CREATIVE TALLIS

Wreck This App

2012-01-20T19:26:00.001Z

I was delighted to discover that the wonderful Keri Smith has an iPad app called (predictably) Wreck This App. It's a digital version of Wreck This Journal but with some interesting extra functionality like the use of the inbuilt camera. It's not flashy or over designed. In fact it's intuitive interface and simple but provocative instructions are what make it perfect for the iPad.

This would make a wonderful addition to any lesson but has obvious appeal for the visual and media arts as a way to encourage students to experiment with their journal making and documentation strategies.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Action Research Group meeting

2012-01-20T19:01:00.001Z

Thanks to the new Creative Tallis team who met for the first time this year to discuss how we can continue to support creative learning across the curriculum. The discussion was stimulated by an incomplete page on our Manifesto for a Creative Tallis Manifesto website entitled "Practise Wonderation and Newology". Suggestions included: using exciting starters to stimulate enquiry; developing more immersive learning experiences and prolonged investigations; and acknowledging the skills and experiences that students bring to the classroom.

We had a brief look at the various websites and social networking opportunities the group had created.

We all agreed with the principal that teachers should maintain their own fascination for learning and model this attitude for students. We discussed how to recruit some young folks to the ARG and agreed to bring along at least one student to the next meeting.

Finally, we used Popplet to begin to capture some thoughts about what we wanted to accomplish this year, our intended audience and how we might achieve our goals.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Sir Ken Robinson discusses creative and cultural education in the UK

2011-12-07T19:14:00.001Z

SoCIT - Plugging Into Creativity

2011-11-08T13:39:00.000Z

The film we submitted to the Schools of Creativity pavilion at the Royal Festival Hall's 'Festival '51' exhibition this summer is now available online along with those from other Schools of Creativity across the country.

We will soon be hosting the touring version of this exhibition (Dec - Jan) in our Gallery space, just in time for the Post 16 Open Evening (1st Dec) and the official opening of the school in January.

What does it mean to be imaginative?

2011-11-05T17:02:00.000Z

Over the next few weeks students in Year 9 will be taking part in a field trial on behalf of the Centre for Real World Learning at the University of Winchester and the government body Creativity, Culture and Education. The purpose of the field trial is to research the possibility of designing an assessment framework for creativity. This is the second phase of the trial. The first was concerned with what it means to be inquisitive. This term we are focused on the imagination. Bill Lucas and Guy Claxton, joint authors of 'New Kinds of Smart', are proposing that creativity is made up of several key characteristics. These are:

Inquisitive - wondering & questioning, exploring & investigating, challenging assumptions
Persistent - tolerating uncertainty, sticking with difficulty, daring to be different
Collaborative - cooperating appropriately, giving & receiving feedback, sharing the product
Disciplined - reflecting critically, developing techniques, crafting & improving
Imaginative - playing with possibilities, making connections, using intuition

The Prezi above provides a really useful overview of the conceptual framework for the research. This term, I hope to be working with a team of colleagues and students in Year 9 to explore what it means to be imaginative. As well as reflecting on their understanding of their own imaginations we will be gathering a range of evidence of their imaginations in action.

We will use statements about the imagination and what it means to be imaginative and ask students to decide how much the statements reflect their learning habits of mind:

Being imaginative means trying things our. It means combining ideas from different places. It means being able to carry on even when you can't fully explain your reasoning.

If this is 'very much like me' then I can show that I can keep my mind open to ideas and that I don't narrow down too quickly. I can show that I look for links between facts and ideas. I use my own intuitions to come up with ideas. I can do these things without being prompted. I am confident about doing these things.

Whenever I have had explicit discussions with students about a particular skill or attribute prior to a learning activity I have always found it to be more successful. I hope and expect that this term's work will benefit from being framed by this exploration of the imagination and that we will have a great deal to discuss and share in terms of how this skills/ability/aptitude can be tracked over a period of time.

A brief glimpse of our brand new school

2011-11-01T19:23:00.003Z

I have had the most amazing day in our new school building. Whilst it's not quite fully finished I was able to gain access to my teaching area and unpack all my boxes. having put up with a completely inadequate teaching space for so many years it feels extraordinary to be in spaces that I helped to design and specify and I know the students will love them. The amount of light and space is incredible and it was so lovely to wander around the building today and listen to colleagues waxing lyrical about their rooms and facilities. We know we have been very lucky to be involved in the BSF process when so many people across the country have been denied the possibility of a new school building. Rest assured that we will be working very hard to make sure that we don't squander the amazing opportunity this building affords us to ensure our young people have a fantastic 21st century education.

A pop-up university of the future?

2011-10-30T10:58:00.002Z

The 2012 Learning Without Frontiers conference will be taking place at Olympia. The website makes the following announcement:

Our design team are busy re-imagining the interior of Olympia’s National Hall to create a “pop-up university of the future” presenting an entirely new experience for our delegates and attendees.

It is interesting to see that the notion of a Pop Up School (#popupschool) has caught on at this event which aims to be a source of disruptive thinking in education. The flashy and obviously very expensive pods illustrated above are a far cry from our Pop Up School at the Creativity World Forum in 2010. Our DIY booth (named 1001/2 because we were not assigned a proper place in the venue and had to squueeze ourselves in between booths 100 and 101) was resourced with paper, pens and other stationary items that we had scrounged from other exhibitors, and yet we were equipped with a number of digital devices (iPod Touches, iPads, laptops, cameras) that enabled us to exist online and engage visitors with the concept of a virtual school.

We certainly confused a few people. "So, what time does your pop up school start?" and "Do the students have to wear a uniform?" were frequently asked questions. But I like to think that we also raised a few eyebrows and delighted a few visitors with our proposition that the idea of a school is changing due to the different ways in which we are able to learn in the 21st century.

I am tempted to book a ticket to LWF2012 to see what a big budget "pop-up university of the future" might look like. You get a 'free' iPad if you book in the next two days (price £800). However, I hope that it will look and feel and function a bit more like this.

Design for Good

2011-10-21T16:41:00.004+01:00

"Creativity can defeat habit"

Musical bicycle

2011-10-21T16:24:00.001+01:00

Check out this demonstration of collaborative creativity:

What if you would be able to generate music by the simple act of riding your bike? This project started with that question. We have build the first prototype and thanks to Jeffry Sol and Vincent Beijersbergen we were able to do so in a month. And yes it was pretty difficult, but loads of fun.... the idea is pretty simple; basically, a wheel and dynamo work the same way as a record player. But it was not as easy as it looks. First, we had to come up with a solution for the wheels; how can we change the records? The forfork was blocking the wheel. That's why we changed a 30 year old bike into a lefty bike; and build a construction that would still support the weight and would be strong enough for people to ride on it. The biggest challenge of all was to make sure that the needles would stick to the record and follow the grooves, without skipping too much. Therefor we bought two vertical record players and took them apart, to see how they worked. Also; we wanted our bike to be as low tech as possible; that's why the only "extra" energy we used was a 9 volt battery to support the amplifier. In order for the records to run smoothly, we also had to change the crank of the bike and the chain. After that, we build our own horn, to have some extra volume, and we sprayed the whole bike black. We had some sponsors like bikestores, handy people and DJ's and that's how our dream in progress turned out to be real... Here's to the crazy ones; thank you guys, you rock. - Merel, Pieter and Liat

www.featsperminute.com

The importance of creative constraints

2011-10-03T09:34:00.001+01:00

A couple of weeks ago we were faced with an interesting challenge, what one might call a 'creative constraint'. We discovered that we did not have enough publicity booklets for prospective Post 16 students. The booklet would cost several thousand pounds to both redesign and print. It would also cause the deaths of hundreds of innocent trees. We have a much reduced budget for publicity and marketing this year, a situation faced by many schools across the country. We also had a looming deadline by which we needed to have a new set of marketing materials ready. The final challenge was perhaps the most significant. We need to recruit approximately 200 new members to our Post 16 Centre over the next couple of years in order to make the books balance in our new BSF school Opening on 1st November).

We met to discuss these constraints:

a tight deadline
a small budget
a recruitment challenge
ecological issues

After some time batting ideas around I made the suggestion that we ought to rethink our whole strategy. Why did we need an expensive printed booklet? How many people actually read it (all of it anyway)? Given that most of our Year 11 students transfer to our Post 16 Centre, where were these extra 200 bodies going to come from? How could we create what we needed on a tight budget and in time?

The solution I suggested was taking almost the entire marketing strategy online with a new mobile friendly website, lots of social networking integration (Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Flickr) and harnessing the talents and energies of our fantastic students, parents and friends to help out. I suggested that the most successful marketing strategy, especially with students outside our school, is word of mouth. The majority of those who choose to study in our centre have friends at Tallis who tell great stories about their time here. How could we support this 'word of mouth' effect and build a community of learners communicating about the benefits of studying at Thomas Tallis School?

Given the budget and time constraints (and my limited knowledge of web design) we chose Weebly as our platform for the website. Weebly is a brilliant, free, online web design tool. It offers plenty of decent looking templates for the novice designer (we use it with our students to create ePortfolios) and the ability to tweak the design behind the scenes. Its drag and drop interface is pretty intuitive and published sites are automatically mobile device friendly. It has taken me a couple of weeks to create the site from scratch. I bought a custom domain, a good looking Tumblr template for the blog news feed and a Weebly Pro account. The total cost of the new site is just over £100.

We have already seen some interesting benefits with this new approach:

We have discussed the Post 16 marketing strategy with colleagues and got them actively involved in promoting their curriculum areas by using the blog and Facebook page
We have recruited a few parents and friends with experience of working in the fields of journalism, radio, PR and design to help support students in managing the new social media strategy
We have beaten the deadline and gained an audience for the site well beyond school via Twitter (@creativetallis) and the blog
We have the ability to constantly update the website with the latest news and information about the centre (this would have involved lots of writing letters to prospective students in previous years) thus saving hours of admin time

Time will tell whether this strategy achieves the ultimate goal of recruiting new students to our Post 16 Centre. We haven't abandoned the notion of printed material, but the savings we have made on the booklet, by creating a website, mean that we can now establish a creative partnership with an artist in residence to create a Post 16 fanzine with a group of students.

Would we have arrived at this strategy and its solutions without the original constraints being imposed upon us? I doubt it.

Mad Pad

2011-09-18T10:06:00.001+01:00

I've just been playing with the new MadPad app for the iPhone and iPad. The video above demonstrates how it works. You simply record 12 short videos of ambient percussive sounds which the app trims automatically for you and assigns to separate pads on your device. Once you've completed your recordings you can tweak the pitch and volume settings for each pad. Then you're ready to record your beats mix and upload to the internet or save to your camera roll.

I fully intend to load the app onto my iPad and the school's iPod Touches. I'm pretty sure that students will have a great time remixing the sounds of the classroom and the whole school environment. What a great bit of imaginative design that's perfectly suited to mobile devices.

Here's my first effort using sounds gathered from my kitchen. I created and uploaded the video using the iMovie app:

Education Evolution

2011-08-15T10:28:00.004+01:00

Sir Ken Robinson posted a link to this video and related website on Twitter recently. I really like the way these students have become advocates for a different type of education, one that is reflected in the learning spaces we inhabit as much as it is by the curriculum. It made me reflect on the role of the beanbag in class, the perceived need for interactive whiteboards at the front of the room and the role that mobile technology should play in learning (in and out of school). It also made me think about how we get the most out of the various learning spaces we will have in the new building, specifically the circulation and public spaces, the in-between spaces, and whether new kinds of furniture might be required to enable informal learning experiences to blossom.

The posts on the project blog are interesting too. The most recent one reveals the trials and tribulations of digital communication. After a brief flurry of interest near the publication of the initial video on YouTube, the class became disheartened that it had not gone viral. However, their message had certainly hit home at a local level, garnering an emotional response from the school's district superintendent. Now, it appears, the video has been picked up and promoted by various folks and is gathering a broader audience.

The construction of an online campaign is a fantastic way for young people to learn about digital tools but, most importantly, provides them with an opportunity to have their voices heard beyond the classroom and/or school where they happen to study. In the process, they can learn about the rights and responsibilities of authors and publishers, the etiquette of the internet, the various techniques for building (and keeping) an audience and the need to support their online campaign with all the conventional features of democracy: meetings, interviews, ballots, speeches, conferences etc.

I really hope this campaign continues to develop and reach educators and young people (and perhaps even politicians) across the globe. I wish the young people responsible for it every success in developing their already considerable skills.

DSLR

2011-08-02T22:52:00.002+01:00

Interesting post about use of DSLR.

I was fortunate enough to work as Production Photographer for a short film called "Two Minutes" Starring Larry Lamb and Jodie Whittaker. They were shooting on a Canon 5Dmk2 which is becoming more popular with short films and as you can see in the previous post something that the wider film world is embracing. Not only are they cheaper they are also lighter and the quality is incredible.

I've seen the final edit and it's a thing of beauty.

The power of the DSLR

2011-07-30T11:03:00.006+01:00

This is a short behind-the-scenes look at the most recent Lucas Films production 'Red Tails'. What's remarkable about the film is that some of the key scenes are being shot using Canon DSLRs. Although this is still an unusual situation in the film industry, the fact that these cameras can shoot both stills and high resolution video footage makes them the perfect tool to use in schools. And now we have the powerful example of George Lucas' empire to justify their inclusion as an industry standard tool.

My Learner Sketch

2011-07-28T21:36:00.004+01:00

I was recently sent a link to the Faces of Learning website. It's a really interesting project designed to elicit stories about individuals' experiences of learning. Once registered, you can share your story either by text or voice recording. The project aims to:

envision a world where all people understand their strengths and weaknesses as learners, and where everyone expects and demands high quality learning environments throughout their lives.

Not a bad ambition.

One of the features of the site is an interactive sketchbook in which you paste statements about yourself (you can reject statements you feel don't adequately represent you to the bottom of the page). Once yo have chosen all your statements and posted in the sketchbook, you are shown the final version with additional comments designed to encourage you to reflect on your strengths as a learner. Extra information about these various attributes is also provided via hyperlinks. The last page encourages you to reflect on things you may need to work on. You can download (as a PDF) or email your sketchbook.

It occured to me that this might be an excellent way for us to further explore the assessment of Personal Learning and Thinking Skills and encourage more meta-cognitive reflection. It might, for example, be a great way to begin a project in Tallis Lab, providing a kind of self-assessment of perceived learning power that could then be used to inform future discussions with each students about the progress they are making.

FSOR #49

2011-07-28T18:13:00.003+01:00

FSOR #49, a set on Flickr.

Felix's School of Rock #49 at Thomas Tallis School, July 2011.

The Finland Phenomenon

2011-07-27T09:52:00.002+01:00

This week I shall be mostly investigating the education system in Finland.

Time & Place

2011-07-25T19:51:00.004+01:00

Open publication - Free publishing - More tallis

This year's Turbinegeneration theme is Time & Place. This pack of activities supports Tacita Dean's installation in the Turbine Hall and contains some fantastic suggestions for art exchanges with partner schools.

Creative Thinking

2011-07-24T10:31:00.000+01:00

2011 Rethink Scholarship at Langara Call for Entries from Rethink Canada on Vimeo.

Music Helps!

2011-07-24T10:02:00.001+01:00

Music Helps! from Lamson To on Vimeo.

Play Tallis

2011-07-22T23:29:00.003+01:00

I loved so much of the learning that took place during Tallis Perspectives but this is one of my favourite projects. It was inspired by the great website Bb 2.0 but with the idea that we could try to capture the ambient sounds of the existing building before it is demolished to make way for our new playing fields.

It proved to be quite a technical challenge (both in terms of the music and the film making) but the end result is a lovely collage of noises and sights. Well done to all the members of staff and students who worked on its creation!

What is Project Based Learning?

2011-07-22T23:02:00.002+01:00

Let Jeff Robin from High Tech High explain...

And here's what it's NOT in case you were wondering.

PS Thanks to Tammy Parks from Howe High School for the link.

Co-curation

2011-07-17T09:50:00.006+01:00

Yesterday I discovered by chance that Thomas Tallis School has won the £3500 Cassio prize for the best exhibit at the Royal Festival Hall's '51 Festival of Britain anniversary show. 42 schools across the UK were asked to submit work to the show for a special pavilion showcasing the work of Schools of Creativity. A similar schools pavilion formed part of the original 1951 show. We submitted several pieces: films of the Tangled Feet residencies and performances, The Crate film made by the Tallis Creators with Eelyn Lee Productions, a films about cultural learning and the arts made during our trip to Oklahoma, our Manifesto for Creative Tallis, and the designs created for the walls of the new building by Gilles & Cecilie Studio.

I happened to be at the Southbank yesterday and popped in to see the pavilion. I bumped into Rehana Mughal, one of the practitioners working on the exhibition, and she told me that we had won. Amazing!

What struck me most about the whole show was the very careful way the exhibits had been displayed and the way the experience of ordinary people who had visited the 1951 exhibition had been foregrounded. I then discovered that the exhibition had been co-curated with several volunteers and that they had all learned a huge amount about how curation works from the experience (see above film). Earlier in the week, I had been fortunate to meet two of the assistant curators at Tate Modern to discuss ways in which Thomas Tallis School could be more involved in the education aspects of the Tate's work. I will be joining the teacher consultation team in September. We had a great chat about several possible initiatives to encourage young people to think about how exhibitions are constructed and designed and the similarities between designing an exhibition and curating an ePortfolio. These skills of selection, visual communication, literacy and cultural awareness seem to be even more crucial on the web as young people find ever more sophisticated ways to share their talents or, with little thought and sense of responsibility for their digital presence, advertise their shortcomings and inadequacies.

I really look forward to the final two days of the Tallis Perspectives cross-curricular learning project, precisely because there is an expectation that the learning that has taken place is shared publicly in a series of exhibitions, performances and installations. In the 21st century, everyone is a curator!

i, Scientist

2011-07-10T22:16:00.001+01:00

I am delighted that we will be taking part in this year's version of Beau Lotto's brilliant i, Scientist project at the Science Museum. Check out this film to get a glimpse of the great learning in store for our dedicated team of explorers.

Tallis Moves

2011-07-03T22:33:00.001+01:00

A celebration of 40 years of Thomas Tallis School.

Learning to Learn

2011-06-30T16:44:00.003+01:00

I've just been reading about St. paul's Convent School in Causeway Bay, Hong Kong. I was particularly interested in their approach to meta cognition and learning to learn and the integrated use of iPod Touches. Here's an extract from the article on the Futurelab website:

Learning to learn and the 16 habits of mind

All pupils in their first two years at the secondary school undertake a Learning to Learn course. They also are trained (by the older students in F6 - aged 16) in Professor Arthur Costa’s 16 habits of mind. Prof Costa maintains that a critical attribute of intelligence is not only having information but also knowing how to act on it . The 16 habits of mind (such as persistence, thinking flexibly, remaining open to continual learning) contribute to this intelligence. For more detail on how the school has implemented these 16 Habits of Mind across the curriculum see the video at http://ihouse.hkedcity.net/~sp1400/hom/index.htm.

The 16 Habits of Mind are listed below:

1. Persisting

2. Managing impulsivity

3. Listening with understanding and empathy

4. Thinking flexibly

5. Thinking about thinking (meta-cognition)

6. Striving for accuracy

7. Questioning and posing problems

8. Applying past knowledge to new situations

9. Thinking and communicating with clarity and precision

10. Gathering data through all senses

11. Creating, imagining, innovating

12. Responding with wonderment and awe

13. Taking responsible risks

14. Finding humour

15. Thinking interdependently

16. Remaining open to continuous learning

Technology provides additional learning opportunities and enables the girls to showcase their work

The school’s learning portal enables the students to log in and access additional activities, for example additional videos and audio recordings and accompanying exercises to test their English comprehension. The students showing me round the school had made frequent use of these materials. I was shown active class discussion areas, not only featuring questions on homework logistics but also intense discussion on the role of school, the responsibilities of parents and what students need to learn to prepare them for life. Sister Margaret described how extensive use is made of ipod touches to enable students to revise topics and practice Putonghua (spoken Chinese). Technology allows the school to extend learning opportunities beyond the school day and the school term.

There is clearly lots to learn from schools in other parts of the world as well as those nearer to home. I was also struck by the headteacher's reminder of the multiple ways in which we can demonstrate and celebrate our unique talents and intelligences:

Sister Margaret points out the 100 different pursuits of the children painted on the screen to emphasise that everyone is good at something and the key is finding out what and building upon it.

Thrashed at chess by the ghost of Marcel Duchamp

2011-06-26T20:56:00.002+01:00

As you can see I've just been thrashed in a game of online chess. I'm rubbish at chess so it was not a big surprise that it took my opponent just a couple of minutes to rub my nose in it. However, I didn't feel too bad about it since it's not everyday you get to play with the ghost of a famous artist. Marcel Duchamp is one the founders of conceptual art and perhaps one of the twentieth century's mots creative minds. He gave up making art to become a chess master. He obviously saw many parallels between the kind of conceptual strategies he used to create challenging new art works (some of which redefined how we think about art) and the game of chess.

The creator of this website has apparently designed the computer opponent to play in the style of Marcel Duchamp. I think this is an idea that Duchamp himself would have found highly amusing.

All That Is Solid Melts Into Air

2011-06-25T22:59:00.001+01:00

All That Is Solid Melts Into Air, a set on Flickr.

The first day of performances at the Greenwich + Docklands Festival with Tangled Feet. I am so proud of our wonderful students (mostly from Year 8) who are taking part. I can't wait for the performances at Tallis on Tuesday.

Let's Talk to Learners

2011-06-25T22:25:00.004+01:00

I came across this video on another blog today. Isn't it amazing how we're still discussing the merits of 'progressive' versus 'traditional' forms of learning. I was particularly interested in the recommended attributes for a 'progressive teacher':

Will we ever get beyond the politicisation of learning and the old duality of progressives and traditionalists? There are clearly many effective ways to learn and not all approaches will suit all learners. I've been in several discussions recently with young learners where they have expressed very clearly what works for them and made sensible and ambitious suggestions for improving education. Why don't we put aside our ideological positions for a bit and invest a little more time in talking to young people about learning?

Billy the sports photojournalist

2011-06-21T21:25:00.004+01:00

I've just received a great message from Billy, esteemed and long standing member of the Action Research Group. You'll remember that Billy won a competition on Flickr which enabled him to work as an official photographer at the Youth Olympic games in Singapore last year. It now appears that he has been invited to be one of the official photojournalists at the 2012 games:

I got an exciting email today confirming that I'll be getting press accreditation for London 2012 next year, as well as photographing the young hopefuls in the lead up (training) and qualifying to take part in the Games.

How cool is this? Further proof that if you can identify your talents, work very hard to refine them and get yourself out there to make the necessary contacts, the world is indeed your oyster. Well done Billy from your friends on the Creative Tallis ARG!

Everything is a Remix

2011-06-21T20:04:00.003+01:00

Everything is a Remix Part 3 from Kirby Ferguson on Vimeo.

I've just added this video to the new Tallis Manifesto site. It does a really great job of explaining the idea that creativity is about combining or mixing ideas together. Check out the website for the other films in the series.

Learning technologies in the new school

2011-06-18T10:06:00.004+01:00

Yesterday was a momentous day for me, and also hopefully for learning in the new school. For the last nine months I have been working with the company who will manage the ICT service in the new school and it's fair to say it has monopolised my time, but yesterday we finally signed the contract and agreed what our new school ICT solution will be. So sorry for having been a stranger these last months!
I decided that I would have a little experiment with iPhone to share some of the key elements of what ICT in the new school will be like. You can now use Pages, Keynote and Numbers on an iPod or Phone and the presentation above was made on an iPhone. It was really easy to use, and having fewer options actually helped me work briskly and more efficiently. Once the presentation was made I shared it with iWork.com directly from my phone and that created a web-hosted Keynote that I could email people. When you open the link it also allows people to leave notes and comments so that would really help a collaborative learning process. It would be even better if it created an embed code so that the presentation would play inside a blog or website. Anyway the techie element is dull stuff - the exciting thing is that using an iPod touch students will be able to share, communicate and develop their learning in a really flexible, agile and exciting way. Bring on the new school!

Soren

Beau Lotto

2011-06-17T22:42:00.004+01:00

Mr Hawes and I had the pleasure of visiting Beau Lotto at his lab in the Science Museum earlier this week. He is doing some amazing research about the science of perception and is very interested in working with students and members of staff at Tallis next academic year on a very exciting project. We need a small but beautifully formed group who will collaborate over six days with the young people and adults from other schools to create their own experiment. When the experiment has been designed they will work with a storyteller to turn their ideas into a narrative. I'll post more news about this in the very near future!

Freelearning

2011-06-05T21:26:00.003+01:00

I've just discovered this great little grid by the always interesting John Davitt and couldn't resist posting it here. This is what John has to say about Freelearning (a bit like Free Running but with, you know, more learning):

Remember you are freelearning as soon as you escape the gravitational pull of the “always do” the ennui of the everyday. In addition I wanted to find space for the conviction that the ultimate resource of another, the outdoor world and new technologies of connection all have a significant part to play in building the most delightful learning opportunities. I wanted a model for thinking about learning that lets “creativity in the door and innovation through the window”

John runs Freelearning events for schools. Wouldn't it be great to get him to come to Tallis to show us in person how it works?

Finish This Book

2011-06-03T09:12:00.002+01:00

Very excited by the imminent release of Keri Smith's new book. I love a good mystery. What if more learning activities worked like this?

"This lesson doesn't exist without you".

All That Is Solid Melts Into Air

2011-06-01T19:56:00.003+01:00

June 24th-28th

Presented by tangled feet in collaboration with Thomas Tallis School

at The Greenwich and Docklands International Festival 2011 (www.festival.org)

VENUE: Greenwich Park Centre, Greenwich Community College, Royal Hill, SE10 8PY

London’s story is an epic and perpetual tale of regeneration and change. Ships have sailed, bombs have fallen, tower blocks have soared and markets plummeted. The past is wiped away and new futures promised. How does a city survive when as all that is solid melts into air? What does it take to let go of the past when the future is still out of reach?

Tangled Feet tell the exhilarating and moving human story of urban regeneration in a gravity-defying piece of highly physical storytelling

June 24th 9pm
June 25th 3.45pm, 6pm
June 26th 2.30pm, 6pm

Runs approx 30 mins

FREE (no ticket required)

VENUE MAP

http://www.gcc.ac.uk/about-gcc/where-to-find-us/3/greenwich-park-centre/

And at Thomas Tallis School, Kidbrooke on June 28th 7.30pm

All That is Solid Melts in Air is made with support from the Arts Council England, commissioned by GDIF and Thomas Tallis School and was made at Three Mills Studios, London. Tangled Feet are an Associate Company of The National Theatre Studio. Additional support Balfour Beaty.

Directors: Nathan Curry and Kat Joyce

Aerial Director/Designer: Al Orange
Set and Costume Design: Jo Scotcher
Original Music: Nick Gill
Production Manager: Luke Gledsdale
Assistant Director: Emma Louise Merritt
Producer: Lucy Oliver-Harrison

Cast
Antoine Marc
Mario Christofides
Leon Smith
Simon Fee
Simon Jones
Helen Ball
Sarah Calver
Susan Hingley

Media Challenge

2011-05-29T17:52:00.004+01:00

Yesterday, I received the following email from TED-ED, a new off-shoot of the famous conference organisation that produces all those amazing filmed talks that are so inspirational. I forwarded the email to Mr Hawes and he suggested that the Creative Tallis group should respond to the challenge. Here's the email:

We’ve listened, we’ve noodled, and now we’re ready to go! Today we’re launching our global search for new best of breed educational videos. We’re inviting content submissions for 10 video series--and here they are:

1. Math in real life
2. Creativity in Action
3. Inventions That Shaped History
4. How and Why?
5. Questions no one (yet) knows the answer to
6. Mindshifting stories
7. Playing with language
8. Same - and different
9. Things they don’t teach you in school
10. The five minute aha

Click here to see a detailed description of each of the series.

These series, based on ideas received from you, our Brain Trust, have been chosen to cover a wide range of exciting content in a way that can catalyze curiosity and make learning fun. Most series cover multiple subject areas. These TED-ED videos will be less than ten minutes long (perhaps as short as one minute), and they may be identified or created by anyone.

To be clear, we are asking visionary teachers, students, organizations & TEDsters to help us:
1. Identify pre-existing educational videos that can be re-purposed, enhanced & amplified through TED-ED
2. Create & submit original content for the TED-ED initiative.

What video format should submissions assume?
Users may submit pre-existing educational videos. We also accept content that is created explicitly for TED-ED. Original videos may assume a variety of creative formats which include:
-Audio submissions
-Animations
-Micro-docs
-Presentations
-Clips from video & film

What do we mean by Audio Submissions?
We understand that there are many experts in our experts who do not have the resources, time or skill-sets to produce high quality video. The capacity to record high quality audio, however, has become a relatively ubiquitous technology. For these reasons, we have decided to encourage and accept audio submissions.

An audio submission may be comprised solely of audio, or it may be accompanied by rudimentary visuals that help communicate the creators point. Think of them as a “work in progress.”

If the audio message is appropriate and of high enough caliber for eventual placement on TED-ED, we will work to pair the recording with one of our professional or volunteer visualization artists (ie: animators, presentation specialists, documentarians, etc.). The visualization artist will work to create imagery that brings the creator's message to life, making it more persuasive, more educational and more likely to be shared. If and when the collaboration succeeds, the finalized video will be syndicated on TED-ED. You can learn more about the "Audio Only" process by viewing the TED-ED workflow diagram.

What parameters must all submissions meet?
Users may submit pre-existing educational videos, or original content designed specifically for TED-ED.

Pre-existing audio or video submissions are defined as videos that have already been published and syndicated on the web. They also must:
- Be shorter than ten minutes
- Come with a link to the content
- Credit the original creator of the content

Original audio or video content is defined as audio or video content that is created to be "premiered" on TED-ED. They also must be:
- Shorter than ten minutes
- Submitted via a private YouTube link to the content
- Created by you or your team

Visit the TED-ED website to learn more.

What do you think?

A Vision for the Future

2011-05-16T22:44:00.002+01:00

Part of the process of consulting members our community about the vision for Thomas Tallis School has involved posting a link to a survey on Facebook asking the 650 members of the Alumni group to respond to 4 key questions:

What excites you about the future of Tallis?
What is the most important feature of the school that you would hate to see lost?
How can we ensure that every child at Tallis grows, develops and excels in the future?
In your opinion, how might the school community become even stronger?

There have already been some fascinating responses (I'll wait til a few more appear before attempting to communicate them) but I was particularly gratified to read this response to question 2:

It's personality and ethos. I would hate to see it become a school where only grades come first. As long as creativity continues to be encouraged and the brilliant care for the student's personal AND academic development continues then hopefully Tallis won't go down the same route as many other schools where students a barely considered as individuals.

Hip Hop Genius: Remixing Education

2011-05-16T22:33:00.002+01:00

Love this!

Space2Cre8

2011-05-11T19:33:00.004+01:00

Mr Hawes and I have begun a new project with the Year 9 Tallis Lab students entitled Space2Cre8. The project, sponsored by Berkeley University in California USA and the London School of Economics in the UK, aims to create a social network of students from around the world who share their stories using a variety of digital media. Yesterday afternoon, we had a Skype call with colleagues from the USA (California and New York), South Africa and India where we introduced ourselves and found out about their schools and students. We also heard an amazing story about a group of girls from the Indian school who have formed a new organisation battling domestic violence (see video above). It was also really interesting to hear about different perspectives on safety and poverty. The kids from New York and India had exchanged film stories and poems. Both groups had learned a lot about their friends in the other country but, fascinatingly, both developed a different view of their home neighbourhoods. The Indian girls, in particular, began by feeling slightly envious of their New York counterparts but soon realised that they were much safer in India than the Upper West Side, despite the threat of sexual and domestic violence and their relative material poverty.

This is such an exciting opportunity for our students to share their stories about the challenges they face and the opportunities they enjoy. We can't wait to get started!

A New Perspective

2011-05-07T21:10:00.002+01:00

SURFACE : A film from underneath from TU+ on Vimeo.

This short film demonstrates that sometimes all it takes is a new perspective to spark your creativity. Enjoy!

De-Schooling Society

2011-05-07T11:14:00.004+01:00

I saw this today doing a search on Vimeo for videos tagged with learning. Strangely, it articulates an idea that is quite prominent in a book I'm also reading by Ivan Illich called 'De-Schooling Society'. Remember our Pop Up School concept that we presented in Oklahoma and our failed Skills Swap experiment from last year?

What all of these things have in common is a question about the role of schools in the 21st century. What are schools for? Where does learning take place? What is the purpose of education? These are the vital questions facing us in thinking about our move to the new school.

What are your thoughts?

Whitechapel Gallery Staff Portraits

2011-05-01T20:54:00.003+01:00

I visited the Whitechapel Gallery today to see the new Paul Graham photography exhibition. Upstairs was another small show featuring portraits of gallery staff by young people. Here's what the gallery has to say about it:

In the corridors of the Houses of Parliament and the back rooms of third division football clubs, hang portraits of heads of state and treasured past employees. Artist Lady Lucy follows in this tradition, and uses portraiture as a process for communication and interaction. She encouraged a group of people aged 16-19 to set up a portrait studio, where staff from the Gallery were invited to sit and reveal aspects of themselves and the institution.

What I liked most about the show was the informal way it had been hung. All the portraits were in vivid green frames at various heights. These were linked together by hand painted coloured lines with written descriptions of the staff names and the department where they work. It all looked like a wall sized mind map. I wondered if we could attempt something similar in the gallery we will have in the new school?

The 50 Things Every Graphic Designer Should Know

2011-04-30T18:26:00.005+01:00

In the context of our revision of the Manifesto for a Creative Tallis, this advice for graphic designers (recommended by Billy) might be really useful. As well as some great advice for anyone hoping to be creative, like No. 34 above about the value of limitations, the addition of fantastic little line drawings really brings the ideas to life.

Thanks for the recommendation Billy.

Michael Wolff discusses visual literacy

2011-04-25T21:06:00.004+01:00

What makes a good designer? What is visual literacy? What habits of mind are useful in the world of visual design?

Michael Wolff is a designer who values his creative muscles - curiosity, appreciation and imagination. As the man says, "Seeing is a muscular exercise".

Sir Ken Robinson at The School of Life

2011-04-20T23:58:00.001+01:00

Ken Robinson on Passion from The School of Life on Vimeo.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Steve Jobs connects the dots

2011-04-15T19:02:00.003+01:00

Steve Jobs misquotes Robert Frost in this well-watched film about the lessons of his life: "Follow your heart, even when it leads you off the well-worn path, and that will make all the difference." Inspiring stuff.

Unlock the doors

2011-04-10T10:56:00.001+01:00

Unlock the doors, originally uploaded by fotologic.

Fashion Rocks 2011

2011-04-07T22:45:00.001+01:00

Fashion Rocks 2011, a set on Flickr.

Another fantastic evening of high quality entertainment at Tallis.

Wall of Sound

2011-03-29T15:40:00.003+01:00

Thanks to Seb for reminding me about this great website. I think we should make one of these about the existing Thomas Tallis School.

What do you think?

Dream Big

2011-03-29T15:36:00.003+01:00

Awesome Book Tour from Dallas Clayton on Vimeo.

I stumbled across this story today on Tumblr (my favourite, if slightly infuriating, blogging platform). It's pretty self-explanatory but I like what the film has to say about a lot of things: publishing books in the 21st century, dreams and aspirations, the importance of community (even when it's not on your doorstep) and creativity.

Check it out!

Suggestions for the revised Manifesto for Creative Tallis

2011-03-23T10:17:00.005Z

Hi folks
Thanks for a great meeting this morning. Here are some of the suggestions for the revised manifesto. Comments appreciated:

Everyone's a teacher. Everyone's a learner.

Learn everywhere. Learn your own way.

Cherish knowledge. Pass it on.

Ignite your learning with the spark of imagination.

Activate your network.

Challenged teacher challenge students.

Learning is limitless.

Failure is a learning experience.

Practice Newology and Wonderation.

Remember to bring your imaginations to school.

Be curious. Ask questions. Take risks. Believe in yourself.

Receive. Use. Share. Retrieve.

Nurture your talents, skills and interests.

Get engaged.

Sculpt your learning.

Love what you do.

The New School

2011-03-22T08:49:00.001Z

Just a quick reminder that the names of the six blocks in the new school are:

innovate
experiment
question
create
explore
imagine

Would this be an interesting framework for our revised manifesto?

Learning to be creative

2011-03-21T20:32:00.003Z

Sir Ken Robinson has been in town again and this is a compilation of the best bits from his speech to the Learning Without Frontiers audience. He speaks eloquently about the value of the arts, about the problem with the EBacc, about the challenges faced by aging Western populations, about really "getting back to basics" in education and about the central purposes of education.

Several members of staff at Tallis have now taken part in the 500 words challenge that forms part of the Purpose/Ed campaign. A couple of the posts have appeared on this blog. Click here to check out the archive. It's clear from recent debates that there is no consensus about what this purpose is. There has been quite fierce disagreement amongst contributors about what education is for.

Our challenge as a group this year is to re-write the aims of the Manifesto for a Creative Tallis. We have already discussed the need to make the manifesto a little more accessible, a little harder hitting, a little more provocative and a lot more interactive.

We have a meeting on Wednesday morning. I'd like everyone in the group to bring two statements to the meeting. These should:

be brief
be challenging and/or provocative
be memorable
say how an individual or the whole of Thomas Tallis School could be more creative
articulate something you believe and are happy to support

We will try, in the time we have together, to draft about 10 statements for our revised manifesto.

Gargantua

2011-03-10T22:20:00.003Z

I've just returned from seeing the amazing production of 'Gargantua' at Tallis. It's part of the National Theatre Connections Festival and is being performed both in school and at The Soho Theatre next week. Fingers crossed we get selected to perform at the national Theatre itself! The show demonstrates the amazing talents not only of our young students (nearly everyone in the play is from KS3) but also the collaborative creativity of our staff. The play is fantastically entertaining and has everything from a live band to huge animations in addition to the wonderful performances.

Well done to everyone involved for another groundbreaking event at Tallis.

The Purpose of Education

2011-03-04T13:58:00.011Z

In some ways, it is easier to start with the reverse; the purpose of education is not about getting the maximum numbers of students past a particular marker, for example, achieving 5 or more A* to C grades including English and Maths. This should be an outcome of an effective education system but not a key driver.

Targets and league tables have become very important in making sure we raise aspirations and I am a supporter of the way in which they have driven the raising attainment agenda but I do believe there is much more to education than this.

I came into education 30 years ago because I have always been intrigued by the way in which we learn. What has kept me in education for so long is the joy which comes with improving the life chances of our young people by supporting them in becoming better learners and overcoming the challenges which this presents. Learning is not a fixed concept. Nor is it something which is delivered and received; it is a collaborative process which is constantly evolving. It is the research and discussions we have around learning that underpins an effective learning environment.

I listen to people like Sir Ken Robinson, Professor Tim Brighouse and many others and am energized by their views which provide the backdrop for debates within my school. I have just read ‘A New Kind of Smart” by Bill Lucas and Guy Claxton; I thoroughly commend this to anyone involved in education.

Who should be involved in these debates? In my opinion, all those involved in the learning process. Most importantly the students themselves; schools which are making the most progress are involving the students in dialogues around learning and curriculum provision.

We need to model what effective learning looks like. This involves using research to provide us with ideas and trying things out which may involve some risk. The most effective learning takes place when we are on the edge of our comfort zone.

There is no doubt that what lies ahead is of concern. I am worried that the governments’ White Paper ‘The Importance of Teaching’ makes scant reference to the word learning. I fully support the view that we want our students to receive a world class education and to achieve the very best they can but the mechanism proposed in the White Paper seems to date back to a bygone era. The most effective way to stimulate and engage students is to provide them with a curriculum which captures their imagination and gives them the skills they will need in later life

So what is the purpose of education? In my opinion, it is to provide our young people with the skills they will need to become confident, independent decision makers who will be able to shape our future. I’m not sure that many would disagree with this. It is the way in which we prepare them for this role that is of utmost importance and that has to involve a collaborative view of learning and a commitment to continuing to research how we make this happen in our schools.

Rob Thomas

Headteacher

Thomas Tallis School

The Purpose of Education

2011-02-15T10:50:00.004Z

It's a daunting task to write 500 words about the purpose of education. Nevertheless, after several drafts and much pondering, here is my contribution to the debate.

The central purpose of education should be to identify the talents of individual young people (whatever they may be) and nurture them so that they are equipped to continue to develop them throughout their lives. In order to achieve this, educators of all kinds (including those who work outside formal education) should model a love of learning in order to develop the learning capacities of their students.

The many and various forms of intelligence all have an equal right to be nurtured and the formal school curriculum should provide numerous opportunities for everyone to use their talents creatively. Developing a greater capacity to be creative requires knowledge and understanding as well as imagination and resilience. There is no inherent contradiction between everyday learning in the formal school curriculum and creativity. If teaching is not focused on developing students’ abilities to re-shape, re-present and remix their knowledge and understanding, then learning will be superficial and meaningless. Learning is an active process of meaning making, not a passive fact accumulation exercise.

We need new generations of young people who are optimistic, resilient, imaginative, flexible and who believe in their own capacity to go on learning for the rest of their lives. The ability to interrogate knowledge, to question received wisdom and to generate new ideas are the skills most appropriate for this century. We need a rigorous approach to learning that results in greater numbers of young people leaving school and beginning their adult lives with a desire to change themselves and the world for the better. We need teachers who are professional learners. We should be operating in a learning zone that Stuart Kaufmann (and Steven Johnson) might call "the adjacent possible". We ought to give more thought to the criteria by which a school may be judged successful or otherwise. We should make a greater effort to explore the longer-term impact of schooling on young people’s lives. I recently conducted a small survey on Facebook of my ex student contacts, asking them to describe what they felt they had learned in my school. No-one mentioned their examination results. Some remembered quirky incidents in lessons or expressed regret about not having made the most of their opportunities. Most spoke movingly of projects, school journeys, performances, working with visiting artists, inspiring teachers and members of the local community. They wrote about situations where their lives opened out, where they were given a sense of new possibilities or grew in self-confidence. Often, these moments were related to being in situations where they were challenged or required to take a risk. Learning involves a leap of faith and can be truly transformational when teachers and students take that leap together.

As an educator dedicated to promoting the value of the arts, I believe in their transformative effect on people’s lives and subscribe wholeheartedly to Elliot W. Eisner’s views about the role that learning can play in bringing an artistic sensibility to the act of living:

The arts inform as well as stimulate, they challenge as well as satisfy. Their location is not limited to galleries, concert halls and theatres. Their home can be found wherever humans choose to have attentive and vital intercourse with life itself. This is, perhaps, the largest lesson that the arts in education can teach, the lesson that life itself can be led as a work of art. In so doing the maker himself or herself is remade. The remaking, this re-creation is at the heart of the process of education.

Jon Nicholls

www.creativetallis.com

@creativetallis

This article was written for Purpose/ed @purposeducation

Re-creating America

2011-02-13T16:15:00.001Z

Check out this film about creative learning in Oklahoma:

For much of its history, the word "America" has stood for the brightest ideas, the most resourceful solutions and the most provocative insights. Is this still true today, and if not, what can we do? The film explores the importance of creativity in education by highlighting four schools in Oklahoma and assessing how the state's teachers are attempting to teach and promote creativity: Educare Preschool in Tulsa, OK: serving a low-income, at-risk community; Flower Mound Elementary School in Lawton, OK: integrating the arts into the entire curriculum with the A+ Schools initiative; Odyssey of the Mind, a creative problem-solving competition at Piedmont Middle School; Santa Fe South Charter High School in Oklahoma City: helping students overcome the challenges of poverty and the high drop-out rate in America's urban high schools. The program asks teachers, parents and national experts: what appear to be the most effective ways to promote creativity, while still teaching the three Rs, and even improving test scores?

Billy talks about ePortfolios

2011-02-09T09:23:00.003Z

Without wishing to embarrass Billy, I thought I'd share Mr Hawes' recent interview with him about the value of creating and maintaining an ePortfolio. Billy has some top tips for anyone who wishes to showcase their work online and reach a real audience. Check it out!

Space to Learn

2011-01-30T15:50:00.009Z

Whilst out shopping with my family today I also following this fascinating conversation on Twitter initiated by Ian Yorkston (who says men can't multi-task?) It began with a photograph of a plane that is being used by a Nottingham school as a classroom. Bizarrely it cost less to buy and refurbish than a conventional classroom would have taken to build. Imagine climbing into an old aeroplane for your afternoon lesson? Brilliant. Soon, there was news of other innovative classroom spaces with a transport theme - long boats, WW2 gliders and a London bus. I contributed our Pop Up gallery/Classroom 'The Crate' as another example of how schools are experimenting with unusual spaces in which to learn. I was also reminded of a project a while ago where a primary school were asked to imagine that their school had sunk to the bottom of the ocean and that their task was to find ways of returning it safely to dry land. How much more engaging would this amazing project have been if the students had a mini submarine parked in their playground? Another example of this kind of immersive learning activity is the Matching Green 'Nerva' project that was featured in Stephen Heppell's Be Very Afraid showcase. What if those students, as well as communicating online with operatives in Mission Control at the local CLC, could have solved their various problems from the confines of a spacelab in the school carpark?

The Free School idea may prove to be a turning point in our thinking about suitable environments for learning or it may be merely an interesting footnote in the story of educational innovation in the UK. We may yet see schools popping up in old Post Offices, banks and shopping centres. Our new school building will be ready in about 10 months time. We certainly hope that we will have sufficient, highly specified rooms in which to learn and teach. Some of them will look and feel very different to the bog standard spaces we currently use. We will have a TV broadcast room, for example, and an Olympic standard Dojo. These spaces will hopefully be unusual and inspiring places, partly because they will look and feel like professional working environments. We will also have some outside classrooms, embedded in the landscape, that will provide opportunities for classes to work outdoors.

One of the exciting things about the Nottingham aeroplane classroom is the element of surprise that often accompanies great learning. Stepping into the cockpit of the plane or taking a seat in the fuselage would definitely transport me to a different world and possibly help me to remember the lessons I learned there. What additional outdoor, mobile, flexible learning spaces might we still need in our future school?

Ludus in residence at Tallis

2011-01-29T14:14:00.000Z

A massive thank you to the inspirational Ludus Dance Company for their fantastic residency at Thomas Tallis School this week. It culminated in a performance of their most recent piece entitled “Consequences” and performances by Year 9 and 10 dancers who had devised their own work in collaboration with Ludus.

An audience of parents and friends left the Sports Hall on Friday evening with beaming smiles and you can’t beat that!

You are not a gadget

2011-01-27T11:23:00.002Z

I came across this book today which claims to be a manifesto about the need for a more humanistic approach to internet technology. Like all good manifestos, Lanier's ideas run against the grain. For example, he considers Web 2.0 tools to be a problem because they provide standardised solutions that limit the potential of the individual. He dislikes Wikipedia because he considers it to be an example of "mob rule".

Here's a thoughtful article about the book and a link on Amazon if you fancy getting a copy.

Some Other Manifestos

2011-01-26T18:17:00.007Z

Here are links to a few other manifestos that have caused a bit of a stir in their time:

The Stuckist Manifesto, 1999 - These folks have made a name for themselves by protesting about the Turner Prize. They are opposed to conceptual art and love painting. "The Stuckist paints pictures because painting pictures is what matters."

The Dadaist Manifesto, 1921 - This is what the Stuckists dislike. Conceptual art started with the Dadaists, a bunch of radical poets and visual artists in Zurich, Switzerland who themselves were disgusted by the terrible waste of WW1. Their response was to create Anti-Art, that embraced chance and the absurd. "If you find all your ideas useless and ridiculous, know that IT IS DADA BEGINNING TO SPEAK TO YOU"

The Futurist Manifesto, 1909 - This is a brilliant bit of provocation. The Italian Futurists loved speed and energy. They had some dodgy political views. They thought that it was a good idea to destroy the past which included things like tearing down libraries. They wanted Futurism to change all aspects of life and even created a Cookbook. "Time and Space died yesterday. We are already living in the absolute, since we have already created eternal, omnipresent speed."

BLAST: The Vorticist Manifesto, 1914 - The Vorticists were a British version of The Futurists. They produced a couple of issues of BLAST magazine at the start of the First World War. They liked to BLAST and BLESS things to indicate whether they liked them or not. I'm not sure who the Curate of Eltham was but he gets properly blasted. "BLAST First (from politeness) ENGLAND. BLESS English humour."

The Surrealist Manifesto, 1924 - This is a long document but worth skimming through. The Surrealists were fascinated by the power of dreams and the unconscious mind. They were hoping to generate a revolution (of the Communist variety) through rewiring the way people saw the world. Look out for the dictionary definition near the end.

"SURREALISM, n. Psychic automatism in its pure state, by which one proposes to express -- verbally, by means of the written word, or in any other manner -- the actual functioning of thought. Dictated by the thought, in the absence of any control exercised by reason, exempt from any aesthetic or moral concern.

ENCYCLOPEDIA. Philosophy. Surrealism is based on the belief in the superior reality of certain forms of previously neglected associations, in the omnipotence of dream, in the disinterested play of thought."

Today's ARG meeting

2011-01-26T14:10:00.007Z

We had a really great meeting this morning and welcomed our two new members from Year 8, Will and Joe. We began with Danuta and Phoebe's re-working of the Manifesto for a Creative Tallis:

We ENCOURAGE all learners to:
become curious, imaginative and innovative
take risks, accept challenges and learn from mistakes
reflect on their learning experiences

We SUPPORT our students to become:
resourceful, active and independent learners
effective collaborators and communicators
co-creators of the curriculum

We BELIEVE:
in the exchange of skills and knowledge between students and staff
that skills should be transferable
that new technologies are a crucial part of learning

We VALUE:
our students' talents, skills and interests and provide opportunities to develop them further
feedback and ideas from students about their learning experiences
effective communication about creative learning with parents, carers and members of the local community

We had a look at The Rebel's Manifesto by Keri Smith for comparison. We felt that the more direct and provocative language of that document might improve our own manifesto.

In small groups we discussed ways to further refine the Tallis Manifesto, feeding back to the whole team. Here are some of the suggestions:

Joe, Will & Danuta:

More accessible language needed. “Be curious, Take risks” Short, snappy phrases. More like instructions. Maybe lose the “We”. “Don’t be afraid to be afraid”, “Ask questions”

Tom, Seb & Rachel:

Different manifestos for range of audiences e.g. students, teachers. Should there be a division?

Recipe or creative learning – video, dance, song

Humour? What skills do the group have that could help to promote the manifesto?

Phoebe & Matt:

Who is the manifesto for? Use the word “learners” and “creative community” – more inclusive.

When should it be implemented – assembly, tutor time, focus on Creative Tallis – direct response of learners. How to make it more interactive?

We also talked about the various ways in which we could re-present the Manifesto to the community and came up with the following list:

Video, Interactive web resource – definitions of some of the words, Assemblies, Tutor Time, Song

There is a lot of work still to do on the Manifesto so we agreed to meet fortnightly from now on - Week A Thursdays at 4pm. We also agreed that Tom would be bringing the juice and biscuits next time! Thanks to everyone in the team for their energy and ideas.

Tangled Feet R and D

2011-01-25T13:16:00.003Z

More exciting work from Tangled Feet in the pipeline (pun intended).

Phobias

2011-01-18T21:51:00.004Z

It's always great to see staff and students collaborating on rich, inter-disciplinary projects that have real audiences. But when the quality of the work is as high as it was during the two nights of 'Phobias', you realise that this kind of learning creates fantastic outcomes for all involved. The students of different ages get to behave like real arts practitioners, producing original and exciting work to a very high standard. The staff work as a team and learn skills from one another and the students, extending notions of what is possible. The audience leave with a sense of what can be achieved by young people and their teachers when they are prepared to take a few risks and trust in each other's skills.

Last year's 'Restaurant' project was the first time we had attempted an inter-disciplinary arts event quite so ambitious. I am delighted to say that 'Phobias' has raised the bar again. The audience was stimulated by a massive variety of multi-sensory experiences in a wide variety of art forms that wouldn't have been out of place in a contemporary art gallery or cutting edge theatrical space.

The company of costumed performers was enhanced by an army of backstage technical wizards with banks of laptops, speakers, cameras and other props. Visitors could begin their exploration of various irrational fears in the bar in two complimentary installations by feeling what it might be like to be be buried alive. Then it was time to be whisked into an operating theatre where they witnessed a patient close to death, live brain surgery via a video projection and the overpowering smell of chemicals and animal flesh. They then journeyed down a dark tunnel, where disfigured toys brushed against their faces, strangers screamed and hands reached out to grab their legs. Making their way through a hot, burning room and a door of flames, the audience then entered a large space which was quickly transformed into a mixture of therapy room, living nightmare and punishment chamber. Wall to wall video projections and a synchronised team of performers assaulted them with horrifying tales of death by fire, water and earth, before they were finally and unceremoniously ordered to leave.

The entire event was a real tribute to the energy, creativity and faith displayed by a dedicated team of staff at Tallis and the immense trust they have in the talents of our students. Thanks to everyone involved!

Visit from the Latvian Minister for Education

2011-01-12T14:52:00.004Z

Today, Mr Greig and Mr Nicholls had the great pleasure of welcoming the Minister for Education and his delegation from Latvia to Thomas Tallis School to talk about creative learning the impact of our involvement in the Creative Partnerships programme. We had a fascinating discussion which focused on the need to encourage learners to ask questions, to become leaders of their own (and others') learning, to take risks and make mistakes, to support schools in their drive to provide an exciting, contemporary curriculum and the value of building social capital in order to support all learners. Paul Collard, national director for Creativity, Culture and Education was also present at the meeting and described his first visit to Thomas Tallis School as "inspirational".

Learners Y Factor

2011-01-12T14:46:00.002Z

On Sunday 9 January, members of the Creative Tallis group attended the Learners Y Factor event in central London, part of the Learning Without Frontiers conference. We had been selected to present our experience of creating a Pop Up School at the Creativity World Forum in Oklahoma last November. Billy, Raihan, Seb and Tom performed brilliantly, despite some technical hitches, and co-ordinated a live Skype call with Joseph, one of the students from Howe High School in Oklahoma, during the Q&A session. Thanks to them, the story of our Pop Up School adventure has been shared with even more folks interested in creative learning and the future of schools.

Learners Y Factor

2011-01-08T19:06:00.005Z

Tomorrow, four Tallis representatives will tell the story of our Oklahoma adventure to an audience at the Learners Y Factor event in central London. The event is designed to showcase innovative approaches to learning and ICT by young people. We are presenting the story of our Pop Up School and our disruptive presence at the Creativity World Forum in Oklahoma in November 2010.

Our presentation begins with a video (above) outlining the project from its inception several months prior to the trip to Oklahoma. We are then going to describe how we used social networks, scavenging skills and a mixture of handheld and online technologies to propose that the future of learning might look quite different to the schools, classrooms, corridors and textbooks of the present.

Learners Y Factor presentation on Prezi

Our presentation ends with a question and answer session with the judges which will be attended by Joseph Horton, one of our collaborators from Howe High School in Oklahoma, via the magic of Skype.

We are competing against several schools who have each demonstrated that young people have the potential to radically transform the learning process, in part through their innovative use of new technologies. We are both proud and excited to be involved in the event.

Livescribe Pencast of Sir Ken Robinson

2010-12-29T19:24:00.007Z

Sir Ken Robinson at Creativity World Forum

brought to you by Livescribe

I've just listened to this Livescribe recording of Sir Ken Robinson talking at the Creativity World Forum in November. It was recorded by Shannon, one of the educators from Canada we met at the conference, using her Livescribe smartpen.

This is a fascinating device that allows you to record and keep notes simultaneously, then publish them to the internet. It's certainly not cheap but I like the fact that analogue note making can be connected to a search-able, digital parallel recording that can be published and shared with others. I also like the way the 'Pencast' is interactive when viewed in full screen mode. Presumably the cost of these pens will eventually come down, making them more accessible to the average student and teacher.

Manifesto for a Creative Tallis

2010-12-27T21:54:00.011Z

Thanks to Ms Keville and Ms Piwko we have begun the process of re-thinking our Manifesto for a Creative Tallis. The original manifesto, which has been shared with the whole staff body and was ratified by the Leadership Team, has helped to put creative learning at the centre of the school's learning and teaching vision. It is sent out to all new prospective members of staff and a question related specifically to creative learning features in all new job interviews. In our discussions at the start of this year, we felt that the manifesto needed to be revisited. It was perhaps a bit long and not very memorable. It needed a refresh and, possibly, some serious reflection on making the ambitious statements a reality.

Here are Ms Piwko and Ms Keville's initial thoughts, presented in suitably diagrammatic form:

Here is the first draft of the new statements:

WE CELEBRATE CREATIVITY IN OUR COMMUNITY OF LEARNERS

We encourage:
all learners to become inquisitive, imaginative and innovative
all learners to take risks, accept challenges and learn from mistakes
everybody to reflect on their learning experiences
We support our students to become:
resourceful and active learners
effective collaborators and communicators
independent learners/thinkers
We believe:
in the exchange of skills and knowledge between students and staff
that the use of new technologies is a crucial part of learning in the 21st century
We value:
our students' talents, skills and interests and provide opportunities to develop them further
feedback and ideas from students about their learning experiences
effective communication about creative learning with parents, carers and members of the local community

We discussed this proposal at our extraordinary meeting before the Christmas holiday and decided to make the following revisions:

(Section 1: We ENCOURAGE……)

‘all learners to become curious, imaginative and innovative ( the word curious has replaced inquisitive in the statement )

(Section 2: We SUPPORT……..)

Resourceful, active and independent learners
Effective collaborators and communicators
Co-creators of the curriculum (this statement has been added as we discussed the importance of students creating the curriculum/ learning experiences with teachers)

(Section 3: We BELIEVE……)

in the exchange of skills and knowledge between students and staff.
that skills should be transferable
new technologies are a crucial part of learning

We talked about the possibility of employing a graphic designer to help us re-present these statements in a more visually stimulating form, perhaps even creating an interactive web based resource that would allow the viewer to explore some of the implications of each statement with examples of successful creative learning, ideas for further research and short video clips of discussions with students, staff members, parents/carers, experts etc.

Whilst browsing in a book shop this evening I discovered a new book by one of my favourite artists, Keri Smith. It's called 'Mess' and describes itself as a 'Manual of Accidents and Mistakes'. This prompted me to check out her excellent website and Flickr account, where I discovered the following manifesto:

Here is the text in full:

The Rebel's Manifesto:

1. Do the opposite of what you were taught in school.
2. Care not for the opinions of others. They are based on their own thoughts and fears.
3. Study the work of other rebels. Steal things from them. Research with fury.
4. Forget about the competition. They are on a different path than you. Trends are for suckers.
5. "There's nothing we really need to do that isn't dangerous." John Cage. Do the things that scare you on a regular basis.
6. Make a mess.
7. Embrace your darkside. Your so called "dark qualities" (or labels) are a source of great power. Find a way to incorporate them into your work. Feature them. pay particular attention to what makes you angry.
8. Exercise your voice. Put your thoughts out into the world even if it scares the shit out of you (see number 5).
9. Expand your horizons. Leave home. Visit other places/cultures. Wander aimlessly.
10. Never limit your play-time. Even if your brain is telling you otherwise. All of your best stuff comes from it if you allow yourself to remain open to the unknown.
11. Question everything.
13. Follow your heart.

I love this for several reasons. The language is quite informal and includes some direct challenges. It's quite irreverent and funny. It feels exciting and surprising. Number 12 is missing. I wonder if we can learn anything from existing manifestos?

As promised I will begin to do some research about potential sources of funding to employ a designer to help us re-present our Manifesto. In the meantime, I wonder if we ought to give some thought to the next document needed to make the statements in our manifesto more of a reality in school - an implementation strategy.

2010-12-15T22:22:00.003Z

hey guys im joe and im really excited to start being and working with the creative tallis ARG group cant wait to meet everyone and start welll.......being creative :)

Creative Tallis Welcomes Three New Members

2010-12-15T16:35:00.004Z

Joe and Will have joined the Creativity ARG, and mighty pleased we are to have them! We are so fortunate to have had such fantastic student involvement, but many of our current group are in the year 12 and 13, so its good to know that the next generation of innovators are getting involved. We warmed up with a quick game of exquisite corpses (see photo) and Will and Joe got sorted with the permissions they needed to add posts to this blog.

Learning Score

2010-12-12T18:50:00.005Z

I've just renewed my version of Learning Score. I haven't really got to grips with it properly but have decided to plan my lessons using it from now on. I like the idea that I can share my thinking about lessons and learning both with students (via the interactive whiteboard) and colleagues. I like the musical analogy and the visual simplicity of the interface. I also like the fact that web links and media can be embedded inside the score so there's less hopping about between tabs in the browser. I think this might be a really great way of making the art of lesson planning more explicit and engaging students in constructing their own learning experiences.

Update:
Here's my first attempt at a Photography lesson. Interestingly, the discipline of thinking about all the elements of the lesson by dragging and dropping the various modules onto the score really helped me conceptualise the kind of learning hopefully taking place. I'll feedback about the lesson tomorrow. I plan to share the score with the students and ask them if they'd like to make any adjustments before we start.

Using google docs to share ideas

2010-12-12T17:52:00.003Z

I have just made my first contribution to Tom Barrett’s “Interesting ways to use …” series. For the full list, you can visit Tom’s blog. I think these shared google docs presentations are genius because:

* it’s a great way of sharing ideas
* all of the ideas are based on things that are really happening in the classroom, so they are pre-tested
* it creates networks of collaborators (most of whom will never meet) - it’s great to feel part of a shared project
* It’s always growing and developing - education can have a tendency to inertia, but this is always updating
* it’s a great example of how online tools can be used to make links

Soren

The vision for using ICT to support learning

2010-12-11T08:44:00.001Z

I thought people might be interested to see some of the ideas that came out of the InSeT on the vision for using new technologies and ICT to support learning. It was a really positive evening and there was a tangible enthusiasm and interest for how new tools could be used as a part of a blended approach for good learning. As ever, and is entirely healthy, they were debates and differences, but the overall outcome was positive.

In addition to the teachers’ thoughts the students in the Creativity ARG created a Stixy noticeboard with their vision for what learning should look like in the near future. The Stixy was much admired by staff, and I have absolutely no doubt that it played a huge part in creating such a positive and progressive outcome.

I am also collating the responses to a survey linked to the InSeT session, and once I have chased a few more responses I will add them to the blog,

Soren

In the news

2010-12-11T00:17:00.001Z

Our Oklahoma Pop Up School is still in the news thanks to various blog posts like this one from the University of Central Oklahoma. Scroll down a bit for a great picture of Billy charming visitors to our booth on the conference floor.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Tallis Mobile

2010-12-05T19:05:00.005Z

This is a slideshow we are sharing with parents and carers on Tuesday evening at the Year 7 consultation event.

We will soon be officially launching this new project designed to encourage learners in Year 7, and their families, to tell us what makes learning successful for them. We will select 15 families, based on their completion of an online application form and ensuring that the group is representative of our learning community. Each will receive an iPod Touch, complete with several applications preloaded. Students will be encouraged to communicate their experience of successful learning, using a range of strategies, both in and outside school. In addition, we will expect each family to write a blog post reflecting on each week's learning. We are interested in good learning wherever it happens to take place and whoever is responsible for initiating it.

We have set up a blog to capture these stories and a private social network (Ning) to support the participants. We anticipate organising fairly regular get-togethers where we can discuss the project, share great ideas and learn about the latest apps to support learning. We are also hoping to make some of these devices available to members of staff so that we can all contribute to understanding the ways in which mobile, handheld devices can support learning.

Oklahoma!

2010-12-05T19:02:00.002Z

We have just returned from a really exciting trip to Oklahoma to present our thoughts about creative learning and the future of schools at the Creativity World Forum. Representatives from Thomas Tallis and 2 other London schools (Stormont House and Gallions) took part in a 3 month long collaboration with partner schools in Oklahoma that culminated in our presentation to 1500 delegates at the conference and the establishment of a Pop Up School.

The idea resulted from our investigation of the Pop Up phenomenon in London and beyond - dance, architecture, shops, galleries, all had appeared and disappeared as quickly during the summer of 2010. At Tallis, we had commissioned a Pop Up Gallery/Classroom for the school concourse in which we had installed The Measurement Shop in collaboration with Tangled Feet Theatre Company during our arts festival.

We were interested in the idea that school might become more of an event than a building in the future. Our Tallis Lab curriculum is concerned with exploring the benefits of Web 2.0 tools and a more project based approach to learning and we have begun to make really effective use of blogging, web design and social media. We admired the work of visionaries like Sugata Mitra and the research of Charlie Leadbeater on education innovation.

Our experience at the conference was fascinating. We established a school (of sorts) in an unofficial corner of the conference hall (Booth 100.5) and engaged delegates with a variety of tasks hosted on our #popupschool website. We used Twitcam to broadcast live from the stage during our presentation. We made films, did research, created podcasts - mostly from our new iPod Touch devices equipped with the relevant apps - iMovie, Audioboo, Tumblr etc. The younger students sang songs in the foyer (rather like a Flashmob event) or asked a series of challenging, open-ended questions. We aimed to give our students an opportunity to engage with adults as equals, co-learners and to publish their thoughts and reflections to a real audience online.

The response was very positive:

#popupschool was by far my favourite thing at the #CWF2010 RT @shannoninottawa the future is unwritten http://bit.ly/dzpt4d

One blogger even suggested that the concept of a Pop Up School could apply to music lessons.

The most valuable lesson we learned was just how easy and powerful it is to connect with other learners and learning professionals (we're not very fond of the word teacher) in far off places. Tammy Parks at Howe High School was our partner in the project and has proved to be an inspirational colleague and a leading figure in our PLNs (Personal Learning Networks). We conducted several Skype conversations with her and her students in the lead up to the conference and we were inspired by her story. Howe is literally in the middle of nowhere. It is 3 hours from the nearest town. The school is smaller than one of our year groups at Tallis and, apart from the school building, the only other significant architectural features in Howe are the convenience store and the lumber yard. Despite this, Tammy and her husband Scott (the superintendent of the school district) have created an ICT rich learning environment using state of the art equipment. The school uses a satellite truck to conduct virtual field trips. They have high quality video conferencing equipment and lead learning experiments across the United States. Their physical isolation has been a spur to innovation. In order to give their students access to 21st century learning they have harnessed the power of the internet and the skills of broadcast journalism to connect them with the rest of the world.

Oh, and we met Sir Ken Robinson too. What a trip!

Action Research Group Meeting

2010-11-24T10:27:00.002Z

We met today for the second time this year. I updated the group on progress made since our last meeting as follows:

The Year 7 family learning with mobile technology project (we need a better name for this!) is progressing well. We have purchased 20 new iPod Touches with parasync and protective case. We are writing home to parents about the project and will launch it officially at a parents' consultation event next week.
The trip to Oklahoma for the Creativity World Forum was a real success. More info can be found here. We made several great connections with other educators, particularly in Canada and in Oklahoma (Howe High School).

I have invited new members to the group to become authors of this blog.

We took a quick look at the Manifesto for a Creative Tallis and agreed to refresh it. Here is a link to the Google Doc version of the document.

We agreed to meet next out of schedule on Wednesday 15 December at 4pm.

The agenda for the next meeting includes the following items:

Reviewing the Manifesto
Contributing to the ARG blog
Researching examples of best practice in promoting creative learning and sharing the evidence of the website.

Graphics Project blog

2010-10-28T23:35:00.003+01:00

As promised here's the link to the new blog for the Tallis Graphics project. This is where you can find out how the designers are responding to the brief and contribute your thoughts and ideas about the development of the wall graphics and signage for the new school.

Designers Selected

2010-10-27T16:14:00.003+01:00

I am delighted to announce that we have selected Gilles & Cecilie, in association with Nina Ansten, to be our designers for the new school graphics and signage. I met with four designers last week, all of whom had strong portfolios and great ideas. It was a very difficult decision but I made the selection based on several criteria:

Did the designer(s) understand our ambitions for the various spaces?
Were they willing to collaborate closely with our Design Group?
Did they have good communication skills?
Were they enthusiastic and sympathetic to the spirit of creativity at Tallis?
Did they have relevant experience?
Were they able to cope with the scale of the commission and within the time constraints?

We have arranged two day long design workshops in December at Tate Modern. I felt it was important that the Design Group (a mixture of staff and students) was able to work offsite, uninterrupted and in an inspiring space. As you probably know, Tate Modern has made use of its various circulation spaces to create engaging and interactive displays that support the work exhibited in the main galleries. The first workshop will focus on developing ideas and a general concept for the wall spaces and signage. The second, about 3 weeks later, will be an opportunity to review the initial designs and provide feedback to the artists. They will then have about a week to create the finished designs. This Thursday the designers will meet the architects, the building contractor and signage company and visit the new school site.

I will create a blog specifically for the project so that we can keep the whole community informed about the progress of the designs and gather useful feedback. Watch this space!

Graphic Designers

2010-10-14T21:27:00.002+01:00

I have contacted four graphic designers to see if they are interested in working with us creating images for the walls of the new school. Here are the links to the websites of those designers or collectives so you see what kind of work they do:

Le Gun
Gilles and Cecilie
Simon Vince
J P Hartnett

Nice typography

2010-10-12T22:33:00.001+01:00

I spotted this today at Stratford Station. I really like the use of typographic illustration in public places, especially this kind of vintage type. It reminds me of the sign paintings of Bob and Roberta Smith. This could be an interesting approach in the new building and would certainly be cost effective.

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Tate Modern wall graphics

2010-10-10T22:17:00.001+01:00

I visited Tate Modern today and was again struck by the use of wall graphics in the corridor spaces between galleries. The art history timeline, a combination of painted plasterboard and vinyl stickers, is a relatively inexpensive solution to covering a large area. I like the handwritten text, especially when it meets other signage in the Tate's own corporate typography. It occurred to me that we could use a similar strategy in the huge atrium spaces of the new building, perhaps using a mixture of famous names related to the disciplines in a particular learning space and inspiring or thought-provoking quotations.

Perhaps we could get existing staff and students to produce the writing so that they are represented on the walls and can spot their handiwork when we move into the new spaces.

We could then use a more expensive digital wallpaper in areas like the cafe and sixth form common room. Again, perhaps these images can be collages of existing students' work or the result of a design competition?

Any thoughts?

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Wall graphics for the new school

2010-10-10T17:47:00.005+01:00

I've been playing with a new thinking tool today called Cognition. It's an application that you can download free online and is designed to equip the user with a set of thinking tools called Cogs. On Friday I discovered that we have about six weeks to come up with some design ideas for the interior wall graphics for the new school. I decided to use Cognition to help me think through the issues. I chose the '17 must ask questions for planning successful projects' Cog. The above image shows you what the interface looks like. Once you have identified your project, the Cog presents you with a series of questions to prompt your thinking. You can find both the questions and my responses below (the final mindmap is exported as an .html file which can then be read in a word processing programme.)

Although I might have been able to think this through without the help of Cognition, the sequence of questions was really helpful in supporting the logic of my thinking process and causing me to reflect on the most significant information needed to make the project a success. I now have a clear plan of attack and know what issues need resolving before the project can proceed.

I'm going to try the Edward de Bono 'Six Thinking Hats' Cog next time. There are a number of free Cogs and more that can be downloaded for a small cost from the website.

17 Must Ask Questions for Planning Successful Projects
Plan for Success

What's the name of your project? : Wall graphics for the new school

How would you describe Wall graphics for the new school ?
Your thought : Decorative and educational resources to enhance learning

What are your goals and objectives for Wall graphics for the new school ?
Your thought : To stimulate learners. To represent our specialisms. To surprise and delight. To provoke thought.

Who will benefit from Wall graphics for the new school ?
Your thought : Teachers, Students, Parents, Members of the local community

What products, if any, will you be creating for Wall graphics for the new school ?
Your thought : Vinyl text/graphics Textured wallpaper

What services, if any, will you be creating for Wall graphics for the new school ?
Your thought : N/A

What methods will you use for Wall graphics for the new school ?
Your thought : Employ a graphic designer

What kind of schedule do you anticipate for Wall graphics for the new school ?
Your thought : Six weeks approx.

What partners or collaborators will you need for Wall graphics for the new school ?
Your thought : Convene a design group (teachers, students, parents, member of SLT) Collaborate with Modulex and the architect

What specific information or advice will you need for Wall graphics for the new school ?
Your thought : Go-ahead from SLT. A clear brief (who will create this?) Authority to make decisions

What special systems or equipment will you need for Wall graphics for the new school ?
Your thought : Design meetings. Time. A means to share ideas (Facebook?)

What special tools or templates will you need for Wall graphics for the new school ?
Your thought : Exemplars from other schools/public spaces (e.g. cultural institutions)

How will you evaluate the success of Wall graphics for the new school ?
Your thought : The community enjoys and is stimulated by the finished designs. They don't exceed the budget

Who needs to review and approve decisions for Wall graphics for the new school ?
Your thought : Not sure?

How might Wall graphics for the new school evolve over time?
Your thought : Need to check lifecycle plan. How often can the graphics be replaced/renewed?

For Wall graphics for the new school who will be responsible for what?
Your thought : Design: design group, SLT, architect, Modulex Upkeep: FM contractor

What risks should you plan to manage for Wall graphics for the new school ?
Your thought : Overspend. Insufficient time for design process. Lack of community support

What open issues remain for Wall graphics for the new school ?
Your thought : Who creates brief? Who has veto over decision-making? Who will be the designer? How much can we spend on design development?

Meeting on Tuesday

2010-10-09T08:03:00.001+01:00

On Tuesday 12 October we will be meeting the other students attending the Creativity World Forum trip to Oklahoma. We've been asked to make a small presentation to them describing our views about the Pop Up School. Can you give this some thought prior to our planning meeting on Monday? I'm happy to put something together - a short film or Prezi, for example - on Monday evening based on our discussions but I'd be even happier if one or more of you was able to do this. Can you all make sure that you have read the OKLDN blog posts and made some attempt to contact your colleagues in Oklahoma (either via the Ning or on Facebook) before Tuesday. We will be Skyping with Howe High School at 2:30pm on Tuesday.

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KaosPilots

2010-09-30T17:23:00.003+01:00

I had a fascinating chat today (via Skype) with Simon Kavanagh from the Danish organisation KaosPilots. I can't remember where I heard about them but Grethe, one of our colleagues Denmark who visits Tallis each year in January on her way to the BETT show, happened to know the folks there and made a connection on out behalf.

Here's a brief introduction to the School:

The KaosPilot program is a 3-year education divided into four disciplines:

Creative Business Design
Creative Leadership Design
Creative Project Design
Creative Process Design

The students learn how to build a viable business according to their and clients visions and values, they learn how to be leaders, and how to initiate and execute creative and sustainable projects, as well as design and conduct change processes for different clients.
The KaosPilot program is a three-year, fulltime program, divided into six semesters. Each year corresponds to 60 points in the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS) and each semester last 19 – 21 weeks.

The program is integrative and multidisciplinary in the sense that it draws upon different, traditional sciences and combines aspects of these with new approaches in the core disciplines and their components. The traditional disciplines are Social Studies, Psychology, Anthropology, Pedagogy, Leadership and Organization, Complexity Theory, Creativity, Design, Communication, Project Management and Business.

My chat with Simon consisted of us exchanging some news about what each of our schools was up to. I mentioned our specialist status (Arts, Leading Edge and School of Creativity), the trip to Oklahoma and our interest in new models for creative learning. I'm particularly interested in the idea that schools could become real agents of change in emerging communities, like the one on our doorstep. Simon spoke about a new collaboration with the community of Paddington in West London where a huge new social enterprise scheme is being established with their support and that of The Hub.

I've arranged to continue this chat tomorrow and will attempt to find out more about the Paddington project. Sounds fascinating. I'll report back in due course.

First meeting of the new academic year

2010-09-29T12:34:00.009+01:00

Listen!

The Creative Tallis Action Research Group met for the first time this academic year this morning. We have a great combination of new and existing members with the adults outnumbered by students. We really appreciate the students attending this morning since they would officially start school today an hour later. Some of them, in fact, only came in at all because they belong to the ARG. Very noble!

Our discussion focused on three things:

1. What do we want to achieve this year?
2. Who do want to collaborate with?
3. Who will benefit?

After a detailed and lively discussion we agreed to three foci for the year:

1. Developing a creative learning conference/Teechmeet and supporting the whole school creativity festival in the summer term
2. Establishing a creative learning project with a groups of Year 7 students (and their parents/carers) using handheld technologies. The idea would be to encourage the students to document their positive experiences of learning so that these can be shared with the whole community and inform the development of our pedagogy.
3. Working in collaboration with the maths, English and science faculties to develop inter-disciplinary creative learning strategies, possibly through a Teacher Exchange programme.

Thanks for everyone's contributions today. It promises to be a very exciting year again for us.

Creative Learning Reflections (Part 1)

2010-09-18T10:50:00.001+01:00

The Element of Surprise

Prompted by several excellent blog posts and the practice of a colleague in a local primary school, I have been thinking about the importance of surprise in learning. The first five minutes of a lesson or meeting can be a crucial period of time in which to generate space for creative thinking. Surprising students before or as they enter the room might be a really effective strategy for challenging their expectations of the lesson. A curious sign on the door, a song or video playing in the room, a provocative question on the board, unusual equipment out on the desks ... These might all open up the potential for new and unusual forms of enquiry. I'm going to play around with these ideas over the next few weeks to see how effective they are in generating more creative thinking in my lessons.

On a related, but slightly different, note I've decided to steal an idea from a primary school colleague for my Tallis Lab lessons. She rewards children in her class who have demonstrated personal learning and thinking skills by giving them the honour of wearing a hat. Each hat has a different name, representing a specific learning skill or attribute, and they all hang expectantly on an old fashioned hat stand in the corner of the room. So, in any one lesson, children may be wearing the bowler hat of perseverance, the tiara of creativity or the beret of collaboration.

I'm off to scour the charity shops of South East London in search of my PLTS hats right now. I'm certainly hoping that my new hats will add an element of surprise to my next few lessons and help students get to grips with the notion of explicit, transferable, personal learning and thinking skills.

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For Your Frame of Mind

2010-08-09T12:57:00.004+01:00

Hey guys! It's Chenai here and I'd like to invite you to the Mind Frames exhibition at the Dulwich Picture Gallery (details on image above). It is part of writing sessions I have been taking part in at the South Bank Center with author Courttia Newland who worked with us to create written pieces based on images from the collection at the Dulwich Picture Gallery. We also worked with fine artist Drew Sinclair who helped us mere writers create a visual response to our written piece. Read more about the project here .

If you are able to make it, I will be very grateful for your support. I hope to see you there!

Kat and Nathan talk about The Measurement Shop

2010-08-04T18:44:00.005+01:00

Listen!

This is a short online radio interview with Kat and Nathan from Tangled Feet about their installation, The Measurement Shop, in Unit 214 at The Elephant and Castle shopping centre.

The Measurement Shop

2010-07-29T09:51:00.000+01:00

I've just received this invitation to see The Measurement Shop by Tangled Feet. Part of their development process involved a week long residency at Tallis where we set up our own Measurement Shop. I'm really interested in the idea of a Pop Up School at the moment, influenced by our pop up gallery on the concourse and Tangled Feet's pop up shop. I'm hoping to get a few more ideas from going to visit the Measurement Shop at the Elephant and Castle next week. Here are the details if you fancy coming along:

"We would like to invite you to tangled feet’s new research and development project The Measurement Shop...

What if experiencing theatre was as easy as entering a shop? What if a theatrical exchange mirrored a shopping exchange? What if the theatre was an empty shopping unit and the opening times were during the day with no evening performances? Who would the audience be?

The Measurement Shop is a creative exploration of how we measure complex and simple things and what effect measuring has on the measured thing. How do you measure happiness, hope and pain? As well as age, population and health? The project will never be a finished performance, rather an ongoing open exploratory experiment with the audience arriving, measuring and adding to the piece of theatre- it is our aim that The Measurement Shop tours across the UK and opens in cities up and down the country for up to a few weeks before moving on – just like a pop-up shop.

Our shop will be open:
Dates: 2nd – 5th August
Times: 2pm – 6pm (pop in anytime and stay as long as you like). We are also holding an evening of sharing on Wednesday 4th between 7pm and 8pm.
FREE

We hope you are able to come and share the work we have created and talk about its future. Look forward to seeing you there!"

Best wishes,
Lucy Oliver-Harrison
Producer

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Wallpaper

2010-07-27T21:55:00.004+01:00

I just stumbled across this doodle/illustration wallpaper which seems like a really good idea for the new school - (I might get some for my room)
just a thought...

Billy

http://www.jonburgerman.com/Work/comments/colour_in_wallpaper/

When ideas have sex

2010-07-23T19:16:00.002+01:00

It's not IQ that matters, according to Matt Ridley, it's how well individuals in a society communicate and exchange with each other. Another great rational and optimistic TED talk.

More ideas for wall graphics

2010-07-21T22:08:00.009+01:00

Here are a few more great images from the Blik website featuring projects they have completed using vinyl stickers. I really like the variety of approaches, the use of abstract forms, typography, children's drawings and sophisticated digital artwork. I'm keen to employ a range of designs in the new school building; images that reward repeat viewings. What do you think?

This kind of treatment might look great in the new café where there is a long unbroken surface running the length of the dining area.

Text obviously gives us lots of scope. There could be quotations from students, teachers and members of the local community or famous artists, dramatists, musicians, mathematicians, scientists, authors etc.

I like the idea of a graphic that incorporates real work by our students. We would obviously need to start collecting this in a meaningful way for inclusion at a later date. This could be really motivating for existing students.

I love these big, overlapping abstract forms. These shapes could refer to lots of different areas of the curriculum but not in a literal way.

My partner has just completed a project in a primary school where students' poetry has been transferred to wall spaces around the building. I like the way these words overlap and jostle for attention.

Wall Graphics

2010-07-21T17:08:00.010+01:00

Following on from my last post about the interior design of the new school, here are some images taken from the Blik website. These are custom vinyl transfers for large spaces and demonstrate how exciting and flexible this process can be. I'm still a bit concerned about durability compared with painted walls, but I'd be interested in knowing what you think of this as an approach.

Interior Design

2010-07-20T16:58:00.004+01:00

I had a really interesting meeting today with the architects of the new school about the strategy for interior design. As well as the usual signage and wayfinding there are several large spaces in the new building that are perfect for large scale design projects. Dom Murphy from Tak! Design was also at the meeting and we are very keen for him to be involved in helping us devise a suitable approach. We currently feel that the new graphic identity should be the basis of the signage but that the large interior spaces could be more idiosyncratic, representing our specialist status as a visual arts college and involving students in helping to devise and create the work. Dom showed me the work of Lucy McLachlan (see above) who creates large scale wall graphics in monochrome paint. I wonder if we could commission a series of artists like Lucy to work with students to create large scale works of art for the walls of the new building? What do you think?

Past, Present & Future

2010-07-18T22:03:00.001+01:00

iPad blogging

2010-07-17T23:44:00.001+01:00

This is my first post using the BlogPress app for the iPad. The large screen size and built in keyboard make the iPad perfect for blogging and this app makes the best use of its features. It's easy to set up, integrates well with various blogging platforms (although not Tumblr) and allows you to lay out images as you'd like it to appear online.

I've been reflecting on the recent successes of our specialist status today. A couple of weeks ago we held a private view of art & design work by post 16 students. Unlike previous years we decided this year to combine the work of students from four different courses - A level fine art, photography and product design and BTEC art & design. We also handed over the responsibility of curating the show to our artist in residence. The resulting show was a real testament to the diversity of talent amongst our students and the acceptance that there is no hierarchy of esteem for these courses.

Last week we staged two evening events entitled 'Past, Present & Future'. They were designed to provide a platform for the creativity evident in all areas of the arts at Tallis but also to encourage the audience to reflect on the relationship between creative learning and physical space. Much of the activity was centred on our concourse, a street that runs through the centre of the school. We aimed to create a festival of events and to engage the audience with competing delights. We had healthy audiences on both nights and the student performers often appeared to be running the show, ushering audience members to various places and making the most of the various impromptu stages. We showcased work resulting from two performing arts residencies (Tangled Feet theatre company and Dance Spinner) and screened the world premiere of a film written, directed by and starring our students. We have received lots of really positive feedback from the audiences on both nights, complimenting the school on its innovative approach and ability to surprise and delight.

On Friday we discovered that we had been re-designated as a specialist arts college for a further three years. This is great news and means that we can continue to use the arts to impact on the whole school curriculum using a mixture of teachers, assistants, technicians and visiting practitioners. It also means the support that we give our family of schools and various community organizations will continue. This confirmation comes shortly after we received the Ofsted report confirming that Thomas Tallis is a good school and one in which specialist status has had a demonstrably positive impact on learning.

Much of the innovative work we have done this term has been funded from our School of Creativity budget. We don't yet know how long this funding will last but we have consolidated our commitment to promoting creative learning by appointing a new Assistant Headteacher with this as his central responsibility. We have new heads of music and art & design starting in September, both of whom have expressed their support for our collective vision for the school as a creative hub for the local community. This summer we are hosting Felix's School of Rock at Tallis and co-ordinating a creativity summer school in partnership with Kidbrooke School and Emergency Exit Arts. We will be appearing in the Thames Festival parade and, in October, hosting a visit from an entire company of Kathakali artists from Southern India as part of our Black History Month celebrations.

I was fortunate enough to visit the site of the new school last week. Having been involved in the design of the building in the early stages, it was a real pleasure to see the building under construction and to appreciate the scale of the structure. It's a huge building with fantastic facilities. The arts are co-located, unlike the present building, and we have massively increased our capacity to host large scale events in state-of-the-art surroundings. It's been an incredible year in which so much has changed. I feel very fortunate to be able to work with such an inspiring, hard-working and creative team of professionals. I also feel very sure that the specialist arts subjects will continue to make a hugely positive impact on the success of the whole school next year and beyond.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad