Tuesday, April 22, 2014

We're on the air! What did the teachers think?





It was been so great to collaborate with such wonderful teachers this year!
Here is what they thought about our project:

Cristina Monteiro:

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As a balance of what my work and the kids’ was, in this project, I would say they did way more than me!
I started by providing them with the guidelines and gave them a rubric to plan their work.
After this, phase #2 came. Each group produced a video with no help from me whatsoever.
  • They chose the program
  • They chose what they wanted to film
  • They chose the music to play along
  • They chose the sequence
Finally I compiled their videos in a 5m film with their help on music choice (they voted for the one they found the best) and also sequence of scenes and voice recording. This was done in class.
I can speak on behalf of everyone and say we  found this to be a fantastic project specially because these students didn’t know each other as this was the first year they had classes together. I also didn’t know them despite being their last school year. Actually this was one of those classes you start with the wrong foot (portuguese for we didn’t get along well straight away). They are bright (some, really language gifted), articulate kids but  they didn’t have work habits, did no homework and kept silent in class.  You know, those embarrassing moments of silence that make you look like a fool…  This project, as we did it back at the start of the term, set the beginning of a wonderful relationship between us so I can only but thank dear Theodora Pap for bringing me into this! 

Georgia Psarra:

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Participating in Dora’s project was a great pleasure and we all enjoyed it.
It was that time of the school year when we get back into the classroom and do revision sessions after summer.  When I saw that Dora was about to start a project, I thought to try something different and exciting.  I knew the kids would love the idea because their video would be uploaded in their favourite YouTube.
First, we talked about the topic in the classroom and decided which areas of our city they were going to present. Then, each wrote their presentation. We worked on their texts and edited them where necessary. Next, we did their rehearsals, which were filmed in the classroom. We watched the videos and improved whatever we found lacking.  Finally, they filmed their presentations.
What did they gain? They practised all skills and sub-skills, they were encouraged, motivated, had fun, felt proud when they watched the video and read the comments from colleagues around the world.
The whole experience was exhilarating and I would try it again with no second thoughts.

Fabiana Casella

 
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This is my opinion about this wonderful project: This is the first time I participate in an international project with my students from Argentina, where I teach EFL. Being an international-cultural exchange teacher myself I organized and took part in projects of that kind so ,I thought, it may be a wonderful chance for my class here to get involved in such an amazing opportunity. My students were very excited and willing to shoot the videos: they came up with many ideas and turned in the letters of permission from their parents very soon. The main obstacle was time and synchronicity to make what they had planned: these children spend a lot of time at school, most of them practice after school sports and come back home late at night. On weekends some of them leave the city and stay at their week-end houses. So, finally those who had their videos finished, found a way out recording what they usually do on a Friday afternoon after school or a visit to a park. I am extremely proud to be part of this project and collaborate with Theodora Papapanagiotou ´s so exciting work and really creative idea.


Hana Ticha 
 
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Here are my few lines concerning the project.

This video project was the first collaborative project the kids had ever done. In the beginning, some of them were really enthusiastic; they had big plans and they wanted their work to be amazing, professional and flawless. However, later on they they suddenly felt their plans had fallen through - they got a little trapped in the stage of 'Oh, it's not as wonderful as we thought it would be'. They simply came to the inevitable point in the process of creation - doubts. However, they carried on working hard. To cut a long story short, they liked their work in the end, especially because all the participants and I had kept our fingers crossed for them and they finally received a lot of support and positive feedback. To sum it up, it’s been priceless experience for them; they’ve learned from their 'mistakes' but they’ve also learned to be more realistic in their expectations. Now they realize that some tasks that appear to be a piece of cake may actually require a lot of skill, effort, efficient team work (and a bit of luck too). And it’s always necessary to be humble and keep on working.


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