News
BRITDOC launches Doc Academy 2014 slate with The Island President
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RITDOC has announced it has launched Doc Academy, a free easy to use documentary educational online platform devised by teachers for teachers, to bring documentary film into the teaching of core subjects for key stages 3 - 5. The first film to launch Doc Academy 2014 is The Island President (2011, Dogwoof), which focuses on former President Mohamed Nasheed of the Maldives action for climate change, tackling the rising sea levels that will determine the literal survival of his country. 2014 also marks the International Year of small Island Developing States, so this is the perfect film for lessons on the environment, with a lesson plan comprising a full scheme of work- spread over 3 lessons for Key Stage 3 (ages 11-13), written by a TES Resources- assembled teacher panel.
According to Gemma Barron, Doc Academy’s Project Coordinator, “The films and associated lesson plans cover a range of themes - from human rights and racism to disability, ageing and gang culture. Following teacher feedback we have introduced a facility to search by theme. “The films are based in the UK, South Africa, Afghanistan, Burma, The Philippines and a range of other countries. The accompanying schemes of work have strong cross-curricular applications towards Citizenship, PHSCE, Geography and others.”
Doc Academy aims to encourage the use of documentary film within core learning for 11-18 year olds in UK schools and alternative education settings, with access to high quality documentaries that offer a deeper understanding of wider social issues, help develop media literacy and teach pupils key skills.
Gemma explained some of the benefits of using film in the classroom. “Film communicates with people in a different way from news, reports and opinion. It reframes familiar issues as well as enlightening about the unfamiliar. “Film is the ultimate “empathy generator”, using stories and narrative to reach hearts as well as minds, taking us to places we can’t visit and meeting people we might never normally meet. It’s the perfect educator tool as it speaks to young people in a visual language and engages them in topics they wouldn’t come to naturally.” The platform features clips of documentary films with associated lesson plans for use within English classes, tied to National Curriculum objectives. The films are categorised into themes ranging from bullying to the environment, women's rights and immigration, to disability and more with popular examples including Afghan Star - This timely film follows the dramatic stories of four contestants as they risk all to become the nation's favourite singer and Moving to Mars
which follows two refugee families from Burma over the course of a year that will change their lives completely.
Ultimately, Gemma has high hopes for the project. “I hope that teachers might discover hidden potential in their class and be inspired to try new ways of engaging their class. The Doc Academy films showcase the highest quality, most engaging documentaries and their power to engage and inspire.
“Documentaries may not seem like natural ground for many young people but our research has shown the power of a good story and strong characters in the classroom.”
Doc Academy was piloted across the UK in 2012-2013 in 18 schools in partnership with TES Resources, and is now rolling out nationally with a following of 466 users including teachers representing 239 schools across the country.
uwww.docacademy.org
The importance of MOOCs in secondary education H
elen Cunningham, publishing director, at not for profit Cambridge University Press, believes massive open online courses (MOOCs) are set to impact on secondary education in the
same way they have added a new dynamic to higher education teaching and learning.
Introduction
Having established themselves as one of the hot topics in Higher Education, Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) have recently attracted the attention of secondary education leaders who are looking at the potential of MOOCs to supplement teaching resources, and help students meet the new demands of the national curriculum. MOOCs are free, online courses available to an unlimited number of people - aiming to foster digital learning. They are easy to access - users simply log on to the website and sign up.
Using MOOCs to teach the new computing curriculum With the introduction of computing as a subject to replace ICT in KS4 reforms, pupils will be learning how computers and computer systems work, designing and building programs, developing their ideas using technology and creating a range of content.
This is exactly where a MOOC is most useful – supporting students and teachers alike. The free Cambridge GCSE Computing Massive Open Online Course developed in partnership between Cambridge University Press, Raspberry Pi
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and OCR teaches secondary school students the basics of computer programming and demystifies the world of algorithms, logic gates and RAMs. The content includes a rich combination of videos and interactive learning exercises and can be used in the classroom, as a traditional teaching resource, as a revision aid, as a self-teaching resource for flipped classrooms, or as a combination of all three.
It can be accessed anywhere anytime, via smart phones and tablets, as well as on computers in the classroom or at home.
Flipped Classroom
Oakham School in Rutland, an independent boarding and day school for pupils aged 10-18, is using the MOOC to ‘flip the classroom’, in which students access the resource in their own time and then apply their knowledge by solving problems and doing practical work in the classroom, maximising the use of time spent with the teacher.
Nick Neve, the school’s head of computing, explains, “Our use of the MOOC has brought three main benefits - firstly, it is a boon for students who need to catch up if they have had to miss a lesson and secondly, it is a great help when it comes to revision. But the third, and probably the most important benefit, is that the MOOC is facilitating our use of flipped classroom teaching.
“I tell my students to look at the information on the MOOC before the lesson, giving them 20 to 30 minutes of work,” explains Nick. “They then arrive for the lesson already knowing
www.education-today.co.uk
something about the topic, so that I can spend my teaching time adding depth and breadth to the information they have studied online. Once everyone understands the theory, we can then move on to practical work to further their knowledge and bring the subject to life, making it more interesting.
“The MOOC approach encourages being proactive, using resources, planning, and reflecting and superbly supports our philosophy of developing key learning habits in students.”
Conclusion
The changes to the new computing curriculum will be a challenge to students and teachers, however, resources such as Cambridge GCSE Computing Online are available to demystify it and help teachers to teach effectively. MOOCs have the potential to revolutionise secondary teaching and the Cambridge GCSE Computing MOOC is future proofing the next generation for a global economy that will require skills such as computer programming and coding.
April 2014
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