Handheld Learning

I attended a conference recently about handheld learning. I heard Zenna Atkins, the Chair or Ofsted, share her vision about the future of learning and how technology is already making a big difference to the way some schools are thinking about every aspect of their organisation and practice. She presents some really interesting and challenging ideas in a no nonsense way. I know our primary interest is in creative learning, but I think we should also give some consideration to creative solutions to other tricky issues faced by school. It would be interesting to know what you think about some of the ideas in this presentation. You may also want to check out Malcolm McLaren's fascinating and irreverent talk from the same conference.

Tallis Soundscapes

A couple of years ago we worked with two artists on a binaural sound project called Tallis Soundscapes. The artists worked with Year 12 students to convert normal headphones into recording devices, replacing the speakers with microphones so that stealth stereo recordings could be made around the building without the need for cumbersome equipment. When played back, these recordings capture sound in true stereo since the microphones are actually in the same location as the ears. Recordings were made around the school and photographs were taken in each location. These were subsequently attached to a map available as a web page.

The reason I mention this project from a while back is that it's a good example of how we have already attempted to explore our relationship to the building in imaginative ways using various technologies. This links in with current discussions about the summer project.

How could we continue to experiment with sound in relation to the physical structure and emotional associations of the current school building?

Year 7 Cross-Curricular Learning Day

This short film was made by the 30 strong multimedia team as a creative, students' eye view of the Year 7 cross-curricular learning day on Wednesday 1st April. We divided the group into four teams: sound, animation, video and photography. The task was to re-present the day's activities using each of these media, to explore the connections between them and to reflect the theme of Healthy Lifestyles. Interestingly, the group had the whole day to create their content and learn new skills. This extended period of time was invaluable and provided a real opportunity for most students to engage in deep learning. I would like to thank the students and the superb team of staff members who helped them. It was a lot of fun!

How can I persuade my family that spending lots of time on the computer is ok?

This afternoon my mum said to me, "You spend way to much time on the computer" and then she said, "It's no good for you." I then said, "Look at the benefits, it is helping me with my education and improving my skills such as communication."

I use my laptop almost every afternoon/evening and I feel that since I got an Apple laptop I use it even more.

What else can I say to persuade her?
How often do you go on the computer and for how long?

What do you think the benefits are and do you think there are any negative effects?

The new economy

In his book "The Creative Economy", John Howkins ends the penultimate chapter with the following statement:"At the start of the twentieth century, Lenin said, "Communism is soviet organisation plus electricity." At the start of the twenty-first, I suggest, "The new economy is creativity plus electronics." It seems to me that media literacy and the use of new tools for learning should be important areas of development for us as a School of Creativity. How do we exploit the fact that computers are more like paintbrushes than televisions? How do we make sure that students from year 7 upwards have access to and are excited by the latest technologies in the service of their creativity?

The Genius of Photography

The BBC4 series "The Genius of Photography" is a great example of how television can be the most wonderful resource for learning. The entire series is available on YouTube in convenient 10 minute sections. This website helpfully lists all the links with a brief description of the content of each episode. The opening programme also demonstrates how intimately art and science are bound together. Witness Abe Morrel's amazing camera obscura photographs. It seems to me that technology, in all its forms, is often the most important aspect of the school curriculum because it is able to link apparently disconnected disciplines. It is no surprise that one of the inventors of photography, Henry Fox Talbot, was an eminent scientist. He was frustrated by his inability to draw and began to wonder if there wasn't a better way of capturing the shapes of things on a flat surface. His experiments eventually became a new technology called photography. Literally, drawing with light.

If you haven't seen this series, I strongly recommend you watch the whole thing. You won't be disappointed.