Case Study - The Greneway School, Royston - Summer 2001
 As
part of the County Gifted and Talented strategy 7 schools received £9,000
each to run a two week Summer School.
One of these schools was Greneway
which chose to focus on Science, in particular
the ecology of a unique piece of chalk grassland on
the school site.
 Year
7 and 8 pupils explored the Grassland categorising and analysing
the Flora and Fauna. In order to enhance their presentation skills,
pupils also had the opportunity to use digital video technology
making short films about the habitat.
Working in small groups, the children spent an hour filming and
an hour editing the footage. You can view one of these films from
this page; on the right hand side of the page there are 3 files
available to view;
- modem version - generally for access from home
- ISDN version - generally for primary schools
- broadband version - generally secondary schools.
The motivational factor of making a film and, for some, starring
in it, transformed a fairly dry subject into a dramatic experience.
This form of presentation enabled the shyest to contribute successfully
behind the scenes and in front of a computer whilst still giving
the confident the chance to perform. The results were immediate
and visually impressive and a great way of sharing what had been
achieved at the Summer School with the parents during a presentation
afternoon.
The costs involved were slightly daunting, but the Gifted and Talented
Summer School budget was adequate. With the falling prices of iMacs
and DV cameras, the use of DV for Gifted and Talented children is
becoming increasingly ubiquitous. As a result of our experiences
last Summer and our participation in Becta's DV Pilot study, we
have now ordered a suite of 15 iMacs and are considering how to
implement Digital Video across the curriculum.
 Dom
Norrish
Leader of ICT
Greneway School, Royston, Herts.
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Media
Player, 971kb 
