Greater Expectations

Greater Expectations

Overview: 3 year R & D project funded by Becta

Aims:

– Support young people’s aspirations and entitlements for their lives and learning, incorporating the enabling role that digital technologies play in achieving this

– Stimulate learner led activities, learner voice, greater motivation for and engagement in learning and more choice within the system

Some context ...

• Childrens’ rights: UNCRC • National policy initiatives:

Children’s Act , Every Child Matters, the Children’s Plan, Parent and Pupil guarantees

• Education framework: National Curriculum, personalised education & learner voice

• IT initiatives: Harnessing Technology strategy, digital literacy

Identify core principles relating to young people’s expectations, entitlements and aspirations and examine how digital technologies can help put them into practice

Develop and promote free resource, guidance and support for young people, teachers, parents and children’s professionals to put principles into practice

What did it aim to do?

The big ambition ...

X

The resource: the big ambition

Quick Thoughts...

• What issues / questions come to mind when supporting young people to engage in rights?

• What thoughts around the relationship between raising aspirations and engaging with rights /entitlements?

• Difference between rights and entitlements?

Process

Desk researchAnalysis of policies, charters, rights to develop ‘principles’

Consultation with stakeholdersFeedback on ‘principles’

Field work in schools

Initial resource design

Field Work in Schools

• Children and young people at primary school, secondary school and college

• Primarily learners who may not find formal education engaging or succeed in school

• Interactive workshops to inform the content, shape and function of the resource

Field work findings

• Importance of young people’s voice• Importance of autonomy and relationships,

support and community for young people • Young people have high comfort and interest

levels with technology – but various range of use

• Range of ambitions, interests and aspirations for all young people – but these can sit alongside dissatisfaction with school and the feeling that they can’t change things

• Resource should have clear link to recognised policies and working frameworks

Developing the resource – what do we know?

• Free to use and accessible• Audiences – young people and supportive

adults• Account for individuality and interests (e.g.,

personalisable, use familiar platforms)• Engaging and relevant in language and look• May require online and offline resources• Should be developed through a participative

process

Quick Thoughts

• In developing a resource, what would you see as the risks and issues facing it?

• What would you draw on to make it effective, technically or otherwise...

Supported by policies, initiatives, charters, rights and entitlements

A possible journey:

Young people’s own interests and experiences

Resources and tools

Case studies /

showcases

Areas for comment or interaction

Participation and Voice

What will it do?

Greater Expectations

resource

Chosen and collected

from what is out there already ...

and created?

Creativity and Arts

Participationand Voice

Work and learning opportunities

Play and RecreationStaying safe

Health and Well Being

Identity, Respect, Equality

Community and environment

Friendships, relationshipsand support

GuruBotPersonalised character that can be on a web site or other places like Facebook/Bebo profile

Supports and prompts you to search – results come from set of content (video, information, links) related to young people.

Possible interaction with site (e.g., recommend to a friend, comment)

Guru Bot

• Wider user testing unenthusiastic

• Chat assisted search not satisfactory way to get content

• Technology not there yet

• Search function required by funders

• Budget

Why a Site?

• Inadequacies of search engines

• Draws on strengths of existing resources

• Create easily searchable resource

• Social Media Functionality

• User Generated and Recommended Resources

Opportunities Challenges

Provide resource for young people to find and share reliable information, inspiration and useful tools

Build network of partners to share information and support young people

Inform young people about rights and opportunities that relate to – and challenge – their current experiences

Quality of content and database behind web site

Balancing interactive features and young people’s involvement with moderation resources and safe use

Access for all? Possible mobile use or use in schools

Promotion, momentum and maintaining interest for young people … and secondary audience

Challenges and Opportunities

Year 2 Year 3

Build resource

Field work in schools and youth groups to develop content and test resource

Develop network of partners, (including Young People’s Advisory Group) to build relationships and support to develop sustainability

‘Closed’ launch of resource

Formal launch

Promote, publicise and disseminate resource

Pursue sustainability options

The Plan

Quick Thoughts

• Content? What would you put in?

Introducing...

www.infocow.org.uk

Infocow Free to use resourceAimed at young people aged 14-193 key features :• Links to sources of inspiration and information to help

young people take advantage of their rights and entitlements

• Gives specific rights information related on your search

• Is sociable: people, vote, comment and suggest resources. Can link to Facebook so people share useful sites between friends

www.infocow.org.uk

•What does Infocow cover?

Anything that can:

support young people to explore their interests and aspirations

become more aware of their entitlements

9 main ‘theme’ areas...

www.infocow.org.uk

Creativity and Arts

Participationand Voice

Work and learning opportunities

Play and RecreationStaying safe

Health and Well Being

Identity, Respect, Equality

Community and environment

Friendships, relationshipsand support

Design and branding

www.infocow.org.uk

Write search term and use the filters to narrow the search

Create a profile and link it to your Facebook account to share useful links

Vote and comment on sites

Suggest new sites

Lots of different links, information, video

Specific rights information related to the search term

Where can you use ?

• In and out of ‘formal’ settings • Informal tool to support young people in exploring their lives• Formal Education

- PSHE- Citizenship

• Extended services – support connecting young people to a ‘varied menu of activities’

• Part of youth engagement– connecting young people to opportunities, and extending staff knowledge

• Sharing your own resources • And..?

www.infocow.org.uk

Partner Groups

Partner groups...

We have recruited ten groups of young people from across the UK with:

... a range of ages and education level - KS3 / GCSE / A Level / Diploma

... a range of interests and skills - e-marketing

- publicity- web design and development- web content- youth engagement

the aim is......to give our Partner Groups the opportunity to help shape where Infocow is going over the next 12 months.

...for Partner Groups to provide us with valuable contributions to the maintenance and development of the site and support our promotional activity

...for them to help us get a feel for how we can make the site as good as it can be for their age group.

...for them to get as much out of the experience as possible

...for them to have the choice as to which elements of Infocow they are most involved with

how it will work

... each group has specified an area of interest.

... every half term, we provide them with a list of tasks, related to our milestones for the year, for the groups work through

- e.g. Write a proposal for a viral marketing idea that will raise awareness of Infocow among 14-19 year olds

... where possible, tasks will have a “real” component. Groups can then take more value from the task

- e.g. one group is researching and developing e-safety / moderation guidelines for the site, which will be

reviewed by an e-safety expert.

Brainstorm

•Where can Infocow fit into practice...?

Discussions

• What links are there to your own work?

• What resources should be in Infocow related to your own work?

• How could you get it out there? ; )

Wider Research Questions...

• What opportunities do socially mediated resources offer to formal education environments and processes?

• What needs to change to make this happen?

• What affordances are there for this type of media, which operates in social spaces?

• What is the role of technology in enabling young people to realise their rights?

www.futurelab.org.uktwitter.com/futurelabedu

Get in touch to find out more! www.infocow.org.uk

kieron.kirkland@futurelab.org.uk twitter.com/kieronkirkland