Merlin John Online

NEET like Chocolate - debut on teenage issues

By Maureen McTaggart
Rose, Lia and Charleigh – an early school leaver, an ex-young offender and an expectant teenage mum – used to think a career in the media wasn’t for the likes of them until they joined a group of seven other young unemployed teenagers to learn broadcasting skills with award-winning film production and education company Chocolate Films.

The project is based at south London’s Stephen Lawrence Centre and their first production, ‘Live From Stephen Lawrence’, has the head of the Metropolitan Police’s Status Dog Unit, Sergeant Ian McParland, in the hot seat discussing the current teenage status symbol – dangerous dogs.

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Nessie among award winners at Education Show

By Sally McKeown
A program designed to support pupils with dyslexia scooped an Education Resources Award last week. Nessy Learning Programme Deluxe, from Net Educational Systems, won the Special Needs (including ICT) category,

Trialled by the Bristol Dyslexia Centre, Nessy is a complete literacy scheme which uses a multi-sensory approach to develop and improve a pupil’s knowledge of letters, sounds and blends. Pupils move from one island to another in the Land of Ness, building their skills step by step. The games format and animation motivate pupils but underneath is a tried and tested approach which shows, teaches and tests.

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Editsense - a camera-shy star for media education

By Jack Kenny

Any one who has worked with products for what passes for media education in some schools will know how vital Editsense is. Many schools are starting courses on making moviesm, and  new GCSE specifications mean that there will be more. One essential lesson will be that making movies is not just about using a camera. Editing is the focus.

As the Editsense creators explain: "However many times you explain the importance of changing shot size and camera position, and dividing a film up into shots, the theory tends to go out of the window as soon as young film-makers get hold of the cameras. Because a lot of our film projects are very short and intensive, we needed a quicker way of getting the participants up to speed."

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'Pupils not heard in BSF process' – Futurelab survey

By Bob Harrison
Pupils are not being engaged or listened to in the planning for Building Schools for the Future programme, according to the results of a survey – "Building and re-designing schools: students' ideas and opinions" – conducted by Futurelab.

Tim Rudd, the Futurelab senior researcher who managed the research, says: Although this was not a statistically representative sample, the results suggest that there is an appetite from pupils to be involved and engaged with the planning of future learning environments, but the children are not as engaged as they want to be."

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'Probably the best introduction to ICT in learning'

By Jack Kenny

I always turn to the end of a review to read the conclusion first. I will save you the trouble: this book is very good and is well worth acquiring. Now I'll tell you why.

ICT has been around in our schools for a quarter of a century; in the outside world it has changed our lives.  Every child now in school has only known an ICT-rich world. How strange to them many schools where ICT is peripheral must seem. A task for everyone is to make the world of school seem less strange to children and, consequently,  a better place for learning.

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Becta removes Etech from 'approved' VLE list

Becta has removed Etech, the creator of the Studywiz VLE, and its six associated products, from its 'approved' learning platform framework list of  suppliers.

It has issued the following statement: "Becta is aware that Etech is currently in the hands of administrators and we are facilitating urgent discussions with the new entity called Studywiz (who now own the Intellectual Property Rights), and affected local authorities to try to secure the Learning Platform system so that it operates as normal for any learners using it.

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Shadow minister - 'Tories could cancel BSF schemes'

Schools yet to reach financial close in the Building Schools for the Future programme, a key source of school ICT investment, will be worried by a report on the Education Investor website that a Conservative government "could cancel BSF schemes, even if they have already appointed a preferred bidder". The report's source was shadow schools minister Nick Gibb MP.

Pressed by a headteacher to give an assurance for schools already in the BSF "pipeline" but not yet signed, he was quoted: "What we're saying is if financial close has been reached, it will go ahead." If not, "then it won't be guaranteed."

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The filter birds on the back of the software rhino

Over 20 years, Photoshop has attracted creative third-party plug-ins. Hugh John welcomes some updates

Alien Skin has a well deserved reputation as one of the most creative software houses supplying third-party filters and effects for Adobe Photoshop.

That creativity is clearly evident with Eye Candy 6, a drastic re-ordering and overhauling of the Eye Candy 5 collection. The 30 filters which were previously sold in three separate packages – 'Impact', 'Nature' and 'Textures' – are now organised and divided into 'Text and Selection' and 'Texture'. Both colections are included in Eye Candy 6, making it excellent value for money. Read more...

The Innovators - 14 Dan Roberts

By Gerald Haigh

Zagreb, Croatia, 22 March 2008
A successful professional – a senior teacher no less – steps up to make a presentation to an international audience of his peers, all leading practitioners in their home countries. He immediately captures their attention, not only by his evident enthusiasm for his subject, but because this fully grown adult male is dressed from head to foot in a bright yellow chicken costume tastefully picked out with red accoutrements.

Yes, it’s Dan Roberts, celebrated chicken-related assistant head and head of science at Saltash.net Community School – in Cornwall, just across the Tamar from Plymouth.

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