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Profiles in Success: FÍS
The project, based at IADT, has a comprehensive range of Macs including MacBook, MacBook Pro, Power Mac G5, PowerBook and iBook. Local Education Centres have the latest models of iMac and MacBook, and a Canon camera, available for booking. The schools themselves are equipped with video cameras, tripods and microphones, and share digital editing suites.
As the project has developed, increasing investment in technology means many participating primary schools will increasingly have their own computer equipment. So when the pilot FÍS Book Club was introduced, requiring minimal technology resources, the decision to join was an easy one for school heads.
“All schools have to do is provide a computer with a video facility”, says Ciarán McCormack. “Young readers can then film their own book reports, edit them as they want, and press a button to load them onto a secure password protected FÍS Book Club website. Children from other schools can then browse lists of books they might be interested in and watch the relevant videos. The technology is cross-platform, but it all works incredibly well on a Mac, because iSight is an integral part of many Mac models”.
To offset some of the administrative costs, and to encourage a recognition of its learning value, the FÍS team decided to charge a nominal fee to schools to participate in FÍS Book Club. A new departure for the FÍS project is that access is available to schools in the UK as well as in Ireland. Ten schools in Peterborough have signed up for the pilot so far.
The new FÍS Community Digital Media Centre is based in a community centre in a disadvantaged area of Dublin, and entirely equipped with Apple technology. To maximise flexibility, iMac systems with 24” screens are attached to the walls, and foldable chairs each have their own wireless keyboard and mouse.
“FÍS shows that technology is not just about kids at school sitting passively in front of a computer. Film production encourages children to be active, and that is something all schools are trying to foster currently.”
— Jim Devine, Director of IADT
“The whole idea is that the centre can be used for all kinds of activities, and the technology is designed to be used to enhance photography, web design, music, video projects and any other creative activity”, says Ciarán McCormack. “People can learn new skills for work or just get pleasure from being creative”.
The FÍS project in primary schools encourages the use of film in a wide variety of ways. One school is making a series of documentaries about its local history, based on interviews with the school caretaker. Another has adapted a Graham Greene short story for film, with children writing the screenplay, and acting and filming their own production.
Other schools study the science of film technology, or explore dance and music through film sound tracks. Many use the opportunity film presents to hone reading and writing skills. Schools that cater for children with physical and learning disabilities have found film particularly helpful in establishing a sense of individual achievement.
Filmmaking is also flexible for a group of children with mixed abilities. There is a role for everyone – storyboard, continuity, camera, sound, or even holding the microphone. Teachers report improvements in collaborative skills, articulacy, decision making and creativity.
Jim Devine, Director of IADT, believes that FÍS contains a number of important messages about using technology in education. “FÍS shows that technology is not just about kids at school sitting passively in front of a computer. Film production encourages children to be active, and that is something all schools are trying to foster currently”.
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