Authors Note: some small updates were made to this post on 28/03. Changes include providing image credits, and minor edits to the length and grammar of the post.
Sharing related, not identical, information both visually and auditorily is an incredibly beneficial way to teach students new information (Herrlinger et al., 2016). Plus, as we discussed in the Design Thinking post, allowing students to create their own materials can help them develop a deeper understanding of the topic being taught. This is exactly where a tool like Stop Motion Studio comes in.
Stop Motion Studio is an app that allows students to create stop motion videos. The app allows for easy, in app picture taking, and has the option to overlay the previous image for framing continuity. Similarly, it allows students to toggle the number of frames per second, as well as an auto-shooting mode where photos automatically get taken after a pre-determined amount of time.
Stop Motion Studio can be utilised in a variety of ways. In the NSW Science and Technology syllabus, ST2-6MW-S and ST2-2DP-T require Stage 2 students to describe “how adding or removing heat causes a change of state” (NESA, 2017, p. 17) and select “equipment to develop solutions” (NESA, 2017, p. 16) respectively. Students can use Stop Motion Studio to portray how a difference in temperature can affect materials through stop motion videos.
Another way to use Stop Motion Studio in the classroom is by having students recreate scenes from texts they have already studied, which allows students to deepen their understanding (Djonov et al., 2021), and express how they visualised scenes taking place. Similarly, EN2-HANDW-02 requires Stage 2 students to use “digital technologies to create texts” (NESA, 2022), which is easily achievable with Stop Motion Studio. To extend the task, students could also be required to storyboard their ideas before creating their video, which also meets syllabus outcome EN2-CWT-01, where students must plan and create imaginative texts (NESA, 2022).
Stop Motion Studio can be utilised in a socio-constructivist nature, allowing students to work together in order to create their own videos. The app can also be used to foster creativity as students are encouraged to express stories in an exciting manner.
CC by Ashleigh Norsa
Stop Motion Studio is a lot more accessible than the other technology previously discussed on this blog, as there is a free version available across a variety of devices. In order to add sound in-app, however, the paid version would be required which limits the widespread availability.
CC by Ashleigh Norsa
References
Djonov, E., Tseng, C., & Lim, F. V. (2021). Children’s experiences with a transmedia narrative:
Insights for promoting critical multimodal literacy in the digital age. Discourse, Context & Media, 43, Article 100493. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dcm.2021.100493
Herrlinger, S., Höffler, T. N., Opfermann, M., & Leutner, D. (2016). When do pictures help
learning from expository text? Multimedia and modality effects in primary schools. Research in Science Education, 47(3), 685-704. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11165-016-
9525-y
NSW Educational Standards Authority (2017). Science and technology K-6 syllabus: NSW
syllabus for the Australian curriculum. https://educationstandards.nsw.edu.au/wps/
portal/nesa/k-10/learning-areas/science/science-and-technology-k-6-new-syllabus
NSW Education and Standards Authority (2022). English K-10 syllabus: Content. NSW
Curriculum. https://curriculum.nsw.edu.au/learning-areas/english/english-k-10-2022?tab=content
Hello Ashleigh,
Great blog! Interesting use of information and interactive and engaging videos provided. Everything seems perfect however, i would recommend adding a limitation of the complexity of using multimedia for children.
Thank you,
Dyala Chahab - 12/4/2023
Fantastic blog post Ashleigh!
I can tell you have taken the time to craft this post with relevant resources and numerous links to the curriculum. I loved how you identified the ways StopMotion can be implemented into the classroom. Your post was engaging, interesting and fun, which made it a joy to read. There is nothing I can think of to improve on!
Great work!
Lachlan S.
Hi Ashleigh! I am so impressed with how you combined the importance and effectiveness of Stop Motion and how it can be utilised within the syllabus while enhancing the creativity of all students who are utilising it! In addition, I found it intriguing how you can get students to analyse and recreate concepts of texts that they have studied using inanimate objects, which I think would be incredibly worthwhile to segment into long-term memory! I also admire your use of limitations due to the paywall that prevents other multimedia effects. Still, I would love to see other constraints that could prevent enhancing creativity or learning! Perhaps you can mention the complexity of the technology for kids or how a lack of cinematographic…
Hello Ashleigh,
I am very fond of your blog post! It was a captivating read on this week's topic of Multimedia and Creativity, and I must add how well you have explained the various opportunities to foster these topics in a classroom. The two insightful recommendations and links to the NSW Curriculum are very useful and contemporary ways of implementing the Stop Motion Studio application. As well, it was essential of the benefits and limitations that this application may have for some classes and allows them to reflect if it is suitable or not.
Eva Kostopoulos 26/03/23
Hi Ashleigh,
What a great blog post! I love the high level of detail in explaining where Stop Motion Studio could be used in the classroom to foster creativity. Referencing the syllabus dot points is very beneficial for teachers to use.
I also like how you included a video of the process in creating the stop motion and the final product. This provides valuable insight into how long a stop motion may take to create. In future, I would recommend adding legends to your photos and videos that explain what is in the image and provide copywrite/ references. This will help the reader understand exactly what’s going on and who created the content.
Overall, I can tell you’ve thought a…