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Wildern TV (Edutube)
EduTube –An online solution for sharing video and audio content
YouTube has become an Internet phenomenon and is proving a massive hit with web users all over the World. However, for many reasons it is difficult to use in school. Wildern School has been working as part of a DCSF Innovations Unit project to bring Web 2.0 technologies to schools.
Set up as as a means to empower students to showcase their talent and to support learning, Wildern TV is a website for schools based on the social networking site YouTube. Students and staff at all schools involved in the project can share films and music in a safe environment. Student moderators approve every film before it appears on the site and users are encouraged to rate and give feedback.
Now into it’s second year Wildern TV is expanding. Along with the student moderators who monitor the content on the site, two further groups, the ‘Wildern TV’ club and the ‘Wildern Producers’ have been established. Due to the overwhelming interest in Wildern TV from students across all age groups these further groups were established to support students in developing their IT, media and personal learning skills.
Wildern TV club is the place for students to improve their ICT skills, such as in use of software such as garageband and iMovie. Students work co-operatively with their peers, to storyboard, record and edit creative pieces from musical scores to animation movies.
The Wildern Producers club is more a showcase for their talent, as students film and record key school events such as important visit to the school, local news stories and pupil events. Recently 12 students from the Producers club shadowed the work of a real film crew who were making a movie on behalf of Becta regarding parental involvement. They have had training from a graphics designer and film technican and students in the group are encouraged to develop a strong skill in an aspect which they are most interested in. In the group there are pupils who have decided which part of the film process they are most interested by from journalism and reporting through to sound technicans and a director. Our most recent training event involved receiving tips from a BBC South Today broadcaster.
Having held an ‘Oscars’ ceremony in July 2008, the next one is currently being planned. Students vote on the categories and nominate students for each award. In last year’s cermony we had traditional awards such as ‘best documentary’ and ‘outstanding contribution’ with local businesses sponsoring awards and top prizes like digital cameras and iPods given to the winners. This year’s Oscar’s already has different categories as the way the students are using the site is evolving. There are categories for the ‘Best theatrical trailer’ and ‘best sitcom’ as students have been sharing all their multimedia work through the site.
In June 2008 we held an exciting day of training as part of the schools CPD programme. Staff worked in small groups across the day to script, film and edit a movie for their subject area. Films on mathematical problems to options movies were created as staff were supported by the IT department and our ICT champions and developed movie editing skills.
The next steps have seen Wildern TV shared with our feeder schools. One such school Berrywood used stop frame animation with students across year 3 and set up the ‘Berrywood Bafta’s’.
The vision of this project is for every school to have their own .tv website. Users visit youschool.tv, enter their username and password and get to view the video, audio and graphics from all participating schools. Users can view, rate and comment on media and also upload their own submissions.
All content has to be approved by a team of student moderators before appearing on the site, and for interested schools training materials would be available to start their own moderation group. Support is also available related to the film-making process and we are particularly interested in collaborations between participating schools.
So where next?
This site is continually evolving and therefore we welcome debate and discussion about ways in which we can develop the site and the resources on it.
At Wildern, we are currently promoting the site and the making of student films by advertising our Oscars ceremony that will take place each July. Any film on the site can be awarded any of the many Oscars including ‘Best Film’, ‘Best Actor/Actress’ and ‘Best
Effects’. Schools will be contacted at the judging stage regarding the films that have been selected to go through to the final. This year’s prizes include a laptop, iPods and digital cameras, plus many more.
If you have queries, please do not hesitate to contact Kate Broadribb (AST, New Technologies) - k.broadribb@wildern.hants.sch.uk or download the Secure Educational Fun brochure about the project.
