Water Pollution - Our Stop Motion Animation

Our own stop motion animation creation

For this module we were asked to create our own stop motion animation. I worked with Nicole and we began by throwing around a few ideas of topics. Firstly, our topic had to be a contemporary issues, so we decide that we would like to do something relating to the environment as it is a very important issue in modern day life. 

Ideas:

• Global warming
• Pollution (of any kind)
• Coastal Erosion 

I came up with the idea of creating our idea within our actual environment discussed. I thought incorporating the beach into our idea would show creativity and context, I pitched this idea to my teammate and we both agreed. This then lead to us deciding that if we were using a beach environment we could cover the topic of water pollution. 

We decided to create a story of how water pollution not only effects one species but all species, something created by humans can go through the life cycle and then causes problems for us, showing that it is in our best interests to look after the environment around us. We hunted around the local charity shops to find props for our animation and purchased: a doll, a fish toy, a shark toy, a bucket and spade and windmill (a previous idea discussed had been global warming and wind energy). 

We decide to use Windows Movie Maker to put our animation together, as it is a software that we are both familiar with and hopefully therefore would be simple to edit. Our stop motion animation told the story of the girl called Penelope who lives by the sea, she lead a simple life of catching her dinner in the sea. However, water pollution caused the fish to become infected and die. Penelope then eats the fish and also becomes ill. The animation shows huge impact pollution can have on the whole environment and sends an important message to everyone.

I found the creation as process very enjoyable and it was fun being able to play around with different ideas. However, a drawback of producing a stop motion animation on the beach was the wind. We often struggled to get Penelope (the doll) upright and not blow over in the wind. I also noticed after uploading the images on to the computer than the lighting had been very changeable due to clouds coming across the sun on that particular day. Although, in hindsight may that added to the overall effect of the 'outdoors environment'. 

Bringing it all together

We used Picasa to edit any images that needed tweeking and then Windows Movie Maker to put all the images together. We then selected some upbeat music for the title shots and the credits, and some background music for the story. We created narration using Audacity to record and manipulate our voices. 

I loved creating our stop motion animation, especially as it was on the beach and in such a natural environment, it really put our subject in context. I think if we were to make another stop motion animation we would use a more advanced camera with tripod in order the keep the camera in the same place through the whole animation. 

Stop Motion Animation

Animation Links

One of the most famous stop motion animations is Wallace and Gromit.  All the characters were made from moulded plasticine modelling clay, and filmed with stop motion animation, this is often called Claymation. The link below give more depth information about the craft of animation and its history and creators. 

Stop motion animation 
http://flyingpaper.org/the-craft-of-stop-motion-animation/

The history and creators of stop motion animation
http://trueclassics.net/2011/09/03/pioneers-of-animation-j-stuart-blackton/

Here are examples of incredible stop motion animation on two different scales: 

Gulp. The world's largest stop-motion animation set, shot on a Nokia N8.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ieN2vhslTTU

Dot. The world's smallest stop-motion animation character shot on a Nokia N8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CD7eagLl5c4

Audacity

Audacity is free, open source, cross-platform software for recording and editing sounds.

This is another programme we explored whilst working with animation. Audacity can be used to record voices and narration, and you then manipulate the voices using options such as 'change pitch' and 'change tempo'. I think I will find this software useful when creating my own animation as I will need narration and character voices.

Lesson Planning / Educational Gaming Day

We had a games day in university, where we were able to try different games consoles and see for ourselves how educational these games can be. We used computers, Xbox's, Wii's, Ipads, and Lenovo All in One Touchscreen PC. On each console there was a different game and it was interesting to see the difference between both console and educational purpose. I particular found the Xbox connect a good way of learning, although it could be developed to have a game with more educational purpose, I think it would allow the student to be psychically active whilst learning and therefore hold their attention longer. The Xbox Connect also allows you to either play alone or with a friend, so both independent learning and teamwork can be incorporated. This is a brief lesson plan created to show how an Xbox can support learning. 

Lesson Plan

Learning Objective:

To be able to work both individually and as a team and communicate well with each other. 

Key Skills:

Communication and Teamwork.

Outcomes:

Improvement of communication skills

Confidence to work both in a team and alone

London BETT Trip

BETT 2014 was hosted in London's Excel Centre. BETT an opportunity for technologists and educationalists alike to share and exhibit their ideas of how technology can help learning in education. BETT covered learning technology for:

• Primary
• Secondary
• Higher Education
• Workplace Learning & Development.

Michael Gove opened the show and there were over 300 speakers presenting seminars and new ideas. The exhibitors that I found most relevant were ZU3D and Animate Me, both of these are programming software aimed at children. Here a just a few photo we took whilst visiting BETT and London.

 

Hopscotch

Programming using Hopscotch

Hopscotch is programming for everyone and anyone. It is available on the IPad and is very similar to Scratch. You can make games, animations, stories and other interactive programs by using the various commands on screen to drag and drop blocks of code together. Having the software on Ipad allows you to shake and tilt the ipad to control your characters in your animation. I found this easier to use than Scratch as it seem likes complicated. In this session, we made a house using the characters to draw the lines of the house.

My opinion of gaming

In my opinion gaming plays a major role in people's lives. Gaming is not necessarily online or using a games console, it can range from games such as jigsaws and puzzles to board games. The gaming industry is worth millions of pounds and computer games are becoming more and more popular.

On the other hand, there are a lot more games made just for fun. A lot of people's hobbies are playing computer games, but there can be problems, such as people becoming too addicted to playing games and spending far too much time on them and games encouraging people to be violent towards other characters in the game.

These days people spend more and more time gaming. But is it a good thing? Games can be educational, such as BBC Bitesize and other online games for children. These types of games are beneficial because not only are children learning how to use a computer but also learning a topic related to what they learn in school. Learning using a computer, I think, engages children more as they are keen to learn using something fun like a game on a computer.

Another point is we are all going to become couch potatoes if we are constantly sitting inside gaming, games are so addictive now people seem to forget about the outside world or getting some exercise.

So in conclusion I think gaming is good for an activity when you have spare time but it can be too addicting and expensive.


Em :)

Third and final year at Swansea Met!

Homework for our first seminar in Education Futures - Learning environments

'Digital Learning Environments

Over the last decade there have been vast changes in the way we live, learn and work, and with the advancement of technology and new learning tools, these things will continue to evolve. Today’s learners need new skills to survive and thrive in the future. Education should combine practical, intellectual, and social skills as never before.'

I agree with the statement above, as even over the last year we have seen major changes in education using technology, it seems that most schools now have children using Ipad/tablets or at least very hi-tech computers. I think it is important in our society to keep updated with new technology etc as at the speed our country is developing it is easy to be left behind, in offices and schools especially! 

As for new developing technology, learning environments are always changing with the introduction of new learning materials, it seems the need for paper is slowly disappearing! Is this a good thing? I think so. I guess in a way we are becoming more sustainable, in terms cutting down the amount of paper we use, therefore saving trees! But on the otherhand, what do we use to power this new technology? Renewable energy... yes maybe but its going to be a long time before we give up on non-renewable.

Within a classroom, technology can been seen everywhere. Registers are taken using a computer, lessons are conducted using the latest technology (powerpoints etc), school assemblies use powerpoint presentations and digital projectors to show videos. Within an office, meetings and conferences are held over Skype (or a similar program), and most employees have their own computer/laptop at their desk.

I work in a small cafe in Mumbles, all our table bookings and events are all kept in an Ipad on the counter, we also have Asana, a shared task list that is synced with the cafe ipad and owners iphone which makes communication between the staff and the owner easy. Just shows that even small businesses are constantly keeping up with technology.

I think the development of technology has improved the way we learn, it has also made information more accessible. Most people now have smartphones enabling them to be online whenever and wherever they want and I just found out I can download the blogger app on my Iphone, making it even easier to blog!


Em x