A slowmation (abbreviated from slow-motion animation) is a narrated animation designed and made by learners that is played in slow motion at 2 frames/second to explain a science concept. The purpose of this study was to compare the proposed learning design of a slowmation with the actual learning experiences of three preservice primary teachers as they created an animation about an obscure topic over a period of two hours. A range of data gathering methods were used to document the students’ learning experiences including individual interviews before and after creation to ascertain their pre and post knowledge as well as videoing and audio-recording the creation process. Data suggested that the proposed learning design is a guide for planning the teaching but does not adequately represent the iterative process of learning at each phase. Findings suggest that research should be conducted to compare a learning design with the actual learning experiences of students to make the learning design a more accurate representation of the learning process.
Funding
Generating Science Content Knowledge through Digital Animation in a Knowledge-building Community of Preservice Teachers
Hoban, G., Nielsen, W., Macdonald, D. & Ferry, B. (2009). Validating the Slowmation learning design: comparing a learning design with students' experiences of learning. Proceedings of The Future of Learning Designs Conference (pp. 61-68). Wollongong, NSW: University of Wollongong.