Create & Motivate

Create & motivate

07.03.06 Using technology to encourage creativity in class educationguardian.co.uk/appleeducation

Produced by the Guardian in association with Apple PHOTOGRAPH ANDREW FOX PHOTOGRAPH 2 Create & motivate What is creativity? Inside Introduction Stephen Heppell

4 Digital trends From podcasting to internet telephony, digital music to Wanted: creative politicians making movies for online broadcasts... the latest developments in creative ICT the breadth and diversity of children’s creativity with the annual DfES 6 Primary best practice supported “Be Very Afraid" event. This Literacy is perhaps the subject where creativity works best with year it included a kinetic “garden” of young children, but science, optic rods, representing a student’s music and citizenship come a communications with friends and family, close second... and a primary school adventure spanning mobile texting, books and websites.

CHRISTPHER JONES Apple did some really useful Creativity is tough to define, but every pioneering work in the early 90s where it teacher knows it when they see it. In the paired schoolchildren with cinema icons 1950s we sought conformingly uniform like Ken Russell and music stars like

ANNA GORDON children, for the conformingly uniform Bryan Adams. The results were stunning jobs of late industrial Britain. Any and, since then, it has supported a 10 Secondary best practice creativity was strictly extra-curricular. regular showcase for creativity a the When schools use creativity But as the mundane tasks have moved annual ICT in education show, Bett, and across the curriculum, students overseas, or become tasks for robots, much teacher development. take note. So what technology creativity has replaced conformity. With software tools like iStop Motion works best in the classroom? Schools have noticed. Children are or FrameThief on the Macintosh or 12 What kit do I need? designing the robots! Anasazi Stop Motion Animator, TePee There’s an amazing amount of Type “creativity” into Google and you Animator or MonkeyJam on the PC, the software out there that can help find an unsurprising 90m or so hits. fun of animation is accessible too. schools be truly creative. About a third mention schools. Almost To see a group of 12 or more children, Teachers are spoilt for choice every policy paper from progressive (and each animating their own Plasticine progressing) countries around the world character or object on a complex stage in 14 Training and resources How can teachers get the mentions creativity in learning. Some, line with their storyboard, is to witness training to use ICT creatively — like Japan, have whole policy documents the power of creativity to engage and and keep up with their pupils? dedicated to it. So, how many mentions delight. And the end products are eye- does the word get in the “Higher swivellingly complex to watch. You can Standards, Better Schools for All” White see why Apple is majoring on its iLife Paper? “Standard” is mentioned 144 studio, to make easy movie, photo, DVD, times, “fail” appears 53 times. Rather music and website integration. surprisingly, the words “creativity” and And with the whole Building Schools “creative” are not mentioned at all, for the Future agenda challenging our probably uniquely for an education ideas about what creative schools might policy paper in the 21st century. be like, there is no better way to hear the But where the White Paper has failed learners’ authentic voice than to arm spectacularly to notice creativity, our them with the wonderful (and cheap)

ANDREW FOX teachers, students and parents are cross platform “SketchUp” 3D archi- embracing it, armed with some very tectural tool — used by professional useful new tools. All around the UK architects too — to let them model and schools are seeing remarkable levels of then “fly through” their own view of engagement and effort resulting from a future schools. quite specific focus on creative activity. So schools are innovating, the tools are Now that computer-connected cameras affordable, professional and easy to use, are so affordable, a mass of really and the children are terrifyingly imaginative video is pouring from our confident and ingenious. Creativity schools — and has been for some years. matters. Maybe the next White Paper, The BBC has a TV programme, Blast!, due soon on further education, will dedicated to video work by children for notice. But don’t hold your breath. children. In Blackpool they fill a huge seaside cinema with primary children, Professor Stephen Heppell is chief Editors Richard Doughty, Julie Nightingale Design Gavin Brammall Picture editor Tracey who show each other their short movies executive officer of the global learning Tomlin Production Jenny Box. A Guardian Plus product (contact Jonathan Viner 020-7713 on the big screen before voting for their research and policy consultancy, 4448). Produced by Guardian Creative. All editorial is independent of the sponsor. favourites. Each year Bafta celebrates Heppell.net Create & motivate EducationGuardian.co.uk/appleeducation 3 Thinking simple is the answer New technology enables children to learn in different and innovative ways. But it’s vital that teachers are given the freedom to let creativity flourish, says Julie Nightingale

key factor in what many teachers feel is a more enlightened approach to learning is the po- litical shift away from the rigid A prescription of numeracy and literacy strategies to allow teachers more freedom in how they interpret the curriculum. At the same time, the technology available to support creativity in both teaching and learning is proliferating. Digital cameras, DV, sound and film- editing packages and even mobile phones enable children to learn in different and innovative ways. “People are beginning to have confidence in creative activities rather than sticking rigidly to the QCA schemes of work," says Alan Rodgers, primary representative at the education technology advisers organisation, Naace. “Plus, the digital media now becoming available are a very powerful and potent form of ICT." “The creativity path is a much better option for a lot of the pupils," adds Mark Rogers, managing director Apple UK, Ireland and Nordic regions. “Which doesn’t mean that only certain types of pupils should have access to creative activities in the curriculum. It actually means a different way of doing things for everyone." Djanogly City Academy, where students choreograph dances to mobile phone ringtones Fabio de Paola What does it mean for teachers? If no one has yet figured out a way to measure the activities that use your existing technology. dent or who can help with technical difficulties." impact of creative teaching and learning on a child’s Ewan McIntosh, an adviser on languages and It also makes sense to capitalise on children's rate of improvement, teachers in droves can attest technology for the national centre for languages familiarity with the media. At Poulton Lancelyn to its motivational power. Studying history by in Scotland, suggests starting up a class blog primary school, pupils used a Big Brother-style shooting a DV documentary on the war featuring where students can sum up each day’s lesson approach for their digital video project about Fair footage of Churchill, downloaded from the Pathe “All they need is an internet connection some- Trade goods, which the pupils researched, filmed news website, producing a podcast of your own mu- where — it might be that the students write their and edited themselves. “We began by discussing sic, or playing a computer game to develop your cre- blog entry on their home computers which are what made a good film and settled on a Big ative writing skills are tasks that captivate children often better than the ones in school." Brother-style reality approach, something they by making them active participants. Students’ own mobile phones or iPods can be had all seen and felt comfortable with," says Gill Teachers who have used digital video or com- pressed into action. “To improve speaking skills, Jones, the headteacher. puter games in class point to their ability to en- teachers might opt for some simple MP3 record- And at Djanogly City Academy in Nottingham, gage reluctant writers, boys in particular. ing," McIntosh says. “This can be done on an MP3 mobile phones have been called into action in Children are also motivated by the authentic- recorder on the class computer using the internal dance classes. Students compose their own ring- ity of a task such as filming a school rugby match mic or a £10 mic from PC World. Students’ mobile tones then combine them into a single piece of and adding their own commentary, says Guy phones could be used to video classroom perfor- music and create a dance for it. Shearer, head of Northamptonshire LEA’s Learn- mances or experiments. These can then be trans- ing Discovery Centre. “It’s not complex to set up ferred to the computer and uploaded on to a blog." Don’t overlook the fundamentals and it means children have an end product to play A good way to start is to study other teachers “Have your learning outcomes in mind before you to their parents." It also means they get feedback in action, says Richard Jones, national coordina- begin," advises Alan Rodgers. “There’s quite a lot from a real audience, one which can be expanded tor for music and the performing arts for of work involved in filming, for example. For to other pupils, or further, if the work is pub- the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust. every minute of production of film, it takes two lished on a website. “Observe colleagues who are confident in a hours or more to produce because there’s the edit- The skills that creativity nurtures are also valu- range of techniques. Start small, gradually in- ing and storyboarding. It’s no good shooting lots able in the workplace. Stephen Uden, education crease your use of creativity and technology and of film and then wondering what to do with it." relations manager for Microsoft UK, says: “Cre- have a second person in the room who is confi- ativity, collaboration and problem solving are not Weblinks things that the traditional assessment system focuses on — ‘collaboration’ in exams is cheating, ‘Creativity, collaboration Digital Alchemy: Using digital video assets across for one thing. But a lot of these skills are now in and problem-solving are the curriculum (CD-rom): demand by employers." www.becta.org.uk/corporate/ not things that the corporate.cfm?section=8&id=3365 How do I start being ‘creative’? traditional assessment Scottish CILT: www.cilt.org.uk Think simple, is the answer. Don't go for elaborate Specialist Schools and Academies Trust: concepts or complex technology; instead, focus on system focuses on’ www.ssatrust.org.uk 4 Create & motivate Digital trends Q&A Creativity Why iPods are refreshing parts teachers can’t reach SPIKE GERRELL

WIll I need any training? Whether it’s podcasting lessons to students, composing Actually, it’s more a question of establishing what you want to achieve in class and linking music, or directing movies to be broadcast online, ICT that to a professional development plan, rather and creativity are catching on. Jimmy Leach looks at the than going on sabbatical to film school and emerging as Quentin Tarantino, mark II. You iPod/audio revolution while Jerome Monahan goes visual need to be able to link those skills into your existing programmes of work. Plus, more and hose who went to the Bett show in anteeing their attendance at a lesson. Once the more schools are opting to exploit the in-house January this year hoping to view hardware is in place, podcasts can deliver lessons, skills of their staff so the best people to discuss cutting-edge technology in the ed- as audio or video files, for those who cannot or this with, in the first instance, are colleagues. ucation world may have come back will not attend in the normal way, but they can T a bit puzzled. Where has all the in- also deliver the basics of a lesson, background to Will I need to buy expensive kit? novation gone? The answer, of a topic, worksheets, homework assignments (via No. In fact it’s better to start with simple course, is where it’s always been — where the big Acrobat files) to free up a teacher to be more cre- equipment and activities that fit with what bucks are. Rather than exploring ways of creating ative with pupils while the technology provides you’re doing in class. Equipment-wise, new technologies for schools, the clever money is the detail and facts that pupils can refer back to webcams (around £20) are a cheap alternative to on adapting technology made for wider markets. during revision. digital cameras for pics or stop-motion If the class itself is producing the podcast, this animation. Check out the software that’s in Podcasting instantly creates the need for teamwork, enterprise, your operating system (such as Windows Movie Podcasting, made simple to receive by the now technical literacy and planning, as well as the abil- Maker or iTunes and iMovie from Apple). And ubiquitous ipod, is the latest trend spreading across ity to research and write up the podcast topic itself. you could co-opt children’s mobiles and their the education sector. As a generic technology, it It also offers children the chance to use a medium photo/recording capabilities. was never originally aimed at schools but is now they’ll find more attractive than a whiteboard. being used to deliver lessons or, during school pro- More sophisticated podcasts can include video, What if we don’t have enough computers? jects, used by pupils themselves. It allows them to images, text and other multimedia besides audio. Prepare an activity that makes a virtue of develop teamwork, literacy skills and confidence. In future, schools are likely to use the technology to sharing — such as plugging a microphone into a Podcasting means downloading audio, video communicate direct with parents. The weekly laptop for a group to use. and Acrobat (document) files over the web to an school update, delivered by podcast, bypasses the iPod, MP3 player, mobile phone or computer. In child and can remain available indefinitely. That way Will it be very time-consuming? the US, it is making serious inroads into higher parents and governors and the wider community It can be. Filming with digital video, for education. In California, Stanford University is can remain involved with the school. example, takes a while with storyboarding, developing its Stanford on Apple’s At Sandaig primary school, Glasgow, for in- getting to grips with the equipment the first iTunes system — which offers public stance (www.sandaigprimary.co. uk) teacher time and then editing. But the visual and access to faculty lectures, campus John Johnston says he gets his year 6 chil- kinaesthetic elements of this type of work can events and performances but also dren to write, edit and deliver a maga- have a deeper impact and enable children to restricted access to Stanford stu- zine-style monthly podcast, branded retain what they learn more easily. dents to download course materi- as Radio Sandaig. It is delivered as a als. The iTunes platform is handy magazine-format radio show — all How will I know if it helps their learning? for the university (which has close written and delivered outside Proving the impact of “creativity” on links with Apple), but it also offers lessons in the pupils’ own time. standards is the $64,000 question, but the students at all levels of education an “I’ve done other ICT things anecdotal evidence is strong. Clearly it’s environment many are familiar with with children — blogs, important that your animation, sound through downloading music. digital video etc — and recording or web design are linked to your Podcasting works well with both Mac this is the thing they existing work in class. and PC systems, and it benefits from enjoy the most.” growing access to open-source (free) Podcasting can Where can I see examples of good practice? editing systems and an easy-to-use also be delivered in- Becta has case studies. See, in particular, past uploading/delivery process. Much of to, rather than out of, winners of its digital video awards at its pulling power derives from UK schools. www.becta.org.uk/corporate/display.cfm? pupils’ familiarity with iPod tech- Teachers’ TV section=21&id=2663. See also the QCA’s nology — schools could begin to har- (www.teach- examples of creativity in action at www. ness the iPod popularity, for example, ers.tv/pod- ncaction.org.uk/creativity/new_examples.htm by loaning pupils iPods or MP3 players casting) is

Compiled by Julie Nightingale on a certain day and thus moreorless guar- now provid- MURDO MACLEOD Create & motivate EducationGuardian.co.uk/appleeducation 5

Another digital learning specialist, Steve O’Hear, a researcher for the ICT in education blue skies research institute, NestaFuturelab, feels a major breakthrough is “the increasing ease with which young people can get the results of their film-making published and receive feedback on their efforts.” He has developed iCritique, used for example at Long Road sixth form college in Cambridge. It lets people view and respond to hundreds of student film sequences and pop-promos online. “There are now many web services and software that make sharing of digital work very simple. Once students know their work will be published and shared online and get feedback from a wider audience, the creative dynamic changes completely. It becomes ‘for real’ and students’ motivation leaps.” Among the latest crop of such sites, O’Hear highlights the still photography feedback site, www.flickr.com, and an equivalent site for mov- ing image projects, www.youtube.com. BBC Blast (www.bbc.co.uk/blast) — a project to inspire creativity among 13- to 19-year-olds — has sharing of content and receiving responses as a Playing to an audience: Peter Fraser and students at Long Road sixth form college MMP Cambridge core aim. “The idea of showcasing is central to our activities,” says content producer Máirín Murray. ing programmes via podcast and may extend its made some brilliant compositions this way, us- “It’s a crucial reversal of the BBC’s usual emphasis range of podcasts this year. Whatever the audi- ing the loops for the percussion track and writing on its producing content.” Once showcased, the ence — teachers, pupils, parents — the medium is their own music over the top.” various creative chatrooms such as the movie becoming more accessible, not least with the wel- What used to be known as the “killer app” — shorts section on the Blast site have the potential come price battle between MP3 players. the application that would wow users — is now to be a lively forum for comment and advice. But podcasts are just one way. With recent re- with us in the classroom. However, if you’re look- search from brand consultancy Future Laborato- ing for it in the usual ICT catalogues, it may take Digital video ries estimating that teenagers own an average £500 a little longer to find. You might be better off go- But if not used properly, technology, can swamp of technology each, the obvious route to connect ing home and finding that it’s been installed on digital creativity. David Baugh, a DV in education with them is via their technology. And, again, tech- your home computer all along... specialist at Denbighshire LEA (www.dvined. nology made for the wider world may be work best. org.uk), says some teachers continue to find full- Making‘Once moviesstudents know their blown digital video-making technically difficult and Internet telephones workBut while will audio beis still shared making its way,online, headlines, hard to integrate into class activities. One way to Skype, the free internet telephone software, of- video, film and still photography are now well used overcome this, he suggests, is to use digital story- fers online audio connections for adults but its inthe many dynamic schools. One changesargument sure to bore Ian telling techniques that rely on use of still images. use in schools is proving a winner. In Camden, completely.Wall, director of the educationIt becomes organisation, real Film This approach has been adopted by the Centre for London, schools have joined with fellow secon- Education (www.filmeducation.org/interactive/ Digital Storytelling in the US (www.storycen- daries in Ealing for a joint journalism project, us- andindex.html), motivation is when a fan ofleaps’ Apple’s iMovie locks ter.org/index1.html) and the BBC in the UK ing Skype to collaborate, contact their editor and horns with a dedicated user of Adobe Premier. through the Capture Wales project (www.bbc. explore ideas towards creating an online news- “While the sophistication of the equipment co.uk/wales/capturewales/). paper. It works like talking on the phone but via available in many schools is spectacular, [do] Films such as Wallace and Grommit and a computer microphone and speakers. Students young people really need endless varieties of edit- Chicken Run from the Aardman Street Studios leave online answerphone messages for each ing transitions or 16 levels of sound. What’s the have helped raise the profile of animation — mu- other, which can be retrieved via the web when point — particularly if their use is indiscriminate sic to the ears of software producer Kudlian Soft, classes are ready, making it easy to collaborate be- and ultimately unjustifiable?” whose program, I Can Animate, was nominated tween classes on different schedules. In recent years, Film Education, has shifted for an award at Bett, the annual ICT in technol- But if we’re talking about accessing technology emphasis in its training and production of re- ogy show. “Creating animation can be hugely with wider uses, music is one of the biggest dri- sources. “The key question is how effectively empowering for children,” says Kudlian’s man- vers — and when teachers get a little trendy and young people ‘articulate’ what they want to say,” aging director, Roger Young. “The beauty of [it try to communicate via means of dance music or says Wall. To meet this need, Film Education has is] the ease with which it interacts with iMovie rock, it can become the teensiest bit embarrass- pioneered the development of simple-to-use and the simplicity on Apple Macs of exporting ing. But there are programs that can rise to that — cross-platform editing software on a series of in- completed film onto DVD for showing on bigger Apple’s iLife suite of software has Garageband teractive digital resources. Each gives students screens.” (www.apple.com/uk/education/products/ilife), a access to a cache of raw film sequences which composition and playing program with pre- they have to fit to various briefs, covering sub- Mobile technology recorded loops and effects. It carries realistic ap- jects as diverse as key stage 2 poetry and the first And finally, if your school is struggling to control proximations of actual instruments so students day of the battle of the Somme — the aim is to un- mobile phone use, it could turn out to be a posi- can record their own music and teachers can lock subjects using film as a medium. tive. The news from a recent ICT conference in make suggestions that go beyond the opening Barcelona is that British teenagers are world lead- bars of Stairway to Heaven. ers in misusing mobile technology, meaning ‘Once students know their young people are getting increasing access to Digital music work will be shared online, powerful technologies that can then be used for Alastair Roberts, head of music and progressive learning and teaching. Pockets of practice are arts at Upholland school in Lancashire, swears by the dynamic changes showing how mobile technologies can be used in it: “It is excellent... the students can either make completely. It becomes class — bluetooth links to share work via school music from these loops or play their own music blogsites and podcasts are just two (see http:// over the top. Some of our GCSE students have real and motivation leaps’ scotedublogs.wikispaces.com/). 6 Create & motivate Best practice — primary An image-conscious generation

Young children are bombarded by new audio and visual information at home and school. How can ICT help them understand their world and keep their interest in learning?

Julie Nightingale

It’s widely recognised that creative use of technology such as digital video, sound recording and graphic design has a powerful motivating effect on children. For boys, in particular, evidence suggests that making films, for example, really does improve their engagement, says Alan Rodgers, primary representative for Naace, the education technology advisers’ organisation. “It’s the authentic- ity of the task that engages them.” Primary English offers the most obvious op- portunities initially for allying imaginative work to technology’s creative potential. Schools that have used technology to complement pen and paper — using digital cameras to take pictures as a stimulus for creative writing or getting pupils to write out instructions for machines they see fea- tured in computer games — have noted a marked impact in class. Not only are children more at- tentive but their confidence is boosted by doing activities they enjoy and can easily relate to. More confident teachers are taking the ideas A year 2 pupil concentrates hard on a white board at Robin Hood primary school Newsteam further into cross-curricular work, making radio documentaries combining English and history, English/citizenship positives underline their colourful footage of and filming science experiments, then writing up Robin Hood primary school, smiling children with cheerful music. the results in literacy lessons. “The technical side is important but the really Besides supporting the existing curriculum, Birmingham important learning objective is the critical un- creative working allied to the power of ICT is Developing children’s visual literacy has become derstanding children acquire and how the person opening up a new area of primary children’s learn- a key element of teaching and learning at this Mid- who directs the film has power over the final mes- ing: media literacy. By the time they start school, lands school. Given the tide of information sage. They know you can make things appear that children will be well versed in the language of the swamping children today, it’s vital that they are are not true, which leads on to a debate about the visual media, whether it is TV, the internet, com- equipped to understand it in the fullest sense, medium and how you really have to question the puter games or magazines for the young. says deputy head Ann Aston. images you see.” “Children will have seen many thousands of “We have had a lot of discussions about the Films can support any subject area or topic, says hours [of images] by the time they reach school kinds of skills that children need in the light of Aston. “The children on the school council are mak- age. It’s probably their first appreciation of com- new technology at home and school. We look at ing a film about the school toilets to show to the munication,” says Rodgers. two points of view: children as readers of infor- governors, because they want them redecorated. It brings to the fore issues about children’s abil- mation and children as creators of visual infor- It’s another way of getting their message across.” ity to understand and evaluate the information mation — and we look at those from foundation around them, issues which have hitherto been the stage through to year 6. It’s everything from chil- Literacy/science preserve of secondary level media studies. dren engaging with still pictures, in magazines Learning Discovery Centre, Schools such as Robin Hood primary (see right) for example, to making their own films with a crit- are tackling these issues in a sophisticated way, ar- ical understanding.” Northampton guing that such skills are essential if children are to Year 5 children are currently making films us- Children are motivated by the excitement of new interpret the world around them. ing Apple’s iMovie HD to examine stereotypes, technology but it’s important that any activity fits Robin Hood’s deputy, Ann Aston, says: “It’s to using the school as their subject. They are split into a lesson rather than acting as a one-off novelty get them to understand how powerful the into teams with half making a positive film and exercise, says Guy Shearer, head of Northampton- medium is. It’s about questions — getting children the other half taking a negative viewpoint. As shire LEA’s Learning Discovery Centre for schools. to ask them and to question the status quo.” they are concentrating on film techniques, there “However interesting an activity is, it tends to is no voiceover although they are allowed to use Weblinks music or short pieces of text. The project is es- sentially an English one but it could be used to Confident teachers are Becta advice for using ICT in primary teaching: support citizenship or environmental geography. making radio documentaries www.ictadvice. org.uk/index.php?section=tl& While the “positive” group tidies up the hall catcode=as_cu_pr_03 before filming, the “negative” team go out of their combining English and Ideas on promoting creativity from the way to strew coats on the corridor floor. More sig- history, or filming science Qualifications and Curriculum Authority: nificantly, the negative group chooses to film in www.ncaction.org.uk/ creativity/index.htm black and white to strike a sombre note while the experiments to write up later Create & motivate EducationGuardian.co.uk/appleeducation 7 have less impact if it is far removed from what the (Top, left) Pupils “walk through” a virtual teacher is doing in the classroom.” landscape at Chew Magna; (below) Guy Shearer Engaging children’s interest doesn’t require encourages children to digitally record their work state-of the-art kit. “Basic microphones which at Northampton’s Learning Discovery Centre can be plugged into a laptop for recording can be Photographs: Christopher Jones, John Robertson picked up for around £6 — and are, incidentally, easier for children to share in group work than Using Myst has brought a new dimension to keyboards.” learning for pupils with special needs, particu- In one English exercise, Shearer gives children larly dyslexia. “One pupil writes much more in images of astronaut Neil Armstrong and his family longhand than he did before. He seems uninhib- and encourages them to record what they imagine ited now by the possibility of getting something were the Armstrongs’ thoughts and emotions prior wrong whereas, in a more plodding activity, it’s to the 1969 Moon landings. The sound files are as if he has time to consider himself ‘dyslexic’. linked to pictures of the family displayed on the in- Now he sees himself as ‘a writer’.” teractive whiteboard and when the children run Besides English, the game can be used in mu- their hands over images of “Grandma”, for exam- sic. “We take apart the existing soundtrack and ple, they hear their own versions of her thoughts. break it down into parts and, using Apple’s The class then narrows down their 60-odd sound GarageBand, the children compose their own.” files to a list of six, learning the concept of pin- The school’s literacy rates have risen in the last pointing important ideas from a mass of content. five years and the rates for boys achieving level 4 “At first they will say ‘Dad, I’m very proud’ or are up from 66% to 100% which Rylands attrib- ‘I’m scared’ but the more time you can give the utes, in part, to the greater use of creativity in the children to spend recording, the better the qual- curriculum. ity of the ideas coming through and the more de- “Gaming tends to have negative connotations tailed the responses,” he adds. but, by making it a shared activity, we’re turning In science, Shearer gets the children to make it into a positive, communal experience. When digital summaries of experiments to help bridge the children are writing, I get them to steal the the gap between lessons. “With lower-ability chil- best bits from each other as well as to use things dren, in particular, it felt like we were starting that I have modelled. It’s creating an upward spi- from scratch again every lesson, so I got them to Confident teachers are ral in the standard of their writing.” take pictures of key moments in an experiment making radio documentaries which they then put into a PowerPoint summary Weblinks of what happened. That becomes the starting combining English and point for the next lesson.” Birmingham Children use digital video to create a “news stu- history, or filming science Apple’s iMovie and GarageBand tools for video and dio”, filming themselves talking to the camera experiments to write up later making music: and doing voiceovers for footage downloaded www.apple.com/uk/education/products/ilife/ from websites such as Pathe news. Similarly, MP3 Northampton players can be used to make radio programmes. ing, speaking and listening skills,” he says. “Even Northants Learning Discovery Centre: Shearer also recommends Microsoft Photo the most reluctant writers — boys especially — www.learningdiscovery.co.uk/ Story. “It’s simple to use and it allows children to write at speed; they seem to regard it as an expe- Footage of moon landings and other historic put words, pictures and sound to their ideas in a rience worth writing about and will produce events, free for schools: www.britishpathe.com/ slideshow. In building up the story they learn whole paragraphs as opposed to one line.” Microsoft Photo Story: www.microsoft.com/ about story direction and sequencing and the Besides narrative, children use other writing windows/plus/dme/Photo.asp ideas is that the children direct themselves. If they structures, such as writing a series of instructions Bristol change their mind about the sequence, they take for the machines they encounter as part of the Tim Rylands home page: www.timrylands.com the picture and drag it where they want it. It’s the problem-solving exercises. Myst games series: www.realmyst.com/ immediacy of the process that appeals to them.” Literacy/music Chew Magna primary school, Bristol Walk into Tim Rylands’ classroom and he can be difficult to spot. Not only is he hidden among the rows of year 5 and 6 pupils but they’re all — in the nicest possible sense — on a different planet, playing the popular computer fantasy game series, Myst, as part of their English lesson. The game is a puzzle-solving challenge with the emphasis on narrative rather than the test of re- flexes posed by shoot-’em-up style games. It is pro- jected on to the whiteboard and children “walk” through the landscape, describing everything they see, hear and feel, using similes and metaphors and giving running commentaries on the action. Rylands, winner of last year’s Becta in practice award for primary ICT, uses an Apple Powerbook with wireless mouse which is passed around the children so they take turns to control the game’s progress. “You are totally immersed in it. It’s a re- markably effective stimulus for descriptive narrative and has a major impact on children’s writ- In shot: a young actor gets digital treatment at the Learning Discovery Centre, Northampton John Robertson

10 Create & motivate Best practice secondary Today we’re going to shoot some science

Ever tried animating an erupting ample, children might create a game to further tional and behavioural difficulties] world. One rea- their understanding of a particular period in son these children don’t feel good about them- volcano or a concept in geometry, history or one which explores bullying or racism selves is the way they’ve been treated in the past. filming a lab experiment or using or other topics,” says Durann. “The scope is ICT enables them to show what they are good at.” endless.” He gives poignant examples of how using tech- reggae music in RE? They could be nology has enriched children’s experiences, in- the lessons your pupils will thank Special needs cluding one case of a boy who rekindled his re- you for and never forget... New Rush Hall lationship with his estranged father by shooting Essex a video with commentary of his dad’s motorbike. Julie Nightingale “The finished work wasn’t a great piece of art You can’t overestimate the motivational power in itself but it brought the boy and his dad to- of computers, digital video and the internet but gether. As such, it was one of the most powerful Some secondary schools assume developing cre- there are other benefits too, says John d’Abbro. He interventions I’ve seen in my career.” ativity means putting on more musicals or launch- is head of New Rush Hall group at Ilford in Essex, The school is entirely Mac-based and, through ing a photography course. It’s a “nice extra” or a a set of facilities including two pupil referral units Apple’s one-to-one learning scheme, every child special project offered as a post-exam treat but not and a 60-pupil special school for five to 16-year- and staff member has their own laptop, while the integral to the day-to-day teaching of a subject. olds with serious and sometimes severe behav- new iPods with video capability are used by chil- Creative specialisms such as music and art at GCSE ioural problems. dren of all ages to access and showcase their own and A level are benefiting from advanced technology Using technology creatively can offer these chil- work. “This kind of project where the child shares mow available to schools, enabling them to equip dren a mode of expression and a way of learning his work with other people changes his percep- their students with the sort of specialist skills for unlike the traditional classroom, he says. “I think tion of himself and what he is capable of as well as which the UK’s creative industries are crying out. But that’s the sexy bit actually. We have always known other people’s perceptions of him. As such, it’s the real challenge is to inject music, art, film and that ICT has the potential to motivate children but very good for self-esteem.” photography across the curriculum, bringing ani- we haven’t examined its effect in the EBD [emo- D’Abbro has created his own enhanced pod- mation to history or film into science. casts using iMovie from Apple to set children At Parkside community college in Cambridge, work in his absence. “They get a video of me ex- cross-curricular media work is a speciality, and Year 7 children have used plaining why I’m not there and setting out the creative ICT is threaded through the timetable. stop-frame animation to task. It might be formatting a letter in Word and The work is sophisticated in terms of learning learning how to make bold or indented text; the styles and outcomes but also looks a lot like fun. depict volanic processes, materials to do it are also embedded in the pod- In maths, for example, year 10 children have using modelling clay, a £20 cast. If they can see me on the video, they’re less produced a number of Flash animations to ex- likely to feel overlooked. It’s a way of holding me in plain concepts in geometry for year 8 pupils. “It webcam and free software their minds.” teaches the younger children but it’s also for re- inforcing and consolidating the concepts for year 10 pupils,” says James Durran, the school’s advanced skills teacher in English and media. “They have to break down and analyse them to turn them into something that moves and which works through a series of steps. It’s not just about motivation and having fun with maths.” The children display knowingness about media formats and styles and will parody TV programmes, Durran says. In a short film of a science experiment to demonstrate how spirals rotate over heat, the voiceover is straight out of a 1970s Open University tutorial with sly references to the need for “dorky goggles”. But you don’t necessarily need state-of the art equipment to make learning highly creative for children. In one experiment, year 7 children have used stop-frame animation to depict volcanic processes using modelling clay and a £20 webcam plus free software from the internet. Teachers often worry about the time needed but the time invested is more than balanced out by the benefits, Durran says. “Yes, it takes longer to animate a volcano than it does to draw one. But have they really understood the process if they’ve just drawn a volcano? If they’ve had to show how it moves and how it changes shape...” Exploiting the persistent fascination with computer games, the school is involved in a research project with Immersive Education and the Institute of Education in which children author a game. One of Parkside’s longer-term aims is to enable students to design their own games for incorporation into other subject areas. “For ex- Staff and students enjoying ICT at Parkside community college, Cambridge David Rose Create & motivate EducationGuardian.co.uk/appleeducation 11 ‘Knowing that you are going to end up with a CD-rom and a video of your own song can be very motivational’ Languages St Aidan’s RC school Sunderland St Aidan’s Roman Catholic school and language college in Sunderland has always used a lot of music in its French lessons but decided to turn that arrangement on its head for an innovative rap project. Year 9 pupils wrote and produced their own rap songs and made accompanying videos working with music teacher Max Williams. “We wanted to encourage them to talk about something per- sonal,” he says. “Language teaching can be quite structured. Pupils don’t always learn how to talk about things that really interest them.” Students wrote draft scripts about topics that interested them — the environment and cultural issues were particularly popular — and translated them into French. Fruity Loops, the dance music production software, was used to provide the backing. “The software allows you to use recorded or sampled sounds in looped rhythms very easily to create a song,” says Williams. “It’s simple enough for people who are not particularly good at music to use.” Audacity sound-recording software — which is free to download — was also used in the project; Boys use a keyboard to help in making music at Bishop’s Stortford High School Zak Waters it records any sounds played into a computer and allows the user to process and play around the Music And they have also collaborated with a primary sound by adding echo effects, for example. Bishop’s Stortford school on a project in which primary children “Pupils either used Audacity to record their e-mailed poetry to Ingrey’s students to set to voices and import them into Fruity Loops to trig- high school music and return it to them for performance. “I’m ger drum backgrounds or imported a Fruity At Bishop’s Stortford high school, Paul Ingrey uses looking forward to the time when technology Loops backing file and then rapped ‘live’ using many years’ experience as a rock musician to allows us to collaborate with other schools,” Audacity. open the ears of his students to the creative pos- says Ingrey. “The process had other benefits as pupils sibilities of music. His techniques and the tech- were able to compare their recordings with files nology are applied to both the seriously keen and of other people speaking French. Even the most across the wider curriculum. Lowdown Diploma roadshows able pupils who write very well won’t necessar- In year 9, Ingrey’s music technology students ily focus on the sound they make. Now they learn how to score a film using the industry- know they can use digital audio to help their standard Cubase SX software. “A lot of other cen- One outcome of the Tomlinson Report on education pronunciation.” tres use stripped down versions of software is that all 14-year-olds will have access to five It was a true acid test of technology in action, during lessons,” he says. “Although it may look specialist diplomas with a vocational content by adds Williams. “Sometimes you can get caught up complex initially, Cubase is useful across all key 2008-9. "The top 5% academically might not in some of the tools you have to play with. But stages.” have to do it, but there’s nothing to stop them if knowing you’re going to end up with a CD and video Through a video capture card, two-minute film they want to," says Mark Rogers, UK managing of your own song can be very motivational.” snippets — minus all sound effects, dialogue and director of Apple, which has devised a road music — are imported into Cubase as a video track show for those interested in the creative and Weblinks for viewing on PCs. “As we’re a single sex school, media diploma. “The first one will be in it’s usually something that will appeal to young Nottinghamshire in April. And we’ll be doing 16 Parkside lads; for example, the car chase from The Italian over the coming year, working with pilot schools Flash: www.macromedia.com Job. We can then talk about the key elements of film in other parts of the country. Session bands will New Rush Hall music and the pupils view the clip frame by frame. be brought in to show them how to compose and Apple’s 1 to 1 Learning scheme: When one of the Minis has a collision, they know sample music electronically. Somebody from the www.apple.com/uk/education/onetoone/ the exact point where a musical event is needed.” film business will be on hand to show how to Bishops’ Stortford The music technology classes are also used in shoot and edit. And there’ll be someone from Information on Cubase: other subject areas. A written assignment on the print journalism too. Tony Blair has predicted that www.steinberg.de/ProductPage_sb51ba.html? history and structures of the blues tied in with a 30% of our GDP will be derived from creative Product_ID=2442&Langue_ID=2 history project on the slave trade, while an exam- industries by 2025. We need to fire the St Aidan’s ination of reggae was used as a counterpoint to a imaginations of pupils and teachers." Fruity Loops software: www.flstudio.com/ year 9 religious studies project on Rastafarianism. Audacity: http://audacity.sourceforge.net/ 12 Create & motivate Kit

Plasticene is a great material to make creatures for digital animation, as shown here at Sidcot school, Winscombe, Somerset Ross Wallis What you need for movies . . . Once the province of the professional, so much digital equipment is pouring off production lines that it’s hard to know what to buy. George Cole gives some guidance

eachers and students are spoilt for Creativity and Challenge series title, which covers electronic keyboards or digital drums from man- choice when it comes to picking topics such as video making and animation. ufacturers like Roland and Yamaha. However, hardware or software to support many software packages let users play “virtual” creativity in class. As desktop com- Software bundles instruments and include loops and samples. T puters have become more power- It is often better to buy software suites — much Don’t forget basic equipment like good quality ful, sophisticated software packages cheaper than getting the programs individually. headphones — Sennheiser’s HD-477 headphones, that were once the province of professional mar- Examples include Apple’s iLife 06 (£35.25 with ed- for example, cost only £40. It doesn’t pay to skimp kets have moved into education. Whether it’s for ucation discount), including iPhoto (which makes on microphones — the old computer adage Gigo video production, sound recording, animation or sharing photos faster), iWeb (to create and pub- (garbage in, garbage out) applies here, too. podcast, the market is awash with creative tools lish websites, blogs and podcasts), iMovie HD (to It’s not unusual to record directly into a com- to suit all ages of pupil. transform video editing), iDVD (DVD burning) and puter and there are many devices that make this Indeed, there is so much kit that teachers will of- GarageBand, a music creation and recording pack- easy to do. Yamaha’s MXL DRK Desktop Record- ten wonder where to start. David Baugh, an Apple age for Macs. Textease Studio CT (Softease £199) ing Kit (£89) includes a high quality cardoid Distinguished Educator who works for Den- includes Textease Movie for video capturing and condenser microphone and connecting cables. bighshire LEA, says: “When using digital media in editing, Textease Paint for photo-editing and Tex- Tascam’s US-122 (£159) is a compact USB Audio/ the classroom, the simpler the better. Start with a tease Presenter, which can be used for creating mul- Midi interface for connecting instruments such simple task — say, narrating a series of digital im- timedia presentations. Adobe’s Creative Suite (£150) as guitar and keyboards to a computer. Also in- ages — and work upwards as your confidence grows. includes Adobe PhotoShop and Illustrator. Adobe cluded is a cut-down version of Cubase record- It’s important to embed this type of work into your also offers the Adobe School Collection 3 (£299, ing/sequencing software. Yamaha’s AW1600 teaching. Don’t see it as an after-school activity.” 10-user licence), which has cut-down versions of recording/mixer (£800) is a 16-track audio The government’s ICT agency, Becta, has pub- Adobe Premier video-editing software and Pho- recorder that includes a 40GB hard drive, sam- lished a free guide to using creative digital me- toShop, although only for Windows PCs. ples, effects and a built-in CD burner, so students dia in the classroom on DVD-rom which shows can record, mix and create their own CDs. teachers how to work with sound and image. Sound, music, podcasts Portable digital players can store thousands of Naace, the ICT advisers association, has published Within reach of most schools are affordable yet tracks on a device. Apple’s iPod Shuffle (£49) booklets (£10 each) under the Primary Focus on sophisticated digital musical instruments such as stores up to 120 songs on a 512Mb hard disk and Create & motivate EducationGuardian.co.uk/appleeducation 13

and-drop system that kids soon master.” ‘The important thing is Kudlian Software’s I Can Animate (£35) lets to embed this kind of users create animations from drawings or live camera feeds, has chroma key effects and works work into your teaching. especially well with iMovie HD. Macromedia Don’t see it as an after- Flash is ideal for creating animations for web pages (Flash Professional is part of Adobe’s Studio school club activity’ 8 software suite, £74.99) the 30GB with video capability (£200 including ed- Digital video ucation discount) holds up to 7,500 tracks, three Prices of digital video camcorders have plum- hours of slideshows and music or two hours of meted in recent years. DV footage can be trans- video. Philips’ HDD084 (£130) stores up to 1,500 ferred to a suitably equipped PC via a high-speed tracks, Sony’s NWA1000 (£160) can store around Firewire digital video link which is standard on 100 hours of MP3 music, and the Creative Zen Touch all digital camcorders. The most flexible digital (£190) 40Gb version holds around 12,000 tracks. camcorders have two-way (that is in and out) One of the most popular pieces of music soft- Firewire connections. ware is Sibelius: the latest, version 4 (£359), in- The cheapest digital camcorders use tape like cludes dynamic parts, worksheet creators and a Panasonic’s NV-GS27 (£300) and Sony’s DCR-H24 facility for scoring videos; it plays back imported (£330) which includes USB streaming, so you can music files and synchronises the score. Magix’s also use it for webcasting. However, expect tape- Music Studio 2005 Deluxe (£40) records Midi in- less camcorders to take a bigger share of the mar- struments and gives users the opportunity to ket over the coming years. record, edit and master their CDs. GarageBand Hitachi’s DZ-GX3200 (around £800), for exam- (part of Apple’s iLife) can be used for recording, ple, uses miniature DVD discs, making it much adding sound effects, scoring videos, and easier to find specific scenes. JVC has launched a podcasting. Animation-friendly: Russell Scott primary school series of camcorders that record to hard disk, in- Gigajam’s Essential Skills Course for School is Photograph: Colin McPherson cluding the Everio GZ-MG77 (around £500), which a series of packages that help students to learn to has a 20Gb drive. JVC has also launched a portable play guitar, bass, keyboards and drums (£24.95). such as red eye reduction. Microsoft’s Digital Im- DVD burner, the CU-VD10 (£100), which lets users Steinberg’s Cubase SE (£60) has lots of tools for age Suite 2006 (£50) offers a good selection of of the latest Everios burn discs from the camcorder. composing, recording, editing and mixing. editing features including the ability to stitch to- In addition to video-editing software like Ap- Podcasting offers students lots of opportuni- gether images to create panoramic shots. Corel’s ple’s iMovie and Adobe’s Premiere, Pinnacle Stu- ties for making audio recordings and publishing Paint Shop Pro X (£85) includes a photo analysis dio Plus (£70) includes chroma key, surround them on the web. Kudlian’s Podcaster (£29.99) al- feature that analyses a digital image suggests sound and DVD authoring features. For those who lows users to produce enhanced podcasts with ways of improving it. find storyboarding hard going, Comic Life chapter marks, images and weblinks. Profcast (US (Plasq US price $24.95) makes the process a lot price $35) converts speech or PowerPoint pre- Animation easier. sentations into podcasts. Students love creating animations and the latest software packages take a lot of hassle out of the Weblinks Digital imaging production process. Ross Wallis, head of art at Sid- Digital photography has come a long way in a cot school in Winscombe, is a big fan of HP’s Scan- Adobe: www.adobe.co.uk/education short time and even the most basic models these Jet 4070 flatbed scanner (£100): “It’s got a see- Apple: www.apple.com/uk/education days offer very good picture quality. through frame so you can see what you’re scan- Becta: www.becta.org.uk/publications Canon’s PowerShot A410 (£139) has a 3.2 ning — it’s super kit for animation.” Canon: www.canon.co.uk megapixel image chip, 3x optical zoom and can Wallis also recommends the iPod with video Corel: www.corel.com/uk even print shots directly from a suitably compat- capability for animations: “You can create little an- Creative: www.creative.co.uk ible printer. Sony’s DSC-S600 (£160) offers a 6- imations and put them on to your iPod, using the Epson: www.epson.co.uk megapixel image chip. Kodak’s EasyShare V570 scroll wheel to run through the images quickly.” Gigajam: www.gigajam.com (£269) has a twin-lens system, with one lens opti- Brian Harkins, ICT and design and technology Google: www.google.com/ pack mised for portrait and standard landscape shots and coordinator at Russell Scott primary school in Den- Hitachi: www.hitachi.co.uk a second one for wide-angle shots. It also offers a ton, Manchester, is another big fan of creating ani- HP: www.hp.com/uk smart system that allows users to take three sepa- mations with students and he recommends several JVC: www.jvc.co.uk rate shots and electronically stitch them pieces of software. Kodak: www.kodak.co.uk together for stunning panoramic shots. “Monkey Jam is a piece of Kudlian: www.kudlian.net If you want to produce hard copy prints, freeware you download Magix: www.magix.com there are many good photo printers around. Ep- from the internet that lets you Microsoft: www.microsoft.com/uk/education son’s Stylus Photo R340 (£149), for example, has do simple stop-motion anima- MonkeyJam: www.giant screaming robotmonkeys. a two-inch LCD screen for selecting and editing tion on a computer. Stop Mo- com/ monkeyjam/ images and facilities for tweaking the image. It can tion Pro [£85] has been de- Naace: www.naace.org print directly from memory cards, digital cameras signed with primary and Panasonic: www.panasonic. co.uk and mobile phones including secondary students in Philips: www.philips.co.uk those with Bluetooth. mind. It’s got very ad- Pinnacle: www.pinnaclesys.com If you want to edit vanced features, in- Plasq: http://plasq.com your digital images, cluding the ability to Profcast: www.profcast.com there’s plenty of soft- overlap previous im- Roland: www.roland.co.uk ware out there includ- ages, so you can follow Sennheiser: www.sennheiser. co.uk ing Apple’s iPhoto, Adobe and track movement. Softease: www.softease.co.uk Creative and Textease For adding sound to Sony: www.sony.co.uk Studio CT suites. animations, I really like Steinberg: www.steinberg.net Picasa is free, from Sony Vegas (£199) and Stop Motion Pro: www.stopmotionpro.com Google, and offers basic Sony Acid Pro (£160). They Tascam:www.tascam.co.uk photo imaging features, both use an intuitive drag- Yamaha: www.yamaha.co.uk 14 Create & motivate Training Who’s teaching the teachers?

The frantic pace of change in technology can often leave teachers floundering in its wake. So how can they keep abreast of the latest techniques? Chris Arnot and George Cole report

uke Hulse is sitting on the side of a for pupils are going on all over the country as the County primary school in Gwynedd, attended a desk, directing his camera angles with profession embraces the major advances in com- four-day course, Creativity in the Classroom, at studied precision. Only the tongue, puter technology but, as a teacher, what training Cheltenham College, which introduced teachers protruding every now and then, is an should you have to ensure you make the best use to the creativity potential of Apple products. L indication of just how hard he’s con- of them? What Williams liked about the training was that centrating. The fact that he’s concen- Well, Apple is running workshops for teachers the course was open-ended: “You were given the trating at all is something of a miracle to staff from at 20 regional centres. And there are more in the same tasks as the children and it gave you a dif- the Learning Support Unit (LSU) at Bristnall Hall pipeline. “Our original target was 15, but we’ve ferent perspective on how pupils develop their School in Sandwell, West Midlands. been inundated by requests from LEAs," says ideas. In one case, we played with clay, made our “Normally he’s so hyper-active that I thought Mark Rogers, the company’s managing director in own models and then created animations. A lot twice about bringing him here," confides Gary the UK. “As the bureaucrats added more and more of tasks involved meeting deadlines, which I en- Wall, the school’s director of inclusion. targets and made education more of a mechanical joyed. In the evening you could compare your “Here" is the city learning centre at the nearby exercise, there’s been a belated realisation of the work with others in the group." Shireland language college where 13 secondary importance of creativity. Demand has taken on a Williams says the course gave him the confi- pupils are learning about stop-frame animation. life of its own. But then, for the LEAs it’s a no- dence to use the creativity tools in the classroom: Having made their own backdrops with card- brainer. We’re doing their training for free." “I learnt that if you give children the tools, the board, silver paper and cotton wool, they’re bring- He estimates that, by the end of the next fi- learning curve is tremendous. I also learnt why ing their Plasticene models to life on film by plug- nancial year, Apple alone will have trained more it’s important to design tasks that are open- ging their digital video cameras into Apple ibook than 20,000 teachers. And, of course, there are ended whenever possible. Many courses are too laptops and manipulating the images. other companies in the field. RM, for instance, prescriptive." It’s rather like Blue Peter evolving into Wallace have former teachers on their staff whose training David Sims, ICT senior leader at Holy Trinity and Gromit. Luke, 13, obviously fancies himself expertise can be bought in by schools. The com- CofE junior school in Fairfield, near Stockton-on- as Nick Park. “Delete the last frame," he calls over pany also has a website that is a virtual version of his shoulder to Kerry Bowen, who made the back- the conferences it stages in February and March, drop and the models. “It’s which introduces a wide variety of hardware and ‘I have never met called The Lovebirds and it’s software to be browsed at leisure. They’re prod- a group of teachers about him," she says, jerk- ucts that, for instance, allow teachers and pupils ing a thumb at Luke, “and to draw maps of a local area with their fingers and who aren’t enthralled his girlfriend, Kirsty, interact through a whiteboard or learn Spanish once they have grasped who’s my best friend." with the help of an on-screen disc jockey. Courses like these Robin Williams, headteacher of Llanrug the technology’

James Heeney, left, and Max Carlin try out animation techniques at the City Learning Centre, Birmingham Andrew Fox Create & motivate EducationGuardian.co.uk/appleeducation 15

Tees, is attending an ongoing training course as gather ideas and share best practice. part of an Apple Creativity Project, a partnership Mark Hickson runs Prioritas, an independent between Stockton LEA, the local city learning cen- ICT training service in Norwich that offers courses tre and the Spark creativity centre. The aim of the in digital video, photography and stop-frame for training is to introduce teachers to Apple hard- PC-based schools. He says teachers’ major worry ware and creative software. is the technology and the prospect of using yet The training began with a demonstration of the another lot of hardware. Apple iLife creativity suite and then the teachers “It’s usually a question of convincing them it can were put into small groups, where they used the be easier than they think. Children will just poke software to complete a series of tasks such as film and prod the machine, whereas adults are more making, photo-editing and animation. cautious, so the training needs to be more struc- “What surprised me was how intuitive the tured,” says Hickson. “We tend to show them a bit technology was. It was very easy to go back into at a time and let them have a go. But I have never the classroom and use it with pupils," he says. encountered a group of teachers who aren’t en- His training came at the same time as an op- thralled once they have grasped the technology." portunity to work with the Art Council’s Creative As in other areas of professional development, Partnerships programme, which involves schools many schools are finding that the most effective creating animations. “The skills I learnt on the form of creativity training is to be found among course have been put to good use and, for me, their fellow professionals. The Specialist Schools that’s one of the important things about any train- On camera at the City Learning Centre Andrew Fox and Academies Trust’s ICT register contains a list ing,” says Sims. “You want to be able to go back of schools that can offer their expertise in ICT, in- into the classroom and use what you’ve learnt to never done anything like animating characters be- cluding creative skills, to train others. become part of an on-going educational process. fore. But when I made my little Plasticene man walk Ken Walsh, associate director of the trust, says You don’t want it to simply be a one-off project. across the table it was amazing! I’m still astonished the issues are not with the technology but with the One thing we wanted to achieve as a school was that the technology can be so simple to use." confidence of the teachers themselves. “There’s a to improve writing, and the animation work has Not all creativity training has to involve cut- lot of creativity about in our schools, and learning helped because it really inspires children to write." ting-edge technology. Kate Norman, deputy head from other professionals is the best way to help Craig Charteris is an advanced skills teacher in at St Illtyd's primary school in Blaenau, Gwent, is teachers over that confidence barrier." ICT at Maplefields school, a special school in one of Microsoft’s Innovative Teachers (see re- Additional reporting by Julie Nightingale Corby for primary children that uses PCs through- sources panel) and has undergone training in how out. He has trained to use Digital Blue cameras, to use Microsoft Office in education. It demon- Weblinks: digital video and to do animation at the Learning strates how tools such as Moviemaker and Pow- Discovery Centre in Northampton. erpoint can be used in animation, but also in- Apple regional training centre programme: “I had never used Digital Blue or digital video cludes a session for teachers to swap ideas. www.apple.com/uk/education before and I did have some reservations. These “I found the software training useful, but it’s Information on RM conferences events: things come into vogue and there’s this obligation great to be able to bounce ideas off each other in www.rm.com/Primary/Events that you must use them when you don’t necessar- this way. For teachers who have never had train- Prioritas, independent ICT advice and training for ily see the value,” he says. “But I found Digital Blue ing they can pick up really useful, simple ideas." schools: www.prioritas.co.uk the easiest thing in the world to use — you just plug Other big companies now focusing on creativ- ICT Register with services including training by the camera into the laptop and start filming." ity training include RM, which is hosting primary schools: www.ict-register.net Stop-frame animation really captured his imag- and secondary conferences around the country Microsoft’s Innovative Teachers scheme: ination. “I grew up watching Morph on TV but I’d during March for headteachers and governors to www.microsoft.com/education/innovativeteachers

Resources Websites to inform and inspire

Teenagers at home teacherresources.html Guide to Primary Science includes sections on Writing an EastEnders script is one of the www.apple.co.uk/education/resources/ developing children’s thinking skills and activities on offer at BBC Blast, a project for Register for Apple Education eNews at: http:// creativity and ICT. teenagers to unleash their creativity through use registration.euro.apple.com/applenews/uk/subscribe www.ase.org.uk/htm/book_store/ of film, music, creative writing, art and dance. Digital video detail.php?SIID=237 www.bbc.co.uk/blast/ DV in Education, supported by Denbighshire LEA, Animation and datalogging Modern languages provides resources and training for teachers, Naace, the education technology advisory body, Digital Voices Across the Curriculum, a joint including creativity with digital media and offers ideas for using model animation in class project between CILT, the National Centre for podcasting. www.dvined.org.uk murder mysteries and datalogging and for Languages, and the BBC, promotes innovation in Peer to peer innovation illuminating poetry with Macromedia Flash in its language teaching. Includes a range of schools in Microsoft Innovative Teachers Programme Creativity and Challenge publication for primary languages projects on subjects such as human- promotes IT innovation in schools and offer schools. www.naace.org/searchView.asp? ities, English, music, drama and ICT and involving teachers insight into good practice in schools menuItemId=2&resourceId =1344 digital video, sound recording and editing, and around the country. Its aim is to build a community Design and technology digital photography. www.cilt.org.uk/language of teachers to inspire and share imaginative ways They may be toys but Lego’s Mindstorms Robots colleges/ digital_voices.htm of working. Information and downloadable have been successfully incorporated into learning Apple Education and multimedia conference resources at: www.microsoft.com/uk/ in class to develop children’s design technology Digital storytelling, podcasting, editing, education/skills-dev/innovative-teachers/ and ICT skills. http://mindstorms.lego.com/ animation and a range of other multimedia skills Policy for schools Primary will be explored at the Apple Teacher Institute Policy background to creativity in schools plus links Developing Creativity in the Primary School from event, Learning in a Digital World, in Malvern, from to the Museums and Galleries Education and NCSL looks at ways to foster creativity in schools, April 18-21 at www.apple.com/uk/education/ati/to Creative Partnerships programmes : www.teacher using a broad curriculum and cross-curricular register. Resources for teachers plus professional net.gov.uk/management/atoz/c/creativityinschools/ work. www.ncsl.org.uk/media/981/ 43/randd- development packages are also available. Science publications-catalogue-2005-06.pdf www.apple.com/education/whyapple/ The Association for Science Education’s latest Compiled by John Holt