By Anna Yap and Simon Tan, School of Business and Accountancy.
When I leave
I told myself that I can’t wait to leave
But it seems
My heart is saying I will be missing it.
Composer: CHIFFON, Lyricist: Stephanie
Are these the lyrics of a new pop song? No, it’s actually a song composed by our very own 3rd year Accountancy students, creatively showcasing their Accountancy Practical Training experience using multimedia presentations.
The students had to present what they learned during their 6 months’ internship through innovative use of multimedia. They also had to learn by themselves how to create and edit their production using multimedia tools. Through the Multimedia Presentation Project, students realized what they did not know and were motivated to work together as a team drawing strengths from each member. They collaborated and brain-stormed to develop interesting and relevant themes for their presentations.
Students were excited and inspired to form an e-portfolio of themselves as well as to demonstrate how they have grown and benefited through the internship experience.
A group of our students attached to PwC, one of the Big Four public accounting firms.
Overview
The Accountancy Practical Training Program is a six months internship program pioneered by the Accountancy Department of Ngee Ann Polytechnic. The module is an integral part of the Diploma in Accountancy curriculum, providing students with opportunities to experience the real working world before graduation.
This module calls upon students to learn and use various knowledge and skills in a practical way. The latest innovation in the module was the introduction of the Multimedia Presentation Project. This project gives students the opportunity to reflect on their learning experiences as well as develop their information technology skills. Considering the proliferation of IT in business, we believe that the IT communication skills that students learn as part of this project will stand them in good stead in the future.
This multimedia presentation mode of assessment improves the range of assessments for which students are evaluated for Accountancy Practical Training Program. It also gives students the opportunity to showcase their abilities in an electronic form and this can be added to their e-portfolio to benefit them in future job seeking.
Our students work hard and play hard. The picture above shows our students taking part in their company’s Christmas Dinner party.
Description of the Multimedia Presentation Project
Group Project
The Multimedia Presentation Project is a group project. Students collectively develop the theme of their project and plan how they want to present it using a suitable mode of presentation.
Themes
Students are encouraged to imagine themselves as the director of a short film/video and they develop their own theme and story. They are encouraged to think out of the box. Anything goes as long as the final multimedia presentation has relevance to the Accountancy Practical Training Program.
Modes of Presentation
The students were allowed to choose whatever mode of presentation they wished. Following are some of the types of presentation submitted:
- Slideshow/ Montage of Photos
- Podcast
- Short Video made using Movie Maker etc.
- Song composed by student
- Skit
- Flash animation
- Quotations weaved into the videos
- Cartoons / animation to depict APT Learning.
Some students created their own props and acted out a skit to illustrate the dilemmas they faced during their internship.
Learning outcomes
The Multimedia Presentation Project serves as an overall consolidation of what students have learnt in the Accountancy Practical Training Program and as a grand finale to mark the end of their attachment. Students are empowered to choose their own theme and mode of delivery through innovative use of IT.
Students also reflected that the project work has fostered learner interaction and collaborative learning as they picked up new skills on multimedia tools and they have learnt to resolve conflicts amongst themselves.
Example Student Video
This video illustrates one of the final submitted projects. It demonstrates how the students have matured and grown through their internship experience. They have learned many life skills, including how to resolve problems faced at work.
Learner-centred Learning
The students have gained a great deal from the learner-centred approach taken in the design of the Multimedia Presentation Project.
Learning by doing: The students learned many skills by being actively involved in this project. They have learned to plan and execute their project and they have learned multimedia skills like video making and editing. By taking on the role of a director, they learn teamwork and leadership skills.
Learning by collaborating: Being a group project, students needed to collaborate on the theme, story line, scripting, creating and editing their project.
Learning by researching: The multimedia skills were not taught by the tutors and so the students needed to pick up the skills through their own research. As such, they became aware of what they already knew and what they needed to find out.
They also needed to research further on the companies that they were attached to as part of the story-telling process. Another area of research that students completed was on accountancy as a profession.
Learning by reflecting: The students needed to reflect on what they had learned during their 6-month working attachment. This was a valuable activity and it helped to consolidate the experience.
Student Reactions
Based on a student survey, 81% of those who responded strongly agree or agree that the multimedia presentation project has enabled them to consolidate and express what they have learnt in Accountancy Practical Training Program in a creative and interesting manner.
One of the students wrote:
“[This was] a new refreshing experience I had never tried in school. We see and experience the changes in us, before and after this APT. This is just a wrap up of our 6 months life story.â€
Venus Chua, previously attached to Baker Tilly TFWLCL.
Another student wrote:
I’ve grown and matured with [the team], and I have rediscovered the joy of doing something well.
Lim Jian Ming, previously attached to Baker Tilly TFWLCL.
FAQs
Here are some of the concerns raised by colleagues about this project.
1. Won’t the students be distracted from the main purpose of Accountancy Practical Training Program by movie making?
The Accountancy Practical Training Program provides the opportunity for students to put into practice what they have studied in school. It is a learning journey for students to see and experience how knowledge comes to life in the industry. The multimedia is just a tool for students to document what they have learnt.
We do not restrict the project to just movie making, though many students chose this mode as it is more interesting. Students nowadays are already quite IT savvy and they are very comfortable with blogs, etc. Hence movie making is just simply another form for them to reflect on their learning journey. Indirectly, because they need to produce a multimedia product, they have to set certain goals and targets that they want to learn and achieve out of Accountancy Practical Training Program, and this spurs them to achieve these objectives, so that there is something of substance they can put in their multimedia.
2. What if the students don’t know the movie-making tools?
The students are directed to online resources that demonstrate how to use Windows Movie Maker. In fact, many of the students already know how to use the tool. For those who have problems, they are very resourceful and this project encourages them to collaborate and learn from friends who know how to use the tool. It also encourages students to do further research on their own on how to use these editing tools.
3. How much does creativity, sound quality and lighting quality of the movie affect the grade for Accountancy Practical Training Program?
Quality accounts for 20% of the project marks. Hence we want students to pay attention to content as well as the quality of the final product. The project should be something that they can be proud of and something that the school can showcase.
4. Accountants don’t need movie-making skills. How is this project valid?
Through the movie-making process, students learn to collaborate, learn to research, learn how to tap on each other’s strengths. This is a fun way for students to work in teams, resolve conflicts and learn how to manage teams. The content of the project is related to Accounting, hence students need to have a good understanding of Accounting related job scope before they are able to produce a short video.
Conclusion
As a result of their involvement in the Multimedia Presentation Project, students were enthusiastic in their learning process and they took the initiative to learn new tools and discover new information about accounting as a profession.
It is also a process of self-discovery for students where they learn to work independently, work as a team, and learn to interact with individuals from different walks of life.
At the end of the project, students gained greater confidence in themselves. They felt they can better confront the challenges in the next phase of their life after graduation. They have developed self-learning skills (vital for lifelong learning) and they are more competent in using IT tools for communication.
And in the process, they have proved that accountants are not boring!
Authors
Anna Yap
Simon Tan
From School of Business and Accountancy, Ngee Ann Polytechnic.
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