DIGITAL ART AND ANIMATION IN PRIMARY AND EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION

Lyn Hawkins

Finn Cragg www.finncragg.comPO Box 622

North Perth WA 6906Ph: (61 8) 9228 2018 Fax: (61 8) 9228 2443 lyn@finncragg.com

Abstract

Animat ion engages young audiences with v is ions of fantasy that offer marvel lous avenues to explore. When Finn Cragg Animat ion Studio worked with WA schools dur ing 2005 and 2006 many progressive outcomes were achieved. As a resul t of these tr ia ls new methods to inspire inquiry, interpretat ion and creat ive th inking were generated using short d ia logue-free animat ions and tai lored mult imedia resources. Introducing digi ta l ar t and storytel l ing processes to young students enables them to understand the role of new media in laying the foundat ions for mult i -modal l i teracy whi lst achieving cross curr iculum learning outcomes. This paper explores some easy ways to introduce digi ta l ar t and develop visual l i teracy in the ear ly years.

BackgroundAnimat ions are highly engaging for young viewers and most students, even in the ear ly years show a high level of media l i teracy and knowledge about animat ion. However, young viewers of ten need to explore the not ion of fantasy versus real i ty wi th the assistance of their teacher, as many have trouble discerning what is created by the digi ta l ar t is t and what is factual and real . By being exposed to some digi ta l ar t techniques using computers, th is understanding is great ly increased as the young student gets hands-on exper ience manipulat ing images and re-purposing visual texts.

The Animated Story – The Start ing Block

The animated stor ies “Caravan” and “Emu and the Fly ing Doctor” which were created by digi ta l author/animator Mart in Davidson, were used as the focal point of lessons. Sett ing the animat ions to a soundtrack (wi th no character speaking) created interpretat ive possibi l i t ies for the students. This enabled them to immediately understand how var iat ions exist wi th in audiences where v iewers respond di fferent to the same product ion.

The ear ly c lasses were able to exper ience viewing, speaking and wri t ing, d ig i ta l paint ing and mark making, whi le the progressive developmental stages engaged in deeper text analysis, chal lenging stereotypes, repurposing the resources wi th computers and construct ing their own oral , wr i t ten and

visual texts whi lst explor ing the physical and textual aspects of introductory media product ion and analysis.

The resources developed af ter the t r ia ls were produced on DVD and include a short animat ion, storyboards and st i l ls as wel l as a DVD-ROM with st i l ls and video footage for repurposing. CARAVAN is the

f i rst t i t le of Finn Cragg’s mult imedia resources packs.

Teachers used the animated stor ies for achieving a var iety of outcomes, general ly focused on l i teracy, and in part icular v iewing outcomes and to generate discussion on themes such as space, seniors, l i fe, death, t rust , personal i t ies and relat ionships (Caravan animat ion) and the outback, the f ly ing doctor service, animat ion technique, fantasy, f l ight and f r i endsh ip (Emu an ima t i on ) . The re we re numerous opportuni t ies for developing l is tening ski l ls and audio analysis exercises l is tening to the soundtrack e.g. Emu has two di fferent soundtracks to compare and contrast , contemplat ing audience and purpose. In add classroom talk generated about the animat ions, the oral presentat ions and drama product ions of scr ipts also developed art-related outcomes and cr i t ical ski l ls .

For reluctant learners the animat ions were an effect ive way to engage students and hold their interest , generat ing new areas of d iscussion. The storyboards were an engaging approach to faci l i tate wr i t ing, wi th or wi thout the use of computers.

Some teachers ut i l ised the st i l ls and video footage from the as a mot ivat ion for creat ive and descr ipt ive wr i t ing, edi t ing and media product ion and for an introduct ion to digi ta l ar t .

Making Marks in Primary Digital Arts: Modifying and Adapting Images.

Using basic level programmes such as Paint and Power Point that are avai lable in most computer systems, students as young as pre-pr imary level can make their d ig i ta l marks and create digi ta l p ictures. Further to creat ing pictures on blank pages, the use of exist ing images to be modif ied and re-purposed provides the student wi th the opportuni ty to manipulate an image for their storytel l ing purposed. Students wi th access to the Caravan st i l ls can modify the pictures in ways that are l imi ted only by their imaginat ion. This is an excel lent ear ly introduct ion to tools that wi l l be of d iverse value. The fol lowing pictures are examples of the ways students f rom di fferent c lass levels have made their marks on Caravan st i l ls .

Ut i l is ing Microsoft Paint , the picture on the lef t shows how a student has painted themselves into the picture, the image on the r ight is where the young art ist has modif ied the st i l l to narrate the next chapter in the Caravan story “ they came across a space butterf ly” . C h a l l e n g i n g S t e r e o t y p e s a n d D e v e l o p i n g N a r r a t i v e Structure.

With a c lass of e ight-and-nine-year-olds, v iews about seniors and grandparents were discussed within in the c lass to introduce the term’s theme. Typical stereotypes were general ly put forward, indicat ing usual paradigms held about the elder ly. Using a scaffold ing approach throughout the term, a range of texts explored the theme of grandparents. The teacher chal lenged stereotypes by exposing students to a range of wr i t ten and visual texts. They were asked to ident i fy and discuss their own exper iences with seniors and use their imaginat ion in a number of creat ive wr i t ing exercises. The Caravan animat ion was shown and discussed at var ious levels, wi th the teacher guiding the process. One student enquired about the use of c lassical p iano music in the animat ion. The

response from another young cr i t ic showed an insight into use of sound in communicat ing narrat ive. “The reason the piano was used is to show soft and loud, according to the emot ions of the grandparents”.

The Caravan animat ion was also used to in i t iate work on narrat ive structure and story sequencing, focusing on opening and closing of stor ies. Students used storyboards to develop their own creat ive conclusions, p lanning their sequenced endings to create a new narrat ive or new chapter in the l ives of th is elder ly couple. These stor ies depicted new images of seniors, engaging in adventure, conquer ing chal lenges and defeat ing enemies. Clear ly the stereotypes held at the beginning of term had been eroded and new vis ions of the elder ly were emerging.

Storyboards were used by students to interpret ”Caravan.” The storyboard f i les could be imported into Power Point and text boxes used to wr i te in the speech and text .

Developing new conclusions and prequels using storyboards: Year 3/4 class

Later in the term, students created portrai ts of the seniors/grandparent characters they had been developing. The resul t ing artworks c lear ly demonstrated the change in v iews about seniors.

Engaging Remote Students: An animated approach

A class of s ix- to-seven-year-olds f rom a remote government school wi th a s igni f icant Abor ig inal student populat ion found the ‘Caravan’ animat ion chal lenging and thought provoking. The teacher asked the chi ldren what they bel ieved was happening in the animat ion. Many of their responses indicated confusion about the content (set in space) and the characters (are they real?). The opportuni ty for these young students to explore fact and fantasy enabled them to learn about the role of moving images, part icular ly animat ions, in present ing stor ies and ideas that are not necessar i ly real nor based in fact . This highl ights the importance of chal lenging student ’s held bel iefs about real i ty and bui ld ing their awareness and cr i t ical understanding about the use of images in the media, part icular ly in the advert is ing of products.

The “Emu” animat ion was used to determine the effect iveness of an Austral ian/ fami l iar set t ing – a context that students relate more int imately wi th. This 3 minute animat ion te l ls a story about an emu in the outback that fa l ls and breaks a leg, is healed by a f ly ing doctor and is t reated to exper ience f l ight . This animat ion is also set to a soundtrack and has no dialogue. I t required interpretat ive work and generated r ich c lassroom talk, oral expression and new vocabulary. Exposing students to these animat ions improved understanding of the nature of these texts, and prepared them for explor ing these avenues for their own storytel l ing whi le developing their emerging cr i t ical ski l ls .

The Emu and the Fly ing Doctor presented a fami l iar set t ing for

Abor ig inal students to engage with.

Case Study 4: The Impact of Animation on Young Viewers

A class of e ight year olds at a government pr imary school were given the task of reviewing the prototype of the animat ion “Caravan.” Af ter v iewing the 3 minute animat ion on a DVD player at tached to a te levis ion as a whole c lass exercise, they were instructed to l is t up to three things they l iked about the movie, up to three things they dis l iked and what they would improve. They were then asked to wr i te up to three quest ions they would l ike to ask the animator pr ior to a c lass incursion where the animator v is i ted the school . They shared and discussed their responses, faci l i tated by the teacher, and were interested to see how di fferent they al l fe l t about var ious aspects of the animat ion and what thoughts they each had about how to improve the text . The empowerment fe l t by th is c lass when the animator returned to show them the f inal version of the animat ion was evident in their del ight that many of their suggest ions and improvements had been incorporated. For a fu l l copy of these student reviews emai l lyn@finncragg.com.

ICT, digital resources and art in early childhood stories

A class of s ix year olds at a government pr imary school were given the task of creat ing a digi ta l story using Photo Story 3 for Windows (a f ree download from the Microsoft Download Center for XP users). The students were shown f i f teen st i l l images taken from the Caravan DVD-ROM 70 random st i l l f i les (wi thout f i rst seeing the animat ion). They were then required to import 6 careful ly selected images and to sequence them in the programme to make a digi ta l storybook. Working in pairs enabled a stronger computer user to be paired wi th a weaker user. Over a number of lessons, narrat ive sequences were developed, text wr i t ten against each visual , background music and voiceovers added and short d ig i ta l stor ies created. With th is introduct ion to Photo Story 3, students were happy to plan and storyboard their next chal lenge - the creat ion of their own i l lustrated photo story, where their painted i l lustrat ions wi l l be

photographed ( jpeg format) to import into Photo Story to create a s ix page sel f - i l lustrated digi ta l storybook. See www.f inncragg.com in the student movies sect ion for some samples. Below is an example of a f ront cover i l lustrat ion where the Caravan st i l ls have been modif ied using the programme Paint .

Conclusion

These case studies indicate some of the potent ia l and diverst iy of animat ion and mult imedia in ear ly chi ldhood educat ion. Ut i l is ing Finn Cragg’s digi ta l resources, teachers were able to deve lop new approaches to i nsp i re s tuden t i nqu i r y, interpretat ion, cr i t ical ski l ls , creat ive th inking and new methods of creat ive engagement. The case studies indicate the wide role and value of the digi ta l ar ts and mult imedia in laying the foundat ions for young story te l lers whi lst achieving mult ip le learning outcomes. I t is hoped that Finn Cragg’s exper iences wi l l prompt more research in th is area and inspire teachers to incorporate s imi lar approaches to engage their students and equip them with the knowledge that wi l l help them become powerful v isual storytel lers.

About Finn Cragg

Finn Cragg is a smal l Perth animat ion studio partnered by Mart in Davidson and Lyn Hawkins. Finn Cragg produces speci f ical ly ta i lored 3D animat ions and mult imedia resources for K-12 and adul t learners. They cont inue to generate feedback and direct ion f rom teachers, l i teracy consul tants, curr iculum resource developers, teacher associat ions, school pr incipals, and the students themselves. Lyn and Mart in are exper ienced

presenters and workshop faci l i tators who have a pragmatic and fun approach to their sessions.

For more informat ion about Finn Cragg mult imedia resources, a preview of Finn Cragg animat ions, student samples and further detai ls see www.f inncragg.com.

ReferencesFreebody, P., & Luke, A. (1990). L i teracies programs: Debates and demands

in cul tural context . Prospect: Austral ian Journal of TESOL, 5 (7), 7-16.

Note: The images contained in this article are copyright protected and cannot be used in any way nor separately copied without the written permission of Martin Davidson, Finn Cragg, Perth, WA.