tessawatson.com

Jump to Comments

On Tuesday we held a second meeting to discuss the Sony PSP trials that are due to start at Campie Primary School in Musselburgh. Derek Robertson from Learning and Teaching Scotland is leading the pilot. He has written a review of the initiative here on the Learning and Teaching Scotland’s Consolarium Web-log.

In addition to Derek’s summary, here are a few of our thoughts on how this pilot will compliment and develop in East Lothian:

 The Class.

The class consists of 23 Primary 6/7 pupils. The class teacher is Alicia McFarlane (Alicia is also a Glow Mentor). Their class project during the trial is based upon ‘World War Two’. This project is scheduled to last six weeks. It will be followed by ‘The Wildlife Garden’. The third project during the trial will be ‘Science’ related.

Integration Of The Trial.

The trial will fit in and around the school/classes existing ‘timetable’, as such. Each pupil will be given their own PSP which they will be responsible for during the trial. The PSPs will be used to capture footage- stills, video and audio (i.e. interviews with war veterans or evacuees, taking pictures of relevant sites in East Lothian- Longniddry’s tank barrier or East Fortune’s museum of flight). The PSPs will also be used to transfer these images to other PSP users in the class. As they are now configured, they can also be used to access the Internet using the School’s wireless connection. Footage taken using the PSPs can then be used to make podcasts (etc) that could/will be uploaded onto a Web-log.

Derek has suggested a series of podcasts set in Musselburgh during the War, possibly looking at Evacuees in East Lothian. These could outline the child’s perspective on the War, allowing the pupils to retell the experience. They could be edited using CrazyTalk and/or V-log. Each podcast could look at a different aspect of World War 2.

Here is an example of a previous initiative using CrazyTalk. ‘The Titanic’ was the project.

As a child, I remember my class project on World War Two. I have fantastic memories of interviewing my Grand Parents and others who had experiences of this War. Gas Masks, Ration books and Wartime songs are to name a few things that spring to mind. Indeed, I think my Mum still has a cross-stitch tapestry of a Spitfire somewhere! Just imagine the experience and audience that awaits these youngsters now that technology is so advanced.

This project is still in its infancy. As you can see, a very organic approach is being adopted and I am very much looking forward to being part of it.

If you have any suggestions or ideas (especially web based resources that are relevant to World War 2) please drop me a comment or send me an email. We will be looking at setting up an EduBuzz Web-log for the trial tomorrow.

I would like to thank the staff at Campie Primary School for their hospitality during the two days- we all agreed the Fish and chips were just awesome!

Watch this space!