Lesson Reflection - Richard - Idents

1. What did you see as the aim(s) of the lesson? 

The aim of the lesson was to create an ident for a fictional production company using Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Premiere. The ultimate learning objective was to develop existing skills in image editing and to introduce the basics of animation; utilising both programmes together effectively. Furthermore, we felt it was necessary to touch upon branding and the importance of company identity.

2. What did you plan to do? 

We planned to divide the lesson into three simple phases: introduction and discussion; practical task with guidance; further discussion and feedback. We also produced a handout with the basic steps to creating an ident. Initially I wanted to present a quick tutorial going through the basic steps, however we decided to skip this due to time constraints and wanting to allow the pupils more time to develop their skills independently. Finally, as a tribute to one of my secondary school teachers, I planned to inject a small amount of humour into the final phase of the lesson through the use of a small clip relevant to the topic.

3. What went well? 

I feel we worked well as a pair and delivered an engaging lesson. The powerpoint presentation was simple but effective, the instructions clear and concise. Every pair completed the task and produced excellent work. I feel the lesson was well paced and the class maintained a high level of concentration throughout. Feedback was positive and enthusiastic; it seemed the pupils thoroughly enjoyed the lesson.

4. What didn't go so well and how would you do it differently? 

The second discussion topic was not clear and not entirely necessary. Perhaps when comparing such media in the future a quick question delivered to the whole group would be more effective. During the practical part of the lesson it became apparent that one pupil would control the mouse and dominate the task. I would definitely intervene more next time to ensure both pupils have adequate time on the mouse to develop their skills. I also feel the examples we displayed were quite limited and did not give pupils an idea of the level of work they were expected to produce. I think the addition of previous student work as well as professional examples would be more beneficial. 

5. What do you think people learned from the session? 

I feel most pupils gained a basic understanding of motion effects in Adobe Premiere. It is also clear that all pairs successfully used both programmes together; learning that cross-software editing is a very innovative method and opens the doors to an abundance of creative capabilities.