Pupil & Teacher Learning/Training/Teaching Activity in Denmark
February 2022
Article about the visit
Translation of the article in Viborg Stifts Folkeblad in English:
ANIMATION AND FILM WITH GUESTS FROM ICELAND, MALTA AND TURKEY
February 11th 2022 by Anna Rothe Kristiansen, Viborg Stifts Folkeblad
This week Nordre Skole has visit by schools from abroad in connection with Erasmus+ project Active Learning, where the pupils work with animation and film. This strengthens their creativity and ability to express themselves.
Photo: The pupils had to use their creative and planning skills, when they were making a film with animated figures.
Viborg: There are formed figures with soft clay, cut in carboard and filmed in the classrooms. The pupils in year 5 work very concentrated in making their own animation film I connection with Erasmus+ Active Learning at Nordre Skole. This week the school is hosting pupils and teachers from Iceland, Malta and Turkey. Year 5 and 6 work with animation and stop motion and year 7 and 8 work with film production.
- We have invited these guest teachers because we are working with something called Erasmus+. It´s an EU funded project and called Active Learning. The project is about active approach towards learning, creativity and technology. We also work in different places, not just in the classroom says Elisa Haaparanta, who is a teacher and coordinator of the project.
Originally this was a 2- year project but due to covid19 the school has been able to prolong it to 3 years. The partner schools take turns organizing workshops. This time Nordre Skole is the host.
- We take turns in arranging different Learning Activities in different partner countries. We work together with schools in Malta, Iceland, England, Turkey, and Finland. We here in Denmark coordinate the project. We invite pupils and teachers to the Learning Activities and sometimes we organize Training/Teaching activities only for the teachers. For example, right now the Maltese teachers are training animation, which they haven´t tried before, says Elisa Haaparanta.
Photo: Elisa Haaparanta helps pupils with their animation film.
We use different competences and skills
Amanda Rasmussen in the Creative Director in Piximakey (a Consultant Company). She says that in animation the pupils develop their skills in communication, developing ideas and creative thinking.
- It´s a fantastic way for the pupils to train many important competences and have fun at the same time. We talk a lot about the 21st Century Skills, how important it is to be able to communicate, develop your creativity and critical thinking. When making an animation film, you need a lot of planning and developing ideas. The pupils need to become specialists. Some are good being instructors, some in developing the scenography and some in modelling the figures. Some pupils are good in taking photos with the app. All in all, it´s a very interdisciplinary process.
The pupils at Nordre Skole have been working creatively before, for example with Game Development.
- Before we began to specialize in animation, we made workshops, where the children developed their own board games and digital games. It´s a similar process, where there are needed lots of different processes and skills, says Amanda Rasmussen.
She hopes that the pupils get a good experience and learn, how much they can do when collaborating with others.
- We hope that they get a good experience with telling their own stories and learn that together they can create something bigger than working alone. Now we have four hours to produce a film today and being 3 in each group, they have 12 hours. If they have a joint vision and organize themselves well, they can do a great job.
Omar, Emma and Liva sit by one table. They are making props for their film.
- It´s a lot of fun because we learn to make our own film, says Liva.
Photo: Omar, Liva and Emma are making figures for their animation film. They think it´s fun to work creatively and would like to have many more projects like this in the future.
To express yourself
The 7ht classes work with a film in collaboration with The Animation Workshop. The theme is “Dreams”, and the starting point of the films are the pupils´own dreams.
Sia Søndergaard is a teacher at the Animation Workshop and guest teacher for the 7th and 8th classes this week. She want to give the pupils a film language that they can use in their future schooling.
- The aim is that when the pupils leave the course today, they have developed a film language. They will learn about reaction failure, cut and action, close-up pictures and so on, she says.
Film and digital media is very important element in the every day life of the young people. Sia wishes that the young people learn to use film in an active way, where they express themselves.
- Their learning strategies from their free time are actually quite much based on the visual media. They watch films. If they have to learn how to patch a bicycle, they watch a film on Youtube. Many of the impressions they get, are through living pictures. That´s why it´s very important that they learn to express themselves, says Sia Søndergaard.
The pupils are working with story board and cutting techniques. In the afternoon the pupils will present their films to each other.
Photo: Pupils work concentrated in the classrooms.
Photos: Smartphones are used to make animation films, The figures and props have been made by the pupils.
Photo: There has been decorated with flags because of the Erasmus+ Active Learning visit.
Photos: Morten Pedersen
Translation of the article: Elisa Haaparanta
DISSEMINATION ACTIVITIES IN ÇAN İBRAHİM BODUR ANADOLU LİSESİ AFTER
DENMARK MOBILITY
When we turned back from Viborg, we made presentations about the Teacher Training and Pupil Traning Activities in Nordre Skole. We gave information about Danish education system. The students who took part in Denmark mobility prepared a detailed presentation and showed what they had done in Denmark. They shared their experiences with the other students in our school.
