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We recently ran a training session on using the computer games ‘Myst III – Exile’ to develop student’s literacy skills – in particular, writing.
This builds on the fantastic work that Tim Rylands has done using Myst in the classroom.
We have developed a teaching pack for primary schools that can be downloaded for free here:
Character Profile Sheets
Sequencing Activity
The activities use the game as an inspiration for creative writing. The Teacher presents game footage through the interactive white board and interacts with the students to discuss game tactics and choices.
The game is a first person adventure games with fantastic graphics and sound that lend themselves to reading and writing activities linked to the fantasy genre. It is hard for writers (never mind young writers!) to create these kinds of worlds on paper as they are very different to what we know – children have no context for this kind of writing. What would you see in a fantasy land? What would you hear and smell? How would it feel?
It’s a great immersive experience made possible through ICT that definately produces results in terms of motivated learners, enjoyable lessons and great writing. As one of the teachers working with us using Myst said:
Myst has been fantastic, I have some excellent writing I can send to you. I … made the game fit the 5 different stages of a story – opening, build up, dilemma, events and conclusion. Children watched each part of the game and then wrote the appropriate paragraph for their story… the quality of work has been excellent.
Myst can be bought relatively cheaply through Amazon or other computer games seller and all you need to run it is a PC and whiteboard.
I have also developed planning for Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 3 but these aren’t at the stage the Key Stage 2 planning is – I was very fortunate to have the support of Steve Smith – the Sheffield Learning and Achievement Service’s Primary Literacy Advisor on this. I’m happy to send anyone who is interested the Key Stage 1 or 3 planning – just email me sarah(at)nwsclc.net.
Lit Trips – Using Mapping Tools in Literacy
I’ve just discovered another web 2.0 tool a little like Google Earth. It’s called ‘Wayfaring’ and you can use it to create maps and travelogues that can incorporate photos, notes and video. I’ve had a quick play with it and created a a ‘Lit Trip’ (basically points on a map with notes and photos relating to the novel) for ‘The Kite Runner’. You can view it here.
This would a useful activity for students to help them engage with the plot and characters in a novel – particularly those with a strong sense of place or travelogues.
On the plus side, compared to Google earth it’s a breeze as you don’t need to download and install a separate application – it runs in a browser window. I find it easier to use than Google earth too.
It does require a sign up with an email address and a screen name. I would follow normal e-safety procedures for this and provide only generic usernames for the class. To get around the email problem – you could use the old ‘gmail +1′ trick. Set up one gmail account for yourself then register each student as yourname+1@gmail.com yourname+2@gmail.com etc.
On a downside, I can’t find the help button! And it looks like they need to do some work on developing settings for privacy – so you can choose who sees your map.
However, overall , I’d give a bug thumbs up.
Nook Lane Poetry through Film Project
Welcome to the Virtual Poetry staff training session. In this session we hope you will learn the following:
- What a ‘Virtual Poem’ is
- Benefits of working with multimodal texts with students
- How to create activities for students that prepare them to create multimodal texts
- How to use Photostory 3
Presentation – Virtual Poems – What, Why and How?
Activity 1
In small groups discuss which images match the vocabulary. Present back to the rest of the group why you matched certain images to certain words.
Activity 2
BFI – Screen Online – Tusalava (1929)
Activity 3
Listen to the music and in small groups dicuss which words you would choose to describe it. Explain back to the rest of the group why you chose that particular word.
Activity 4
Watch the following virtual poem. Describe how the author has chosen text, music, colour, images, text and movement to represent the poem.
Activity 5
Plan your own virtual poem and then create it using Photostory
Flickr – Creative Commons Search
Evaluation
Digital Storytelling
Welcome to the Digital Storytelling session. In this session you will learn the following:
- What ‘digital storytelling’ is and what the benefits are of using it in the classroom
- How to use Photostory 3
- How to use Voicethread
Digital storytelling can be described as ‘a form of short narrative, usually a personal narrative told in the first person, presented as a short movie for display on a television or computer monitor or projected onto a screen’.
We will look at how students can create digital narratives using two alternative tools – both free – Microsoft Photostory 3 (free download from Microsoft) and Voicethread – a web based tool.
Digital Storytelling Presentation – What, Why and How?
Resources
Jason Ohler’s Digital Storytelling Resources
QCA More Than Words – Useful guide to creating stories on screen and assessing them
ClustrMaps
