c. Selecting ICT Resources

The teacher in the case study is completely at home with the skills behind most of the options we have looked at above, including having first-hand knowledge of some sites dedicated to theatres on the web with which he could have electronic communication. He already has some word-processed materials, he has seen some good general and commercial sites on the World Wide Web, and he knows how to use a CD-ROM.

You may not be in the same positions as he is, so we shall look at the options in the context of your school and your experience. Think about the following points as they apply to you:

Use discussion only, and not use any ICT (or other technology) at all.
I have a bit of a problem with this (I would say that, wouldn't I?) in as much as my own experience of working with this area of work is that it is both hugely enjoyable - on its own, without technology - and very challenging for young people. Especially in terms of the objectives set for this case study, there is such a wealth of material available from the World Wide Web and CD-ROM, and so much you can do with the technology to get access to lively and detailed information, that I really would want to get the most out of the syllabus, the technology and the pupils by combining some of the options.

Use a word processor package to create text-based worksheets on the area of work.
Here the question is one of how much the pupils will learn, retain and organise if the teacher spends his time on creating learning and testing resources using a word processor, and how much they would have done so anyway. My own view is that it need not take much time to create high quality learning text-based resources, but that it more effective to develop resources that integrate text, graphics and other stimuli - the design diagrams provided with this case study, for example. It also seems likely that the time spent on creating high quality resources of the sort the teacher wants is likely to be returned in the adaptability and re-usability of the resources.

Use a CD-ROM to gain access to background material - either general material such as can be found on typical encyclopedias, or more focussed resources in CD subject-specific collections.
The kinds of CD currently, readily and cheaply available to teachers and the general public really only allow the most general level of understanding of issues in Drama, whatever area of the curriculum you are exploring. The Encyclopedias such as Encarta, Compton and Hutchinson, the educational materials produced by DK and one or two other companies, and the vast range of other CD-ROM resources, often fall short of real focus on what we want pupils doing Drama in KS 3 or 4 to learn. However, in combination with other techniques, even the most general CD product with its use of a range of media can be of use. You can also gain access to the resources and examples provided with this case study, either through the CD, or using the SBOLP web site.

Use the World Wide Web to gather resources.
Obviously, it will be useful to gain access to sites on the web dedicated to specific theatres, where you can download images and plans that allow the theatre to come to life without the expensive and time-consuming business of a trip to London or an even more distant city. The sites below offer interesting examples of information about specific theatres and other performance spaces, and good sources of the sort of information you already have in the supplied disc. All of the sites have been checked and contain information about theatre design, stage design, lighting and audio technical specifications and supplementary services such as loading facilities, pit facilities and dressing rooms. The sites taken together provide pupils with an interesting insight into the commercial world of theatre management, and would certainly be worth exploring over a longer period and a greater variety of activities than those particularly raised in this case study.

www.lyric.co.uk/homepage/index_f.html
The Lyric Theatre.

www.londontheatre.co.uk/indexframe.html
The Garrick and the Old Vic Theatres.

http://shakespeares-globe.org/virtual-pictures/
The Globe Theatre.

www.barbican.co.uk
The Barbican - go to the 'ticket office' for excellent drawing of the whole space.

www.lct.org/vbtchart.html
Vivian Beaumont Theatre, New York.

www.royalopera.org/SeatingPlan/splan.htm
The Royal Opera House.

www.wits.ac.za/depts/performing-arts/pages/mainstag.htm
The Wits Theatre.

http://members.aol.com/stnormanok/stage.html
Sooner Theatre.

www.infoservices.com/ny/seat/secth.html
Second Stage Theatre.

www.emerson.edu/majestic/stage/stage.html
Emerson Majestic Theatre.

www.citadeltheatre.com/facility.html
Citadel Theatre.

www.pa.adelaide.edu.ac/~theatre/scott/stageplan.html
Scott Theatre.

www.uvm.edu/~theatre/Pages/SeatingChart.html
Royal Tyler Theatre.

www.warnertheatre.com/rent/prodspecs.html
The Warner Theatre.

www.russianballet.spb.ru/maly.html
Musorgsky Opera and Ballet Theatre.

www.meydenbauer.com/plan/facility.htm
Meydenbauer Centre.

www.city.vancouver.bc.ca/theatres/booking.html
Vancouver Theatre Information.

www.ffa.ucalgary.ca/imperial/seats_sm.htm
Imperial Theatre.

www.infoser.com/infotheatre/vtour/building/plans.html
Royal Lyceum.

www.lct.org/mentchrt.html
Mitzi E. Newhouse Theatre, New York.

Other sites that can be of use in a variety of Drama exercises are:

www.albermarle-london.com

www.thestage.co.uk

These sites provide information on performances and theatre venues, and their commerciality means that they are up-dated live in a way that makes them highly relevant to research and discovery across a range of aspects of the curriculum.

Use the World Wide Web for the resources, and locate an expert or a peer working on the subject for e-mail communication.
The obvious problem here is the location of an expert. Some web sites invite exchange of observations by e-mail, and these may be included in your list above. You still have the problem of managing this type of communication, though, and especially of ensuring that the respondents in cyberspace really are the experts they claim to be. The same is true when contacting 'peers', or any other interested parties - in the area of this case study as with any other, the danger of coming across a party in cyberspace with ideas you would not consider appropriate or relevant is very real.

Present their findings and views through a PowerPoint classroom presentation, and/or send this presentation to other schools/organisations for sharing and discussion.
However pupils formulate ideas, you can have them use a word-processor, e-mail or PowerPoint to express and exchange the ideas. PowerPoint is particularly good in that it allows pupils and teachers to formulate accounts that they can expand on in interesting presentations in the classroom. The more ICT competent of your pupils might want to e-mail their PowerPoints to each other and their e-mail participants on the web. If pupils decide to do this, and especially if they decide to incorporate views of their own, or images they have gathered or produced, the process needs to be carefully managed.

Now that you've looked at my ideas about the options available, you need to make your own choices. The teacher in the case study has decided to use all options including e-mail, and to combine two or more in particular sessions over a two-week period. You need to plan to do something of this sort. On the next page, make a copy and fill out the summary to help you get focus on what you will do. I've put in some suggestions - you can use these as you like. Think of some uses of your own, and make a short note on what you will have to do to make it work, what you expect the benefit to be to your pupils, and what difficulties you expect to encounter when you do it in the classroom.

Resources Selected for Work on Theatre Design