Introduction
Wider reading and video conferencing
A recent HMI report has highlighted a serious concern about the
state of wider reading at Key Stages 3 and 4. Devon teachers have
been involved in two projects exploring the use of video conferencing
to support wider reading.
In the first initiative in 2004, Devon ’s KS3 English and
Digital Media team devised a unit of work based on Shadowing the
Carnegie Award .
This involved Year 9 students in four schools reading the books
shortlisted for the Carnegie Award and video conferencing with
each other on a weekly basis to discuss the books. Starting in
May that year, pairs of schools conferenced as often as timetables,
variable timing of lunch hours, student willingness and overburdened
teachers’ sanity allowed. These were informal video conferences
with groups of students varying in size from two or three to the
whole class. In June the four schools came together for a ‘multipoint’ conference,
when the students had a chance to present their opinions and discuss
all the books in a more formal forum, vote on the book they enjoyed
the most, and then compare their choice with the real result which
was announced the same day. See Shadowing the Carnegie Award for
details.
The second initiative, looking more broadly at promoting engagement
with reading through conversation, took the basic concept of the
Carnegie work and applied it to wider reading as a whole. Six Devon
English departments, dcs English Adviser, Jenny Lloyd, and dcs
Digital Media Education Adviser, Tim Arnold, worked together in
the Spring and Summer Terms of 2005, on a pilot project using video
conferencing to encourage students to talk about books.
The initiative was launched with a training day, looking at the
practical use of video conferencing in the classroom and introducing
a pack of teaching materials comprising:
The teachers used these materials selectively, incorporating
them into their lesson plans and teaching sequences, as well as
devising their own. At the end of the project, the teachers submitted
case studies.
If you have any questions about this project contact tim.arnold@devon.gov.uk
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