Pupils go digital to celebrate Diwali

Plymouth school children showed off their digital skills as part of celebrations to mark the Hindu and Sikh festival of Diwali this week.

Pupils from Boringdon Primary School took part in an exciting afternoon of educational activities to mark the Hindu festival of lights and used special Diwali-themed digital resources – including e-books, videos and online games – from the award-winning Discovery Education Espresso service to learn about this important cultural celebration.

Traditional Indian dancing was one of the highlights of the day, with pupils performing in front of a green screen and learning to make their own movies. The special effects technology, used in television and film-making, transformed the Plymouth classroom into an Indian movie set, as pupils danced to ‘Jai Ho’ in authentic costumes.

The children also watched a special film explaining the story behind Diwali, and the traditions linked to the 5-day festival. Pupils used the video to experience Indian Rangoli Art – in which patterns are created using coloured rice, sand and flower petals – and were inspired to make their own masterpieces. The film is the centrepiece of Discovery Education Espresso’s Diwali module, which includes a whole range of digital resources linked to the National Curriculum.

Claire Trebilcock, ICT Coordinator at the school said:

“The children really enjoyed celebrating Diwali, and learning about the Hindu and Sikh cultures. The Indian dancing session and Rangoli pattern-making were particular highlights, and the interactive digital resources really helped to bring the festival to life!”

Catherine Howard, Head of Educational Partnerships at Discovery Education said:

“We’re thrilled that Boringdon Primary School pupils had so much fun celebrating Diwali. Digital resources hold huge appeal for young learners and can play an important role in bringing the wider world into the classroom – helping children to experience other cultures in a fun and accessible way.”

Discovery Education Espresso is an award winning, video-rich digital learning service for primary schools. With nearly 20,000 digital media assets, which can be applied to any lesson, the service supports the delivery of the National Curriculum and helps teachers to integrate digital media into everyday learning.

The Diwali module is available now to schools with a Discovery Education Espresso subscription. Schools interested in a free trial of the Discovery Education Espresso service can request one here: www.discoveryeducation.co.uk/trials.