Dartfish Classroom

content and design

Design and navigation

The navigation of this product is quite intuitive in places. The software has a Windows type interface therefore most users will find it a very familiar environment to work in, as did my students. One really nice feature of this software is when you first enter you are presented with a welcome screen that gives the user easy access to a range of resources that help then become familiar with the software. For example, the opening screen is split into three distinct areas, one of which being help tutorials which users can easily access to give them a good idea of the software. The start menu also gives the user the opportunity to start a new project, analyse an existing project or manage clips. Once into the software in a little more detail the user will find that playing and manipulating videos is very similar to using Movie Maker or i-movie. The buttons on screen are large and well laid out. For each button, there is pop up information as you move the mouse over it, which tells the user what the button does.

Once the user starts to analyse their video clips there is a toolbar that enables the user to annotate over the top of the video clips with a wide range of tools. These are very straightforward if you spend a little time playing with the program.

From an accessibility point of view, I could not find a mechanism to make the screen text any larger but this can easily be rectified through the display settings on an average PC. Toolbars can be adjusted, which is important if you are focusing on a particular aspect of the software.

Planning

There are a wide range of planning issues surrounding the use of the Dartfish Classroom Suite. As a new user of the product I found that a number of planning phases need to be addressed before beginning to use the software. In my case, the first phase was to identify the type of activity for which I was going to use the software. It can be used in a number of curriculum areas from the standard PE, dance and drama to more diverse cross curricular areas such as outdoor education although I chose to use it to support athletics. Once this decision has been made it is important that adequate time is allowed to train students in the use of cameras to enable them to take proper footage. I placed the students in pairs so that they could film each other. As a result of this, students could support each other with the filming and importing process. The filming and importing process took about two 1-hour lessons for the group of 16 students with whom I was working. The analysis took about the same amount of time. It is also worth noting that, when in a group of 16 students, there is a wide range of ability levels so different levels of support need to be offered.

Schemes of work supported

The Dartfish software can be used to support a range of curriculum subjects. The obvious one is Physical Education and sport-related courses. However, it is relatively easier to use the software for subjects where, as a teacher, you could use video. For example, you could use the package to examine performance, this is further enhanced with the classroom product as it enables students to produce Media books containing video clips of different processes with the subjct area. Students can also add notes to the video which means valuable revision tools can be created.

Literacy

Students will develop and reinforce their knowledge of PE terminlogy through the use of this software.

Numeracy

There are limited opportunities to develop numeracy skills, however, use of the timer will reinforce addition and subtraction skills.

Ease of installation

The school ICT technicians installed this software and had little difficulty once they had obtained the licence key. In this instance the software was deployed using a deployment solution called Alteris.

Support materials

The Dartfish support materials are very powerful because. Using the content CD-ROM it is possible for students to get used to analysing video performance without having to take their own video footage. This means that students can be asked to look at a video in a class situation and identify key points of interest. For example, using the stock video for long jump in athletics, students can be asked to identify the key critical moments in the long jump process from take off to landing. Combining this with the whiteboard, students can demonstrate their understanding. Within the package there is a range of other support material, which is useful. The video introductions are especially helpful as they provide teacher and student with a reference point at which to start. With video tutorials available it is easy to give students the basics of what the software is for and then let them learn independently.

It is worth noting that there is a range of support options, which can be paid for, including online support and face to face training sessions. Having experienced the training first-hand, this is something I would recommend to anyone thinking of buying this particular product.