Structured computer conferences in 2d animation

Today’s posting is about the web tool ‘structured computer conferences’ aka discussion boards.

I have been teaching at the community college level for a few years now, and in my introduction to animation class, I always feel we spend so much time on the technical aspects of the tools we use, that we end up not discussing the concepts and theories of animation that are required to be able to use the tool well.

When I do talk about them, I end up going through them quickly, and the students just sit there trying to memorize what I have said, like they might math flash cards.

From the book Meaningful Learning with Technology (Jonassen, et. al.) state that “In order for students to learn meaningfully, they must be willfully engaged in a meaningful task” (p. 1)

and further indicate 5 factors that make learning meaningful:

“Active…When learning about things in natural contexts, humans interact with their environment and manipulate the objects in that environment, observing the effects of the interventions and constructing their own interpretations of the phenomena and the results of their manipulations.” (p.2-3)

“Constructive…New experiences often provide a discrepancy between what learners observe and what they understand…that is when meaningful learning begins.”(p.3)

“Intentional…everything that we do is intended to fulfill some goal…technologies have often been used to support te3acher’s goals, but not those of learners.” (p.4)

“Authentic…most lessons learned in schools focus on general principles or theories…however teachers and professors remove those ideas from their natural contexts in order to be able to cover the curriculum more efficiently.” (p. 4)

“Cooperative…humans naturally work together in learning and knowledge-building communities.” (p.4)

So, how do I get my students to learn about animation techniques when they have not yet completely learned how to animate? The answer is quite simple, actually. I have them go through the design process of creating an animation, focusing on the non-technical aspects, such as storyboarding and art direction.

Our classrooms are so chaotic, with no real place to do this collaborative work, basically each student has a little semi-cubicle. So, I started thinking about how I could make use of our Blackboard online learning system to help out. And I started thinking about how
I could use the discussion boards built into blackboard for this purpose.


From his book “Modeling with technology: Mindtools for conceptual change” (2006), David H. Jonassen talking about discussion boards (called structured computer conferences), states that “the most effective computer conferences are those with a specific purpose, such as solving a problem.” (p. 195)
Jonassen also states that ”role-playing is more effective than debates for engaging higher-level argumentative discussion.” (p. 197)

These two pieces of information give me what I need to try out a new classroom strategy. This semester, I am having my students engage in a structured computer conference where they are to create an animation project from inception to ready-for-aniamtion.

They are completely responsible for all aspects of the project, including assigning real-life roles and performing those roles as they go through all of the pre-production steps necessary to create an animation.

This project will be due right in time for us to start our final animations (what a coincidence, huh?)

I am still trying to figure out a way to have the animation lessons we do along the way tie into this as well, so that the entire semester gets rolled up into this exercise. But for now, I am going to see how it goes.

So, check out the video and I apologize for the audio. My allergies are unbelievable right now and the dust storm today makes it so i can hardly breathe, let alone talk.

Animation Team Exercise Discussions Video

wish us luck. And take a nap, it’s good for you.