartonshire

The band Peas On Earth hail from P.7 at Gavinburn PS, Old Kilpatrick in West Dunbartonshire. Their song Timeout is due for imminent release and will, the band hopes, be featured on playlists on your music player very soon! Have a listen to their song and watch the accompanying video that the band made to go along with it:

Look at what children can do when they are faced with a challenge that is set within a context that resonates with them. Look at what children can do when a school embraces and integrates ICT in such a way that children’s skill levels progress and develop over the years. Look at what children can do when ICTs are embedded in sound teaching and learning experiences. Just look at what our children can do!

The video that you have just watched clearly demonstrates a high level of ICT literacy in the use of video editing software to tell the story of their song. In this case (and in the other nine examples in this series of posts) iMovie, from the iLife suite of software from Apple, has been used and techniques such as green screen, time lapse and transitions have been confidently and competently employed by these children in amongst the basic skills of shooting, uploading and editing their movie. A question for us to consider is where do these chidren sit in relation to progress in the Curriculum for Excellence Technology Outcomes. What would you use in order to assess performance and progress here? Your comments in relation to this would be most welcome…

I managed to grab some time to chat with the children behind Peas On Earth and I asked them a bit about their experience of the band in a Box project at Gavinburn PS. Have a listen to what they had to say:

Meet the children behind the band…

The whole idea of the Guitar Hero (Band in a Box) Project was that in keeping with methodologies that Primary teachers have employed for many years, the actual game is used rarely in class but it acts as the source from which a collaborative story can be constructed. This collaborative story acts as the contextual hub around which learning in other curricular areas can be structured in a cohesive, purposeful and relevant fashion. The main thrust of the collaborative story that is created in this project is that the children develop a character that joins a rock band. This character then lives and breathes along with the other band members and is the vehicle through which learning is situated. As a result, associated tasks are directly linked to the developing life of this ‘rock character’ and the suspension of disbelief is continually in play as these older P.7 children get themselves lost in the developing experiences of their character. This kind of activity has the potential, if used thoughtfully, to position the aims of Curriculum for Excellence in purposeful, challenging and appealing ways.

Let’s explore how aspects of curricular learning have been developed in this project by looking at some work done by the pupils in this band:

Curriculum for Excellence: Literacy

Literacy is at the heart of this project and in particular the need to work as an effective member of a team is central to success in this project. The teachers involved in the planning of this topic wanted to focus on developing children’s ability to work effectively in teams and so decided to refer to LIT 2-02a in order to assess this aspect of learning.

The children were also presented with literacy tasks that were challenging but that sat perfectly within the collaborative story that developed as their band took life. Here we can see how the band comes to life in a magazine article that has been written by the children. Look at how they have also demonstrated their ability to use a desktop publishing application in a confident and skilled way.

Peas On Earth’s Magazine Article

The teachers involved in the planning of this topic decided to refer to LIT 2-02a in order to assess this aspect of learning.

Our experiences over the past few years in using the Guitar Hero/Band in a Box idea have been that the initial stages of setting up the band and developing a rock alter-ego to partner the pupil on the collaborative learning journey they undertake as their ‘band’ evolves can be very powerful. Here we meet some of the band members of Peas on Earth as described by the children in these biographies (ENG 2-31a) written in the early stages of the project:

Meet Jenny Bloom from Peas On Earth part1, part (2), part (3)

Meet William Rockfire from Peas On Earth

Meet Avril Star Rose from Peas On Earth

The teachers involved were very interested to ensure that the performance aspects of children’s work over the course of this project and so ensured that the following outcomes were also at the heart of the planning process: Spelling LIT 2-12a, Punctuation and Structure LIT 2-22a, Sense and Purpose LIT 2-23a

Curriculum for Excellence: Numeracy
One of the earlier ideas that came with the beginnings of the Guitar Hero in class project work was the opportunity to include a European Tour. This allowed exploration of European countries but also an opportunity to present purposeful, challenging and appealing tasks involving the use of money. The idea of costing a tour was born. At Gavinburn PS, however, they have taken that a step further… Direct links with learning French are maximised because each of the bands receives a letter from a French music agent who invites them to visit a French city and play a gig there. A budget is in place and the children then have to work out all travel and accommodation costs to fulfil that gig.

Peas On Earth Marseille trip itinerary

Peas On Earth’s Marseille trip budget breakdown

The teachers involved in the planning of this topic decided to refer to MNU 2-09a in order to assess this aspect of learning.

Curriculum for Excellence: Music

With the use of Garageband from the iLife suite of tools that comes installed on Mac computers, the group was able to structure and compose an original song. The music you are listening to was put together using the preset loops available within Garageband. Inspired by contemporary music from the rock and R’n’B world as well as the Guitar Hero tracks, the group decided on the style of song the group wanted to compose. They auditioned and selected guitar riffs, drum patterns, bass lines and piano fills, as well as textures and other loops from hundreds of samples available. The group then created the track by arranging and layering their selected loops into verses, choruses and musical breaks. Once the original backing track was created, they then recorded the vocals. Looking at the Expressive Arts Music outcomes, it is clear to see that these young learners are displaying evidence of EXA 2-18a and EXA 3-17a.

Curriculum for Excellence: Modern Foreign Languages

Following on from the budget task the children then had to script and record their interview with a French music journalist. It is interesting to note that the Headteacher and the class teachers noting a marked change in attitude to learning French as a result of it being situated within this context. This also came through in discusions with the children.

Have a listen to Peas On Earth’s interview with a French music journalist:

The teachers involved in the planning of this topic decided to refer to M.LAN 2-03b in order to assess this aspect of learning.

Congratulations to all the children involved in the band Peas On Earth and to the staff at Gavinburn PS for enabling these pupils to meet the challenge of Band in a Box in such a confident and successful fashion.

Visit the other nine posts as well to see how this work was not a one-off.

April 25th, 2011

School of Rock 2/10: Papercut with Just be Yourself

Derek Robertson

Comments: 4 Comments » Tags: Tags: apple, cfe, game based learning, games based learning, gaming, garageband, GBL, Guitar Hero, ilife, imovie
 : Categories Curriculum for Excellence, Literacy, MFL, Music, Numeracy, West Dunbartonshire

The band Papercut hail from P.7 at Gavinburn PS, Old Kilpatrick in West Dunbartonshire. Their song Just Be Youself is due for imminent release and will, the band hopes, be featured on playlists on your music player very soon! Have a listen to their song and watch the accompanying video that the band made to go along with it:

Look at what children can do when they are faced with a challenge that is set within a context that resonates with them. Look at what children can do when a school embraces and integrates ICT in such a way that children’s skill levels progress and develop over the years. Look at what children can do when ICTs are embedded in sound teaching and learning experiences. Just look at what our children can do!

The video that you have just watched clearly demonstrates a high level of ICT literacy in the use of video editing software to tell the story of their song. In this case (and in the other nine examples in this series of posts) iMovie, from the iLife suite of software from Apple, has been used and techniques such as green screen, stop-motion animation, time lapse and transitions have been confidently and competently employed by these children in amongst the basic skills of shooting, uploading and editing their movie. A question for us to consider is where do these chidren sit in relation to progress in the Curriculum for Excellence Technology Outcomes. What would you use in order to assess performance and progress here? Your comments in relation to this would be most welcome…

Meet the children behind the band…

I managed to grab some time to chat with the children behind Papercut and I asked them a bit about their experience of the band in a Box project at Gavinburn PS. Have a listen to what they had to say:

The whole idea of the Guitar Hero (Band in a Box) Project was that in keeping with methodologies that Primary teachers have employed for many years, the actual game is used rarely in class but it acts as the source from which a collaborative story can be constructed. This collaborative story acts as the contextual hub around which learning in other curricular areas can be structured in a cohesive, purposeful and relevant fashion. The main thrust of the collaborative story that is created in this project is that the children develop a character that joins a rock band. This character then lives and breathes along with the other band members and is the vehicle through which learning is situated. As a result, associated tasks are directly linked to the developing life of this ‘rock character’ and the suspension of disbelief is continually in play as these older P.7 children get themselves lost in the developing experiences of their character. This kind of activity has the potential, if used thoughtfully, to position the aims of Curriculum for Excellence in purposeful, challenging and appealing ways.

Let’s explore how aspects of curricular learning have been developed in this project by looking at some work done by the pupils in this band:

Curriculum for Excellence: Literacy

Literacy is at the heart of this project and in particular the need to work as an effective member of a team is central to success in this project. The teachers involved in the planning of this topic wanted to focus on developing children’s ability to work effectively in teams and so decided to refer to LIT 2-02a in order to assess this aspect of learning.

The children were also presented with literacy tasks that were challenging but that sat perfectly within the collaborative story that developed as their band took life. Here we can see how the band comes to life in a magazine article that has been written by the children. Look at how they have also demonstrated their ability to use a desktop publishing application in a confident and skilled way.

Papercut’s Magazine Article

The teachers involved in the planning of this topic decided to refer to LIT 2-02a in order to assess this aspect of learning

Our experiences over the past few years in using the Guitar Hero/Band in a Box idea have been that the initial stages of setting up the band and developing a rock alter-ego to partner the pupil on the collaborative learning journey they undertake as their ‘band’ evolves can be very powerful. Here we meet some of the band members of Papercut as described by the children in these biographies (ENG 2-31a) written in the early stages of the project:

Meet Jennifer Heart from Papercut

Meet Rafael Shade from Papercut

Meet Ricardo Lopez from Papercut

The teachers involved were very interested to ensure that the performance aspects of children’s work over the course of this project and so ensured that the following outcomes were also at the heart of the planning process: Spelling LIT 2-12a, Punctuation and Structure LIT 2-22a, Sense and Purpose LIT 2-23a

Curriculum for Excellence: Numeracy
One of the earlier ideas that came with the beginnings of the Guitar Hero in class project work was the opportunity to include a European Tour. This allowed exploration of European countries but also an opportunity to present purposeful, challenging and appealing tasks involving the use of money. The idea of costing a tour was born. At Gavinburn PS, however, they have taken that a step further… Direct links with learning French are maximised because each of the bands receives a letter from a French music agent who invites them to visit a French city and play a gig there. A budget is in place and the children then have to work out all travel and accommodation costs to fulfil that gig.

Papercut’s Lyon trip itinerary

Papercut’s Lyon trip budget breakdown

The teachers involved in the planning of this topic decided to refer to MNU 2-09a in order to assess this aspect of learning.

Curriculum for Excellence: Music

With the use of Garageband from the iLife suite of tools that comes installed on Mac computers, the group was able to structure and compose an original song. The music you are listening to was put together using the preset loops available within Garageband. Inspired by contemporary music from the rock and R’n’B world as well as the Guitar Hero tracks, the group decided on the style of song the group wanted to compose. They auditioned and selected guitar riffs, drum patterns, bass lines and piano fills, as well as textures and other loops from hundreds of samples available. The group then created the track by arranging and layering their selected loops into verses, choruses and musical breaks. Once the original backing track was created, they then recorded the vocals. Looking at the Expressive Arts Music outcomes, it is clear to see that these young learners are displaying evidence of EXA 2-18a and EXA 3-17a.

Curriculum for Excellence: Modern Foreign Languages

Following on from the budget task the children then had to script and record their interview with a French music journalist. It is interesting to note that the Headteacher and the class teachers noting a marked change in attitude to learning French as a result of it being situated within this context. This also came through in discusions with the children.

Papercut’s French music interview script

The teachers involved in the planning of this topic decided to refer to M.LAN 2-07b in order to assess this aspect of learning.

Have a listen to Papercut’s interview with a French music journalist:

The teachers involved in the planning of this topic decided to refer to M.LAN 2-03b in order to assess this aspect of learning.

Congratulations to all the children involved in the band Papercut and to the staff at Gavinburn PS for enabling these pupils to meet the challenge of Band in a Box in such a confident and successful fashion.

Visit the other nine posts as well to see how this work was not a one-off.