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Filmmaking and Animation Online and in the Classroom

Learn how to use simple filmmaking and animation techniques to bring learning to life and enhance learning across the curriculum.

29,463 enrolled on this course

A child holds up an iPad to film other school children who are creating frames with their fingers..
  • Duration

    3 weeks
  • Weekly study

    3 hours

Teach your students how to make simple short films and animations

This course will teach you how to use simple filmmaking and animation techniques to aid assessment and attainment across the curriculum for young people aged 5-19.

You’ll discover how film and animation can be used as powerful tools to encourage active learning and enable pupils to establish strong connections with any area of the curriculum.

Explore filmmaking frameworks to use with your students

Alongside filmmaking experts at Into Film you’ll learn how to make simple short films and animations using evaluation and progression throughout the filmmaking process.

You’ll learn to create curriculum-focused filmmaking briefs and get advice for running fun and educational filmmaking projects

Teach filmmaking anywhere

As well as exploring activities for use back in the classroom, the course will help you to consider online strategies for delivering filmmaking and animation activities remotely to support your teaching during times of remote learning.

Learn with Into Film – the film education charity

This course has been developed by Into Film – one of the largest educational charities in the UK – which works with schools to deliver free training, resources and after-school film clubs.

You might also like to check out Into Film’s other course, Using Film to Teach Literacy Online and in the Classroom, which is running at the same time.

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Skip to 0 minutes and 7 seconds Simon Richards: If you’re an educator looking for a new and exciting way to bring lessons to your pupils, a way to engage and enthuse them and a way that brings the curriculum to life, or you’d like to utilize a range of new technologies to speak to young people in a language they understand, then I would like to invite you to join Into Film’s new free online course with FutureLearn. (SR) I’m Simon Richards, Teacher Training Manager at Into Film, and over the course of the next three weeks my colleagues and I, as well as other education experts will teach you how to use film and animation in the classroom to help increase attainment in your lessons no matter what the subject.

Skip to 0 minutes and 46 seconds John Peto: It takes a student from the role of a consumer of learning and education into a creator of their own learning and education.

Skip to 0 minutes and 53 seconds Helen Caldwell: If school pupils are making animations to show how a volcano works, “I need to know this because I’m making this and I’m going to show it to these people” that’s a real driver for learning. (SR) We’ll show you a range of incredibly simple yet effective activities that cover research to planning and creating to evaluating. Producing content that will be fully in line with the National Curriculum.

Skip to 1 minute and 14 seconds (JP) We’ve seen time and time again young people really raise their quality of output raise their game in terms of the work they’re doing because they know this is going to be seen it’s going to be shared, it’s going to reflect directly on them as a person or team that made that film. So it’s a powerful tool in that sense. (SR) Through the course you’ll also have an understanding of how filmmaking can have a hugely positive impact on your pupils at every stage. So I hope you can join us on this course, ready to bring the wonder of film into your classroom.

Syllabus

  • Week 1

    Shoot and Screen – the One-Shot Film

    • Welcome

      An introduction to Filmmaking and Animation Online and in the Classroom.

    • Shoot and Screen - think, plan, create, evaluate

      In this activity we’ll be using a filmmaking framework called Shoot and Screen which has four steps: think, plan, create and evaluate.

    • Think - The one-shot film

      We're going to examine pupil thinking skills and use our thinking skills to generate ideas for using film to maximise learning. We'll also look at film examples created for use in different areas of the curriculum.

    • Plan - The one-shot film

      In this activity, we will be planning our film and developing the skills we need to create it including learning about camera shots.

    • Create – The one-shot film

      In this activity we'll be creating a one-shot curricular film.

    • Evaluate – the one-shot film

      Screening and evaluating your one-shot film.

    • Extend

      In this activity we'll extend our learning and understand how film can be used as a tool for assessment across the curriculum.

    • Reflect

      Reflecting on the learnings for Week 1.

  • Week 2

    Shoot and Screen - the Five-Shot Film

    • Welcome

      In this part of the course we’ll look at what lies ahead in Week 2 of Filmmaking and Animation Online and in the Classroom.

    • Think – The five-shot film

      In this activity we'll look at a range of five-shot film examples and start thinking about possible themes, topics and ideas for bringing this type of filmmaking into the classroom.

    • Plan - The five-shot film

      In this section we'll start to plan out a five-shot film. We'll consider how you can improve the quality of your filmmaking, create a multi shot filming brief and storyboard our film.

    • Create - The five-shot film

      Creating your five-shot film!

    • Evaluate - The five-shot film

      In this activity we'll focus on evaluating your and pupils five-shot films.

    • Extend

      In this activity we'll extend our learning by looking at two other types of multi-shot films you can bring into your teaching practice.

    • Reflect

      Reflecting on the learnings for Week 2.

  • Week 3

    Shoot and Screen – Stop Motion Animation

    • Welcome

      Welcome to Week 3 where we'll learn about and create short curriculum-linked animations!

    • Think – stop motion animation

      In this activity we'll look at a range of stop-frame animations and consider how animation can be used with a range of subjects and abilities.

    • Plan – stop motion animation

      We'll look at how to create a variety of animated characters, learn how to build a set from a shoe box, and explore lighting our animated set.

    • Create - stop motion animation

      We’ll look at how stop motion animation works, how we can bring objects to life and how we make them appear to move. We'll begin to create our own stop-frame animation!

    • Evaluate - stop motion animation

      In this activity we'll learn about the benefits of screening and evaluating our stop-frame animation films for curricular learning.

    • Extend

      We'll be looking at how we can use animation as a tool for assessment, and planning our next steps for implementation with students.

    • Conclude

      Next steps and goodbye from the team!

When would you like to start?

Start straight away and join a global classroom of learners. If the course hasn’t started yet you’ll see the future date listed below.

  • Available now

Learning on this course

On every step of the course you can meet other learners, share your ideas and join in with active discussions in the comments.

What will you achieve?

By the end of the course, you‘ll be able to...

  • Assess pupil's learning through filmmaking and animation
  • Develop own and pupil's filmmaking skills
  • Produce a range of curriculum-focused short films and animations
  • Explore filmmaking frameworks for use with pupils
  • Evaluate own and peer-made short films to encourage progression
  • Design class-based filmmaking projects

Who is the course for?

The course has been designed for educators who are looking to deliver engaging, curriculum-focused learning experiences in any educational setting.

The course is suitable for those new to filmmaking as well as those who already using it in their teaching.

Who will you learn with?

Alexia worked as a primary school teacher and enjoyed leading a successful film club. She is now the Training Manager at Into Film.

Justin has taught in primary schools for almost a decade, working with pupils across KS1 and KS2. He is now a Learning Coordinator at Into Film.

As a primary school teacher in South Wales Simon taught right across the KS 1&2 spectrum.
He was also the Teacher Training Manager at Into Film before starting his own training company - eCoach.

Darryl worked as a Secondary Computer Science Teacher and has taught across all key stages. He now works as a Learning Officer at Into Film.

Who developed the course?

Into Film

Into Film is a UK-wide film and education charity, which puts film at the heart of children and young people’s learning, contributing to their cultural, creative and personal development.

Learning on FutureLearn

Your learning, your rules

  • Courses are split into weeks, activities, and steps to help you keep track of your learning
  • Learn through a mix of bite-sized videos, long- and short-form articles, audio, and practical activities
  • Stay motivated by using the Progress page to keep track of your step completion and assessment scores

Join a global classroom

  • Experience the power of social learning, and get inspired by an international network of learners
  • Share ideas with your peers and course educators on every step of the course
  • Join the conversation by reading, @ing, liking, bookmarking, and replying to comments from others

Map your progress

  • As you work through the course, use notifications and the Progress page to guide your learning
  • Whenever you’re ready, mark each step as complete, you’re in control
  • Complete 90% of course steps and all of the assessments to earn your certificate

Want to know more about learning on FutureLearn? Using FutureLearn

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