A collaborative exploration of the senses.  Deaf students use film and animation techniques to broaden their understanding of sound. This chapter offers a range of cross curriculum activities with a difference. Before we begin, I have a question for you... ...Can you see sound?

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Can You See Sound?
Adventures in Film and Animation

2. About the Author
Darryl Bedford
Darryl Bedford is an Apple Distinguished Educator and an Advanced Skills Teacher
working in central London. He is an Art teacher at Oak Lodge School for Deaf Children
and works closely with several local mainstream schools. He works across all key
stages, providing advice, support and training focused on future technologies in the
classroom. He has extensive knowledge and experience of creative cross-curricular
project work featuring Apple technology. Darryl utilises video, animation, portable
devices and Internet technologies to encourage collaborative learning and crosscurricular links.

3. ONE BEST THING
Visualizing Sound - Adventures in Film and Animation
A collaborative exploration of the senses. Deaf students use film and animation
techniques to broaden their understanding of sound.
This chapter offers a range of cross curriculum activities with a difference.
Before we begin, I have a question for you...
...Can you see sound?
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4. Big questions are fun... don't you think?
I teach deaf and language impaired children in central
London. My role in recent years has enabled me to work
with neighbouring mainstream schools. This has allowed
me to reach out to many different audiences and develop
Collaborative
Learning
Collaborative learning is not
a new concept. Throughout
time, man’s collaborative
efforts have lead to an acceleration of the creative
process resulting in surprising outcomes.
approaches that cater for all key stages (5-19 years). My
Collaborative working practices are well established within
story will hopefully inspire you to try some of the
the workplace and employers look for evidence of
suggested activities, adapting them to your own
communication, group work and problem solving.
curriculum.
Student centered, collaborative learning allows for
Almost any theme or concept can be animated. Your
freedom of enquiry and draws on student strengths and
students can demonstrate their understanding of subject
interests, equipping them with the skills for future
matter by transforming concepts into new forms.
employment. Similar to the Challenge Based Learning
This process highlights Bloom’s higher order thinking
approach, a main question or theme commences the
skills. Creation being the highest order, involving a
process and students respond creatively to the stimulus,
transformation of knowledge in order to communicate
developing skills of problem solving and group work along
understanding through a new medium.
the way.
An educational revolution is underway; recognising the
need to nurture flexible, creative minds. If we as
educators can instill in our students a love for learning
and a fervor for enquiry they will then have the tools to
embrace change and to succeed.
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5. Learning is
Social
Often students are required to
work independently. Powerful
learning, however, is social.
Inquisitive
Minds
Tara Bell, Head of Curriculum
Design at Oak Lodge School
has developed an enquiry
Many modern educationalists have studied this
based curriculum aimed at year 7 and 8 students (11-13
phenomenon.
Years). The ‘Curious Minds’ curriculum draws on modern
Professor Sugata Mitra, (Professor of Educational
Technology at Newcastle University, England) provides
strong evidence of the benefits of learning in a social
context. I highlight his studies because he is specifically
interested in technology and how it can encourage
productive interaction in the classroom. His ‘hole in the
wall’ project focused on children developing and sharing
skills independently. His work is centred on classrooms in
pedagogy, intertwining personal learning and thinking skills
with language development. One day a week, the timetable
is collapsed for staff and student to focus on thematic
enquiry. This involves three phases; enquiry, design and
perform. Teachers form many different curriculum areas
work together to plan and deliver student centered learning
activities. Students have an active role in guiding their
learning pathways and in reaching a shared outcome.
which student’s work with one computer between four
Experiential learning helps our students build a better
pupils; researching, developing and presenting conceptual
understanding of their world.
understandings in groups. In this model, the teacher
becomes a facilitator; checking, directing and refining skills
and content.
The freedom to enquire and develop knowledge and skills
has had huge learning gains. Technology plays an integral
role within this process. The freedom to explore ideas has
resulted in many innovative projects.
‘Education is a self-organising system, where
learning is an emergent phenomenon.’
Professor Sugata Mitra
'Innovation is the fuel that drives the global
economy and it must be fostered in our nation's
schools'.
'School of tomorrow’ www.mmiweb.org.uk
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6. Creative
Balham
South London schools came together to create, animate,
edit and express.
This project was a collaborative effort, in the vein of
Project Based Learning, to address a real world challenge.
The main participants were four neighbouring schools.
Read about these projects in the slider to the left.
This chapter will focus on contributions from Oak
Lodge School for Deaf Children.
Oak Lodge School for
Deaf Children
A small group of year 7 and
8 (11-13 years) students
participating in a
collaborative project based
curriculum entitled
“Inquisitive Minds”.
Drag to read more about this project!
Creative Balham
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7. Oak Lodge School students were asked to explore
their understanding of sound and document the process
for several neighbouring mainstream schools, whom
would later participate in similar enquiry.
If students have a clear understanding of the
purpose for their efforts then engagement is
dramatically improved.
My story focusses on a collective exploration of
knowledge and experience. Technology and modern
teaching methods drive the process. This chapter can
be viewed on several levels. Primarily as an example of
how technology can impact on the teaching and
learning process, as a study of the collaborative process
or as a collection of engaging film and animation
activities.
Technology opens doors to new creative ways of
working!
Enjoy!
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9. TECHNOLOGY
This project features activities where 4 to 5 students share one iPad, engaging in
transformative classroom activities. Professor Sugata Mitra would be proud!
The beauty of Apple technology is its ease of setup and intuitive use; paving the
way for truly engaging, transformative learning activities.
Animation
Animation is social by nature. Rarely do animators work alone as the process can
be time consuming. Many hands not only make light work, but drive the creative
process. I believe the group dynamic created during this activity is the reason for
my fascination with animation within the classroom.
Animation is also a lot of fun!
Apple Products
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10. My aim is not to create tutorials for specific apps, but to focus on process. Many of
my apps belong to a genre and I aim to highlight the features to look out for.
Portability
The power of the iPad lies in its simplicity and portability. The aim is to maximise
workflow in order to capture, composite, edit and share amazing content. Never
before has it been so easy to produce quality images, video, audio and animation
on the go.
For over 10 years now, animation
has been relatively simple task,
thanks to portable laptops and
user-friendly software. The iPad
further simplifies this process.
When technology rarely interrupts
the creative process, you know
you’re on a winner!
Interface
Apps are constantly improving- new apps are harnessing the power of Apple’s portable devices’ multi-media inputs with
simple, intuitive interfaces. Thus making creative story telling an intuitive process.
Apps
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11. Additional Technology
Applications
Itunes
Photo Booth
Videator
Tripod, Monopod, Movie Mount, Microphone, Light.
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12. EXPLORATION
Students and teachers united to explore alternative ways of
experiencing sound and music. This section outlines some of our
discoveries, leading to a broad range of cross curriculum activities.
Can you see sound?
Are there some processes that complement our auditory perception?
What other senses are in play?
If we are to focus on these senses, are we able to develop a new
relationship to sound?
That would be a truly transformative outcome!
How do we experience sound?
SENSES
We use our senses to “read” our environment. It’s commonly thought, the loss of one sense
heightens other senses. This is clearly evident when considering blind people and touch.
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13. VIBRATION
“We experience sound
through vibration. This is picked up in hollow
spaces within our body.”
Nick Cattermole
Nick Cattermole, a professional musician and instrument
maker worked with my students, broadening their
understanding of sound, vibration and alternative ways of
perceiving sound.
Oak Lodge students discover vibration with help from
Michael Ormiston and a Tibetan singing bowl.
Experiencing vibration through their feet.
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14. Deaf Students
and Music
In the past deaf students
were disapplied from formal
music lessons. However modern pedagogy espousing the
importance of providing students with a ‘whole education’
has reversed this opinion. This requires covering all areas
of creativity and allowing students to develop skills that
may reveal themselves as talents, interests or life long
pursuits.
Several deaf people have gone on to become professional
musicians.
Of greatest importance is the value music has for the
developing brain.
Visualisers
I have been fascinated with visualising sound for many
years. My initial interest was sparked during an annual
school disco for deaf students. Many students enjoyed the
social aspect of the disco but had no way of accessing the
music apart from standing close to the speakers and
experiencing the vibrations.
The original music visualization programme was written in
the mid 90s.
I think my first exposure to the idea of `visualizing music
was in the movie ‘Electric Dreams’.
Studies have shown the benefits music has for the
development of language
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15. The Science of
Sound
Quantum Mechanics tells us
that everything in the
universes is a wave and thus
has its own frequency.
The iPhone App ‘SoundBeam’ is projected and used to
visualise a student’s voice.
A Chladni Plate experiment for Nancy Duarte’s
iBook ‘Resonate’.
Of all the visual representations of waveforms on the
Internet, the Chladni plate impressed me the most. It’s
also a fantastic starting point for talking about the visual
vibration and the visual properties of sound waves.
Many mobile apps are available to generate and display
sound waves, bringing the science lab into the classroom!
Investigating wave forms by running a tone generator
and a signal processor in tandem.
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16. Abstract Art
Abstract art comes from
within, it taps in to all our
senses. This is a great
starting point for experimenting with animation
techniques because of the creative freedom it inspires.
Some people can see sound! Wassily Kandinsky was one
such person!
Wassily Kandinsky was the ‘Father of Abstract Art’. He
strove to document music using colour, shape, lines and
vibration. His paintings were records of musical
compositions.
Kandinsky was a Synesthetic. He truly could see sound or,
at the very least, he was able to splice two senses
together and process them as one.
One of my student’s interpretation of
Kandinsky’s ‘Small Pleasures’, 1913
Re-imagining Kandinsky’s artwork.
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17. Careers
VJ
Visual Jockeys often work alongside DJs to visualize and
intensify the experience of music. Visual vocabulary is
imprinted in our youths’ visual vocabulary. MTV and
YouTube make this art form immediately consumable and
common place.
VJ's create a visual for music; heightening our emotive
connection by multiplying sensory input.
Animators
Animators draw on their skills of acting, story telling,
artistic creation and creative/scientific experimentation.
Often working in large teams, breathing life into the
inanimate!
A short animation in homage to Jan
Svankmajer.
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18. CREATION
My students’ began by investigating iPad ‘sound’ apps. They
sketched their interpretation of wave formations and started to
make connections to pitch, tone and volume. They were fascinated
with sound waves, leading to a string of experiments.
What does sound look like?
Experiencing
Sound
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19. Responding to
Music
With the help of Nick
Cattermole, students’
developed an understanding of vibration and how the
body responds to vibration within its many hollow
spaces. They created musical instruments and developed
a deeper understanding of sound.
They explored the musical qualities of membranes, and
strings. They experimented with air and lengths of
tubing. They engaged in individual experiments and
devised new activities for responding to sound and
vibration.
Their investigations were filmed using iPaps and the
video was reviewed at the end of the session.
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20. Visualising
Sound
Using the iTunes ‘classic’ visualiser, students’ played a musical composition by artist and
composer, Arnold Schoenberg, a friend of Wassily Kandinsky. The expressionist music was
perfect for triggering fantastic visualisations. Students’ used capture software to create screen shots. Keeping only the best
examples. This was a great opportunity to discuss composition and develop a shared visual vocabulary. Students’ applied
the new vocabulary by titling their screen captures.
Classic iTunes visualiser,
pulsating rhythms of light.
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21. Animating
Animation is a great way to
learn sequencing of
information and story telling. I created a simple flip book
using Keynote for iPad to illustrate the concept of frame
by frame animation.
Animation
Setup
Using an iPad mount allows
for the simplest setup of an
animation station. The tripod raises the camera above the
action. I used iMotion HD as my animation app of choice.
Digital Flip Book: Keep tapping the button!
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22. Flip Books
This was a great way of teaching the concept of “onion skinning”, the previous image is
seen through the notwbook paper, allowing the student to make slight alterations to each
consecutive image as the pages were turned.
Each student started animating with the same shared shape. Once complete each book was digitally animated, one after
the other, to make one animation.
Individuals came together to produce a shared work!
The success of this project lies in a shared aim, in this case it was to respond to the ‘visualiser’ investigations. Students
used line to express movement and vibration.
A video documenting the capture
process.
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23. Kaleidoscopes
Repeating and reflecting an animation or live video
can imitate visualiser effects and result in surprisingly
professional results. ‘Videator’ for Mac was used to
create real time video processing. Students’
attempted to imitated rhythm and movement from
their previous investigations.
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Videator

24. Kandinsky
Kandinsky’s artwork offers a wonderful way to explore the
depiction of music and develop complex compositions.
Animating using colour, shape and lines removes the
restraints of realism and allows students to focus on group
work and the generation of ideas.
“There is no MUST in art,
because art is free!”
Student interpretation of Kandinsky’s ‘Moscow 1’ 1916
Wassily Kandinsky
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25. Materials
Experimenting with materials is one of the most enjoyable parts of animation. Providing a
choice of materials can result in very individual responses to a task.
Begin with one or two different types of materials, allowing students to explore their unique qualities without drawing
away from the desired aim.
Start with two dimensional work and progress to three dimensional work. Using an ‘arial’ animation setup simplifies the
task!
A variety of materials to engage students in the art of creation.
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26. Vocabulary
Development
Animating words and titles is a great way to
reinforce vocabulary. This task really showcases a
transformational classroom activity that focusses
on group-work skills.
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27. Stomp
Class visits provide valuable learning experiences. Oak Lodge
students’ visited the West End performance of ‘Stomp’, their
energetic impromptu response to the visit was filmed in the
subway. They created poetry and used ‘MovBeats’ for the
iPhone to record a movement piece.
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28. Music and
sound
A collection of objects for sound and music experiments.
The visit to Stomp sparked a host of experiments with
homemade musical instruments.
MovBeats for iPhone provided the perfect interface for
capturing, processing and playing sound and movement
creations.
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29. Independent
Exploration
Working independently to explore the theme,
extends students in directions that draw on
their strengths and allows curiosity to lead the
creative process. Oak Lodge students’
discoveries feed new areas of enquiry and had
a profound effect on the subsequent instruction
and direction of the project.
Independent exploration of sound utilising iPad apps.
Ingenious visualising of drum sounds.
A student documents the learning process.
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30. Filming an iPad Visualiser app results in stunning results.
A student’s app recommendation
drives exploration.
Top: Crushed pastel on a drum.
Below: Processed using ‘Videator’.
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31. REVIEW
My story started as a question and grew in directions totally unexpected. The results have now
become the basis of a larger project that I have implemented in many local schools,
encouraging teamwork and developing new film and animation approaches. I facilitate
creative use of technology within the classroom with the aim of instilling staff with the
confidence to explore technology further.
I know that technology has the potential to transform learning and is already transforming the
way many schools view their curriculum and structure their learning activities.
I also know those that benefit the most are our students. If our students take control of their
learning they are more likely to be life long learners and life long achievers.
Hopefully, this chapter will inspire you to try some of the ideas. I have included many starting
points to commence enquiry.
But before you begin, I have a question for you...
...can you see sound?
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