Wednesday, 8 December 2010

Forms and conventions

Forms and conventions:

  • Interview teachers (possibly kids as well)
  • Different set of questions each time
  • Different topic (new media in general)
  • Discussing issues like behavious, creativity and learning difficulties in new media

Representation:

  • Ideology - set of ideas
  • Point of view/perspective
  • Dominant ideas
  • Residual ideas
  • Emergent ideas

Look at

  • Social groups
  • Social ideas
  • Messages + values

Setting + everything else

Children should perhaps be in a classroom, so that they are in their own environment. Teachers would be interviewed in office.

Angles:
  • Mixture of close ups and medium shots
  • Maybe start as a close up then zoom out once the interviewee starts talking

Music:

Possible idea of having music at the intro to liven things up

Plan for poster + ideas for magazine

We need to advertise our documentary in a poster


Some ideas that have crept up are:

  • Colours - possibly blue + white
  • Model - have a photo of a child on laptop/reading a book/on phone/playing a game...... to promote documentary
  • Font - bright colours, big, simple nothing too fancy, eye catching for target audience
  • USP? example a wordle?
  • Single/double sided? Double sided might be better
  • Photo of child in middle/ on each side with some quotes from the kids + statement from teacher of what they thought of it

Need to think up of a slogan - something catchy nothing too boring

Magazine ideas:

  • Children's magazine "Aquila" for 8-13 year olds. "fun challenge and inspiration." In this magazine Puzzles, challenges and articles help children with their thinking skills. (http://www.aquila.co.uk/)

  • A magazine that is suitable for both genders
  • "Creative Steps" uses the child's creative skills for 0-11 year olds. Different parts for different ages, helps them in KS2
  • Keep it CBBC/Cbeebies based - listings are featured online and in the magazines (http://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/grownups/about/whatson/tv/)
  • CBBC - listings are shown online but not in the magazines. It only shows what is coming up the next day and also what was shown the previous day, whereas Cbeebies shows what's coming up all week. (http://www.bbc.co.uk/cbbc/watch/whatson/?tab=whatson) Also shows what's on in morning and afternoon/early evening
  • Cbeebies - too young of an audience so basing it on CBBC instead
  • Doesn't have to be broadcasted on CBBC, can be on BBC1/BBC2
  • Magazine called "Envy" gives listings of CBBC

Layout of article

  • 2 page spread
  • quotes

To be included

Ilearn is a new documentary series about how young learners are using new media in a positive way. Most media coverage of childrens relationship with media suggested that it's either dangerous or a waste of time.

Panaramas recent investigation (12th dec 2010) suggested games were addictive and not targeting kids.

Ilearn will explore childrens interaction with new media and its benefits. Most parents have limited idea what's going on in a childrens classroom, why would they be better informed about media in a classroom?

Are new media just extentions of traditional eductaion tools? Do they help kids to be creative, to develop relationships, to learn how to behave appropriatly? We will be hearing from kids themselves of what they make of their media world and how it helps them to help themselves grow.

Each part will be based on something different, ie creativity/ relationships/improved behaviour and it will be shown every Thursday at 5pm. We are trying to get people in to the idea, especially parents, that new media can be a good way forward.

What we're trying to do is to make parents less concerned about what their child is doing on the computer and make it so that new media is seen as a positive thing

Thursday, 2 December 2010

Introduction

This is going to be a documentary about new media, called ilearn and how it is represented in primary and seondary schools.
We will investigate the roll it plays in their lives and as part of their learning. It would be part of a series focussing on different topics like behaviour, creativity, relationships, emotional development and different levels of ability. We could put it on Teachers TV, but we want to attract children so we're looking for a broader platform so that the children would want to watch it.

Wednesday, 1 December 2010

Audience/documentary Research

We have decided to make our documentary viewable to kids and teachers. We have thought up of questions to ask them both, so that we can get teachers and kids' opinions on this. It's going to be based on education and things in general.

For the questions for pir audience research, we have decided that our target audience are the children as that is who the documentary is trying to get at.




Questions for audience (kids):



  • Do you tthink a documentary about new media (in general + education) is a good idea?


  • Do you think 5/5:30 is a suitable time for it to be shown?


  • Would you want to watch it?


  • Would it be eductaional enough?


  • What would you like to see in the documentary?


  • Do you think your parents would want to watch it?



Questions for audience (adults):



  • Would anyone be interested in watching it?

Parents and children would more likely watch it, teenagers/older generation less likely



  • Do you think parents would watch it?
Yes, definitly




  • Have you seen anything like this before that you thought was good?
No




  • If it was shown at about 5, do you think that's a good time?
Yes, gives the children time to come back from college




  • Do you think anything else should be included?
More info on the smartboards


Questions to be included in documentary


Questions for teachers:



  • How do you introduce new media to the children?


  • What media do you use?


  • Do you have any problems with it, what works well?


  • What's your favourite media to use? Why?


  • How do you use media to deal with behaviour?


  • How do you use media to deal with learning difficulties eg. dyslexia?



Questions for kids:

Do you use media everyday if so what kind?


Most of them answered computer


Do you use new media at school and at home?

Both



What do you like about it?

Playing on games



What don't you like about it?

Freezes sometimes



When did you start using new media?

Reception, age 4


We also found out that the children would have a go at playing a variety of educational games based on a subject if they were being advertised by their teacher/on tv. There was a game they were all quite interested in called Club Penguin. It was made public October 24th 2005 and is for 6-14 yrs. Players create their own penguin avatars and then start playing games in the created visual world. It was developed by New Horizon and in August 2007 was purchased by the Walt Disney Company.


Aleks Krotoski explores the ways in what technology can give us and the increase of blogs.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/programmes/2010/03/100311_virtual_revolution_how_and_when.shtml