Whilst researching I encountered an excellent blog about ‘Emerging Technology in Education’ written by K. Walsh. One entry in particular that caught my eye was ‘5 Reasons Why Educators Need To Embrace Internet Technologies’. This entry is an excellent resource to show those who are unsure about the use of Emerging Technologies and may not understand why we are trying to incorporate them into our programmes.
The five reasons are:
- Professional Development
- The Power To Engage
- Students Use Them Already
- It’s Not Going Away (It Will Only Grow)
- Businesses Want to Hire Workers Who Understand The Internet
For a breakdown of each reason click here
The Bright Spark Campaign is run by the Fire Support network in association with Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service, aimed at 16-25 years olds who are not in education, employment or training (NEET) and have never volunteered before but are looking to get involved in the Merseyside Area.
The initiative is a four week program working alongside top energy-saving companies. By helping to install energy-saving light bulbs and making relevant referrals, volunteers will make an impact on the futures of the community. Each day incorporates some element of fun or an incentive to maintain effort and interest from team building activities to creating a team song.
At the end of the four weeks all volunteers will take away a reference and accredited training certificate which will be of help when seeking future employment or training. Participants can choose to continue volunteering and gain a fully funded NVQ Level 2 in customer service.
This is an excellent opportunity for young people, however at the moment there is not enough online promotion about the campaign. I spoke to Wendy to organizes the Bright Spark recruitment who said that an online resource would be an excellent way to promote the campaign and also allow those interested to apply online.
After meeting with Alan and talking about how we can introduce innovative ideas into Youth Engagement I was eager to meet up with the Prince’s Trust Huyton Team; Richie Evered, the team leader, and Jade Cotter, the assistant team leader. The Team Programme is for those aged 16-25 who are unemployed. It is free of cost and does not affect Jobseeker’s Allowance. It is ideal for those whose lack of confidence or qualifications are holding them back. 
Ed and I went to meet Richie and Jade whilst their current Team of young people were there. This was so we could not only talk to the staff but also ask the young people what facilities they have now and what technology they use out of the programme.
We discussed the idea of using the Samsung devices with Richie and Jade who thought that it would excellent to have visual and moving footage of the team instead of still photographs. They felt that this would add a personalised touch to the presentation and would demonstrate the development of the young people from start to finish in a more effective way than the use of photographs. They also thought it would be extremely useful to have video or audio to complement the evidence that is required for the written Prince’s Trust log books, especially for those with difficulties reading and writing. The programme includes an action-packed residential week where the Team do activities such as rock climbing, gauge walking, caving and canoeing. Richie and Jade mentioned that the Samsung device may not be suitable for these activities. However it is on this week that the team really get to know each other and a great deal of progress in made in terms of team work, character building, group bonding and personal development as an individual. It would be a shame to miss out on the opportunity to get footage of these activities and the team working together. It was suggested that something like a head camera would be ideal for this week. This would enable the leaders to film all the action and forgot about having to switch a camera off and on and would free up both hands for the more challenging activities. It would also capture natural footage as the team would forget that they were being filmed.
The enthusiasm and forward thinking attitude that we received from Richie and Jade was extremely encouraging and we are really looking forward to working with them on this project.
Following my induction with Youth Engagement, Ed, Emma and I met up with Alan Ellis, the Principal Learning Technologies Officer from Knowsley City Learning Centre. Alan was involved with the project when it first started in 2007, so it was interesting to hear what he has been doing and tell him about where we are now up to.After discussing the ideas that have been formulated from my visits to the various teams, Alan introduced us to the new handheld devices that the Learning Centre has purchased;
the Samsung Q1 Ultra! 
These devices combine all the features you would find on a PC, multimedia device and PDA, not only this but it is compact and lightweight and has a 7” wide touch, colour screen! Although the capabilities are endless we focused on using them to create video and audio. The device has a built in front and rear cameras so is capable of ‘point and shoot’ filming. Once footage has been captured it is them possible to use Windows ‘Movie Maker’ to sequence a film with audio and export it as a video file. Having various internet connection options these files can then be uploaded, emailed, blogged or simply sent to a PC. Having these capabilities would enable young people and staff to create video diaries, starting from the day they start on a programme to the day they finish. This would not only track progress and be used to evidence activities and achievements but could also be used in the final presentation to show visually how each person has changed over the course of the programme in terms of personal development. Alan can offer us a number of these devices on loan within Knowsley so it was agreed that Huyton Prince’s Trust Team would be an ideal place to start.
I spend an afternoon talking to Jade, the assistant team leader, from Huyton Prince’s Trust team. We talked about what technology they are using within their program now and what technology could be used and introduced to improve the development of the young people that they work.
The main ideas that we discussed included:
- Improved computer facilities
- Option of video / audio diaries to for evidence of activity
- Young people having the facility to take their own photos using phones whilst on placement to upload via Bluetooth when they finish
- Having a personal online space to store video / audio / photos
- Having a public online space to communicate, promote, update and keep in touch with young people
Having gathered these ideas I will now take on the challenge of of implementing these ideas.
At the end of each session each Beacon student has a log book which they have to fill in stating details such as their favorite part of the day, what they learnt, how they feel and so on. The member of staff for that day also fills out a section for each week detailing how they felt the student did. These log books are in paper format and are reproduced each time a new group starts. When speaking to the staff about the feasibility of transferring the log books to digital format they all stated that they prefer paper format due to the short attention spans of the young people that attend the course and the lack of computing facilities.
The team leader Chris, has trialled SMS messaging in the past and found that it worked extremely well, especially to remind parents about the passout parade details at the end of the course and to remind students about any particular equipment or spare clothes they will need for the session. However due the high demand of his time he found it hard to keep up the service and continue using it. It is something however that he would like to reintroduce. If this became a scheduled part of each member of staff’s day I believe that it could be managed successfully.
When asked about an online facility which would allow students, past, present and future, to share experiences, they agreed it would be useful but would be weary of the security issues. It was agreed that Facebook is an excellent way to promote issues and create discussions as well as keep in touch with students due to its popularity, but the filtering and monitoring of content would have to be investigated fully.
I recently spent the day with the Beacon Course Team based at Derby Road in Bootle. The Beacon course involves one day a week for 12 weeks and is designed to help young people understand fire safety, prevent arson, provide positive role models and help develop confidence, resilience, and self-esteem. The group that I joined consisted of twelve young people from a school in West Derby who were in their sixth week of the course.
The session included a fireworks safety talk, attacks of firefighters talk and a foam induction drill. The firework safety and attacks on firefighters talk both consisted of a PowerPoint presentation combined with video clips. The member of staff, Tony, taking the session used the PowerPoint slides as reference points to have a discussion and then the video clips to supplement the discussion.
As well as these classroom based activities, Tony did a team-building exercise with the group outside. Simple ball games refreshed the team, got them working together and helped to keep their enthusiasm up.
The highlight of the day was the foam induction drill. This consisted of everyone, including myself, getting into Firefighters uniform and going out to the Fire Appliances to learn about and use the different types of hose attachments to create foam. Each member of the group had the opportunity to use the hose and each attachment making the foam vary in thickness. Once everyone had a go there was a large pool of foam which didn’t go unnoticed by the group and before long everybody was covered in foam!
The variety of activities and the constant enthusiasm and dedication from the staff shows why this course is such a success.
Last week Liverpool One hosted Talent Week; a “showcase and celebration of young peoples’ talent and their aspirations for the future”. By helping young people recognise their talents the event hopes that this can then be used as building bricks for their future. This is demonstrated by the ‘Talent Wall’ that has been created. Young people have had the chance to create a ‘Talent Brick’ on which they put their talents and ambitions, these bricks have then been put together to create the ‘Talent Wall’ which represent the talent and future ambitions for the young people of Merseyside.
There are two ‘Talent Walls’ in Liverpool, one at Chavasse Park and the other on Paradise Street. In addition to this all the ‘Talent Bricks’ from around England are showcased on the Talent Week Website.
Click on images to enlarge
The event ran throughout the week Monday to Friday with various performances, activities and demonstrations running throughout. I went down to Liverpool One on Friday to look at the Walls and see what was happening.
In Chavasse Park there were a group of street dancers from Page Moss based group ‘Morphine Dance Company’ performing on the podium. This was an excellent way to show other young people how accessible being a street dancer is no matter what age, gender, size and shape you are or where you come from. The dancers attracted a large crowd which in turn attracted more people to a marquee which had been set up.
Inside the marquee, there were various groups available giving out information on the demonstrations and how others can join in. The theme for Friday was healthy eating. The social enterprise ‘Not Just Cooking’ had stands up where chef were preparing healthy food with the help of anyone who was passing, showing how it can be done without spending a lot of money or taking a long time and having fun. These practical activities encouraged more young people to get involved and therefore increasing the chances of them taking enthusiasm and confidence away from the event. 
By creating a ‘Talent Brick’ young people are encouraged to state their skills, building self-confidence and say how they want to use their skills in the future. This also encourages the young people to think forward and consider that what they do now may affect their future. By writing this down and showcasing it alongside others it gives the young people the drive to accomplish their aspirations.
By integrating the ‘Talent Brick’ idea into the Merseyside Fire and Rescue Youth Engagement Programs, such as Prince Trust, students would be able to create their ‘Brick’ at the start of the program, staff could then channel their focus into the skills and aspirations that the students have. These ‘Bricks’ could then be used in the final presentation and students can comment on whether they feel they are now closer to achieving what they originally stated.
This week I joined John ‘Mogsy’ Morris from the Youth Engagement Team for a day. As it is half term for most schools across Merseyside this week, the team run a course called LIFE (Local Integration Fire Education). Based at community Fire Stations, the course runs across five days during school holidays, a time when diversionary activities are crucial. This is because Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service attend more deliberately set fires and encounter more antisocial behavior during these times. LIFE is designed to help young people understand fire safety, prevent arson, provide positive role models and help youngsters develop confidence, resilience, and self-esteem.
I joined a group consisting of ten young people aged thirteen to fourteen all from the same school in Speke. It was the second day of their course and John and I were taking them to Moel Famau in North Wales where we would meet Dave Garry, the Youth Activity Advocate.
John had arranged to meet the group at Speke Community Fire Station where the course was based. When we arrived in the mini-bus they were all already there waiting for us! Not surprisingly they had made a good start on the crisps and sweets they had brought for their lunches! They eagerly got into the bus and we set off.
When we arrived at the car park we met Dave Garry who gave the team a short talk about the area and some rules for the day such whatever we bring, we take back i.e. litter, and staying within ten meters of each other.
Whilst walking up to the top of Moel Famau we stopped a number of times and Dave would set up a problem solving activity for the group which relied upon teamwork. The first activity consisted of the group getting into two teams and being set apart by a certain distance. They then had to work together to get a cane from one group to the other without entering the ‘no-go’ zone. Each time they did it successfully the area in-between them got larger and larger. It was not long before the team realized that in order to succeed they needed each other and must communicate. These energizers not only distracted them from the “miles and miles“ they had left, but kept them keen as well teaching them valuable teamwork skills. The group learnt to listen clearly to Dave’s instructions, discuss the ideas and plan between themselves then carry out the task by working together and communicating.
The time we spent walking in-between the energizers was invaluable to me. I used this time to have one-to-one talk and also group discussions about emerging technologies. Because we were not in a classroom environment, the group talked openly about how they use emerging technology in school as well as at home. I was able to collect a great amount of information just by listening and talking to them.
All members of the group have and use Facebook regularly, mostly every day. They are extremely comfortable using it despite only being thirteen. When I asked about other social network sites they all agreed they use MySpace to listen to music but not as members and don’t use Bebo at all. The majority of the group had not heard of Twitter or did not understand fully what it is.
A number of the group members asked if I could create a Facebook group on which the photographs from the week could be posted so that they could show their friends and family and add comments to them. They thought that having a Facebook group would raise the profile of the course as well as show others what they did and the lessons that they learnt.
Whilst in this informal setting I was able to ask the young people about their Facebook profiles and how much they know about security and privacy of personal details. The majority of the young people knew not to put sensitive data such as phone numbers and addresses on their profiles; however they were not sure about how private their photographs were. This indicated that they had not received any Thinkuknow training or similar which, due to the amount of time they spend on social networking sites, is needed.
