FLOMO - Innovative ways of improving media literacy
Aim
Mounts Bay School, Humphrey Davy School, Penwith College and Looe Community College all wanted to explore novel ways of developing media literacy for everyone, enhancing communication between staff, students and the community; engaging with new technologies and their applications.
This work is an enhancement and direct continuation of the most successful outcomes from the schools’ 2008 Creative Partnerships Change School projects.
From this start point, a challenge was set: ‘How can we develop a web series over a group of partnerships which reflects the real life experiences and ideologies of young people today?’
Process
Together the schools developed FLOMO, an online community based media literacy tool which allows users to share the development of digital stories, while being professionally mentored. Built on a content managed system, FLOMO is simple and easy to use and means staff and students from each school can upload work, discuss ideas and plan activity.
Through FLOMO, the young people from each school have learned about the creation of narrative, shoot planning, production and editing, communicating and developing their digital product. This has developed their IT literacy by building their knowledge and experience of online systems alongside growing their media literacy by conceiving, planning and producing their own drama series.
FLOMO has also allowed the young people involved in the project to consider how the media pervades modern society and how the traditional boundaries between media creators and consumers are blurring in the digital age.
The resulting drama series created by the pupils of Mounts Bay, Looe, Penwith and Humphry Davy will be launched online in early July and a web TV channel is being developed to host and screen the series.
Impact
The young people involved in FLOMO have not only developed their IT and media literacy; core literacy skills and leadership skills have developed too. Through creating and building up convincing characters, devising story lines and creating scripts, their engagement with and interest in English has increased. By working with other schools on the project their negotiation, compromise and team work skills have grown and along with their ability to express their ideas and argue their case, they have developed their student voice.
"Part of the process has been stopping and reviewing every session to go over ideas and see what’s working and changing things - thinking from audience point of view. I've learnt how to do characters a lot more now - how to give them more up and down, happy and sad. Writing down more thoughts and working from that rather than just going round in your head with ideas." Year 10 pupil, Mounts Bay
"I like the idea of writing for a wider audience and I have thought about other things which I wouldn't have thought about. It’s making it easier in English because I'm putting in more detail, so I’m finding it easier for me to pick up on things in lessons." Year 10 pupil, Mounts Bay
