In this section
you can see extracts from two Exeter Museum videoconferences
- one with a Year 3 group at Plumpton School near
Lewes in Sussex and one with a Year 6 group at St
Mary's Catholic Primary School , Aston-le-Walls
near Daventry.
Equipment
Both schools used videoconferencing systems like the one pictured
here. This is a ‘group videoconferencing system’ suitable
for use with a whole class with a ‘pan/tilt/zoom’ camera
which allows the teacher to set up shots of individuals and groups,
and a multidirectional microphone which will pick up voices from
anywhere in the room.
A webcam, like the one pictured here, is effective for one to
one or small group work, but it is not suitable for use with larger
groups.
There are other options as well as these two and if you would
like advice about videoconferencing equipment, contact tim.arnold@devon.gov.uk
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The videoconferencing system St Mary’s used for
their link with Exeter Museum was set up by advisers from
Northamptonshire LA, Brenda Scoble, ICT in Schools Strategy
Manager, and Rachel Ager, ICT Adviser for the Primary Curriculum
Support Team. In this clip Brenda explains how they installed
the equipment in the school. |
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Videoconferencing is still relatively new to schools and
it is vitally important that there is a local support service
to help them with the technical set up, which schools know
how to access, and support in developing and embedding appropriate
curriculum use of the technology. Rachel and Brenda describe
the system they have in Northamptonshire.
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Local Authorities will also provide assistance registering
videoconferencing systems with the local Regional Broadband
Consortium (RBC) and with the Janet Videoconferencing Service
(JVCS). Rachel and Brenda explain the process they went through.
For more information about RBCs and JVCS visit www.nen.gov.uk . |
Preparation for the videoconference
Some weeks before the videoconference, both schools would
have been contacted by the learning team at Exeter Museum well
in advance of the videoconference to find out how much the class
had done on the Romans already and to customise the session as
necessary to accommodate the school’s specific requirements.
Plumpton School , for instance, incorporated the videoconference
into their Tardis Learning Project. Click here to see an overview
of the project and the short term planning document.
On the day of the videoconference the teachers arranged
the seating so that the children could all see the screen and be
seen by the camera. St Mary’s moved their tables and arranged
the seats in front of the whiteboard and used the tables to raise
the level of those sitting at the back.
The children at Plumpton sat on the floor for the videoconference.
The teacher arranged the children’s seating positions and
saved a number of pre-set camera shots an hour or so before the
conference began. He marked the floor so that the children took
up exactly the same positions when they came in from their break,
otherwise the pre-set shots would not have been the same.
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Once the children were in position, the teacher went through
the learning objectives for the session and did some final
preparation.
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The videoconference itself
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The conference opens with the staff at Exeter Museum introducing
themselves in character and setting the scene
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The museum team assess the children’s prior learning
by asking the children 10 key facts about Romans or inviting
them to ask questions. The museum co-ordinator will have
been in touch with the teacher before the conference to find
out what he children have already done on the Romans, but
this opening interchange gives the team a chance to fine-tune
the workshop to the children’s needs and the level
to which they are already engaged with the topic
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The next part of the session is the opportunity for the
children to interview a Roman soldier. First the museum team
teach the children how to greet the soldier correctly in
Latin
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The Year 3 group at Plumpton ask questions which include:
How many countries have you invaded? When would you wear
a toga? How do you become a Roman soldier? How does it feel
invading Britain ? What are your gods and goddesses called?
In this clip, they ask a question about the Roman salute.
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The Year 6 group at St Mary’s posed the soldier
some challenging questions which included “What are
the consequences of running away from battle? Have you ever
done the tortoise and the wedge in battle? Have you ever
been triumphant in battle and walked through the arch of
Titus? We were in Rome a few weeks ago and saw a temple dedicated
to Romulus . Have you ever been inside? What’s it like?
They also asked about drawing his sword and how soldiers
travelled, which you can see in this clip:
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This leads into an interactive toga wearing session. First
the museum staff talk about the material used to make a toga,
then show the children how to put one on:
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After a practice which involves the whole class, the tables
are turned and one pair of children instruct the museum staff
how to put their toga on.
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For the next part of the lesson the museum staff have
devised a guessing game, based on the television panel game “Call
My Bluff”, using some of the replicas of Roman artefacts
they have in the museum. The Museum use a camcorder on a
tripod as a ‘document camera’ to show the children
close ups of the artefacts. Here are the Plumpton children
guessing what one artefact is
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Here are the St Mary’s children guessing another
artefact:
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Depending on how much time is left, there is the option
here to carry on the session in whichever direction seems
most appropriate. The St Mary’s children chose to present
three articles of their own with three definitions for the
museum staff to guess and then went on to ask the soldier
more questions including - What’s your trade when you’re
not fighting? Do you have to be over a certain height to
join the army? Have you ever been close to death in battle?
Do you ever get to see your family? Why did you build Hadrian’s
Wall ? How long does your armour last?
Plumpton asked the soldier more questions before they said
goodbye, then they spent five minutes on a plenary session,
revisiting for a final time the theme of primary and secondary
sources.
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