The methods and means of learning in schools are undergoing several changes owing to the swift changing technologies. The fast-paced innovations and invention in the visual media front are having their positive rub-offs in the learning front as well.
An interesting effort by the English Club of Government Ganapath Girls Higher Secondary School, Chalappuram in Kozhikode, is an example of proactive initiatives from teachers and students to keep abreast of technology in learning process.
Visualising the textbook
They brought out a DVD visualising all chapters of the Plus Two English course book making the understanding of it easier and interesting. The entire work including scripting, acting, editing and camera handling was carried out jointly by the teachers and students at the school.
All the 18 lessons of the English course book in five blocks have been visualised in the five-hour production, which took two years to complete. Different techniques have been used to visualise the book that comprise short stories, poems, talks, essays, biographies, interviews and panel discussions. In some, students have acted while in some others theatre has been used. Photos, film clippings and PowerPoint presentations have also been used in the visualisation of some lessons.
The editing was done by Manu Thiruvannur, who is an alumna of the same school. “Students are all proud and excited about the project as it gave them exposure into different area of a visual production including acting, shooting and editing,” said Mr. K. Chandramohan, the English teacher, who led the project.
V.K. Devika, a Plus One student, who acted and participated in the production of the DVD said that the production in itself was a huge learning experience for her like many of her classmates. “We know now that how much hard works goes into the production of a film especially when it deals with a lesson included in our textbook,” she said.
Most of the lessons have been visualised in English while a couple of them have also been narrated in Malayalam as they were found to be tough for the students.
Articles such as ‘The making of a film,' by Satyajit Ray, and short stories like the ‘World Renowned Nose' by Vaikam Mohammed Basheer and poems such as ‘The Patriot' by Robert Browning are among other works visualised in the DVD.
Efforts appreciated
This effort, which came at time when the education department was mulling over the need for changing the school texts into an e-learning format has come in for wide acclaim from different sectors. “Enquiries are coming from different quarters about the DVD after it was released recently,” says Chandramohan.
The municipal corporation is also planning to screen this DVD in all the schools within its limits. Chandramohan said that the DVD is better screened for students after finishing the lessons in the class. “It helps to enhance their understanding of the lessons in a great way,” says the teacher, who handled the camera for the project, helped by his students.
