Settle+In!+-+What+we+did




 * WHAT WE DID AND HOW WE DID IT **

We began our project with a presentation of our proposal at a state-wide professional development day in February. Teachers from the Migrant Education programs in Hobart, Launceston and Devonport/Burnie were enthused about using the Information pages on the wiki to provide opportunities for **project-based learning** which integrated a wide range of spoken and written learning outcomes from our curriculum, the Certificates I - III in Spoken and Written English. A number of teachers showed interest in being involved in the project - they would work with Level 2 classes to produce podwalks or with Level 3 to produce short videos. We then got busy making a model podwalk that project participants could show their Level 2 classes to set the scene. Of course we also wanted the podwalk and video to provide relevant and useful information to all our students!
 * ** Read a description of the proposal on the Staff Pages of the meintassie wiki here **

media type="file" key="poly podwalk ipod video.mp4" width="300" height="300"

This was the beginning of a love-hate relationship between Ian, our Technical Officer/Teacher, and Camtasia - our chosen editing software program. We could have used a simpler program like Moviemaker to edit our podwalks, but we chose Camtasia because we needed to be able to separate the video and audio tracks so that we could replace the English audio with the translated audios. Ian had a few really valuable tutorial sessions on Camtasia with Polytechnic Flexible Learning Facilitator, Roger Stack, and used the model 'Poly podwalk' to practise using the program. Without having Roger (and also Deirdre Brown, our Resource Development Adviser) on hand throughout the project to extricate us from some of the more baffling experiences with Camtasia, we wouldn't have got anywhere!
 * Read about some of the issues with editing with Camtasia HERE

As we worked on the model podwalk, we refined the procedure that teachers would follow with their class groups and developed some suggested lesson plans and guides to go with the model.

Next we got started on a model videoed interview and once again, we used the process to work out the best procedure for teachers to follow with their students and develop technical instructions. We chose Flip cameras to shoot the videos because they are so easy to use and because the sound and picture quality is so clear. As we made the model video we discovered that two steps in particular were vital to success - 1) Do an initial fact finding interview and from that, formulate the questions for the final interview 2) Use a tripod and a cameraperson for the final interview. Editing the model interview with Roger's help gave Ian further practice in using Camtasia. media type="custom" key="7737019" Once the models were complete, we began to make contact with key service providers to promote the project and get them on board. Our email advised them to expect a phone call from our students to arrange an interview about their services.


 * Here is an example email which was sent to the Migrant Resource Centre South:

Our next milestone was another statewide professional development day in July, this time in Launceston. We met and workshopped with a group of teachers - 2 from Hobart, 4 from Launceston and 1 from NW Tasmania - who were interested in participating in the project. Our plan was to outline the project, show the models, confirm the participating teachers and classes and workshop technical procedures.

Unfortunately, the teaching roles for the Launceston staff for Semester 2 had not been finalised so it wasn't possible to get the Launceston participants confirmed at this meeting. In hindsight, it would have been better to decide then, not to include the Launceston team because it transpired that the teachers who took over CSWE 2 and 3 classes in Semester 2 were new to the program and, to Launceston and it was difficult to get them involved in the project. However, the NW and Hobart teachers were firmly on board by the end of the day and there was a lot of general interest from the Launceston team. We helped the Devonport teacher set up a NWTassie wikii where she would be able to post the projects she did with her class. We were ready to go!

As Semester 2 classes got underway, the participating teachers negotiated topics with their students. The students (most of whom had been settled in Tasmania for more than 6 months) had considerable input to decisions about what information was most necessary and relevant for newly arrived people. For the Hobart CSWE 2 class, accessing health services was high on the list. They quickly got started on making a podwalk about the Royal Hobart Hospital and "A Visit to the Chemist". They visited the hospital and a chemist with their teacher, took photos and then returned to class to write captions for each photo. Then they took turns to record each caption, using a high quality digital Zoom H2 Handy Recorder. Each caption was recorded as a separate MP3 file which could easily be slotted into the Camtasia project in sync with the photo. The podwalks were then put together and edited and posted on the wiki for the students to watch and appraise.
 * Listen here (1.) to the teacher talking about her experiences in the early stages of the project and how learning outcomes from the CSWE could be mapped retrospectively onto tasks that the students participated in.

Meanwhile﻿ in Devonport the small but disparate class of migrants got their projects underway. A small group of CSWE 2 students began the "podwalk" project by watching the Poly Podwalk model and deciding to make a similar podwalk about the Devonport campus. They took the photos, wrote the captions and took turns to record them.

A small group of Devonport CSWE 3 students began their project by watching the model videoed interview and chosing their topic - the Devonport Migrant Resource Centre. They then had lots of fun (and valuable learning) practising using the Flip cameras and interviewing each other. Planning and arranging an interview with the MRC officer involved a number of competencies at CSWE 3 including reading information texts and listening to spoken information, spoken negotiations and formal emails. They organised an initial interview with the officer in order to get an overview of the the key information and then they returned to class to plan their questions. They then went back to the MRC to make the final interview.

In Hobart a CSWE 3 class of students who have been settled here for a number of years began their video interview projects. They formed four groups, each chosing a different interviewee from a list of contacts drawn up earlier by Anna. They then followed much the same process as the group in Devonport but they had a lot more difficulty with establishing contact with their interviewees and organising the meetings. As the students relayed in their final evaluation, they were not bothered by this and found it a very valuable learning experience, but the teacher did find it difficult to manage the class with four different groups all at different stages of the project. One of the groups didn't actually get to do their interview until the beginning of Term 3 and, at the time of writing, the editing and translation has not been completed because of persistent gremlins attacking the Camtasia editing program.


 * Listen here (2) to Jane, the teacher of the CSWE 3 class, talking about her experiences in the first few weeks of the project.

In Launceston, we had less success because of the staffing issues mentioned above. However, the CSWE 3 class there did manage to produce one videoed interview. They had similar problems to Hobart in making contact with a suitable interviewee but eventually organised an interview at the Launceston MRC early in Term 3. Unfortunately, we ran out of time and were unable to get the video translated but the English version is finished, thanks to the hard work and skill of the Launceston admin. officer Nick who was able to tame the Camtasia beast!

Looking back at all the resources we have made in this trial, we have come to the conclusion that the "podwalks" or narrated powerpoint presentations are the most successful. They are easier to produce and edit, and will be much easier to adapt in the future as information changes. They are also more readily understandable for the students. The experience of making the videoed interviews was extremely rich in opportunities for developing and practising language skills so we don't want to lose that. But we think that we can combine the two and produce narrated powerpoint presentations which contain some extended inputs from service providers, scripted in collaboration with the students. This will still involve the higher level students in negotiating and conducting interviews with native speakers and processing the information.

We have already got some new projects in the pipeline for next year - including a collaboration with the Cancer Council to produce a resource about being "Sunsmart" which will take place in January 2011.

Please click here to view the interview videos and podwalks that we made this year.

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