This article concerns Key Stage 3 boys’ and student teachers’ responses to literature through the production of moving image, sound and photography in a formal context. The researchers’ interests centre on media making with iPads and the ways in which young people articulate textual understanding through production. Under the guidance of their tutors, PGCE students and pupils engage with digital tools to explore new forms of cultural expression, inviting creative practice and critical thinking. The article incorporates multiple perspectives from: the children, the student teachers, the English and Drama teachers, the teacher trainers / lecturers in English and Drama, and a doctoral researcher interested in the distinctive nature of making with digital media and associated ontological issues. A sociocultural overview contextualises the study before an exploration of the ways in which pedagogies and epistemological understandings, often associated with non-formal media making, constructively challenge traditional Secondary English classroom practices
