“Be a local Hero” learning resource and session for teachers and educators and diary of the experience aimed to KS2 students, a project by Ling Tan. Funded by Liverpool Cultural Education Partnership Fund 2017-18 Learning resource designed by Roz Dean, FACT’s learning team. We would like to thank Leamington Community Primary School and all the pupils who took part in this project. We would like to give a special thanks to Jennifer Evans and her year 6 students: Tayla Pollard, Georgia Hughes, Callum Bell Storey, Harvey Cotton, Alfie Clayton, Chloe Quantrell, Tom Buckley, Joseph, Olivia Thomas, Jeff Omobude, Tymoteusz Jaworski Ellie Macfadyen, Lucy Beadman, Del Philips, Lucas Connor Workshop What superpower do you want to have and what kind of superhero do you want to be? We invite you to join a series of workshops using wearable technology to explore empowerment in your school and its surrounding. The workshop sessions will involve participants designing and making parts of the wearable devices which track their body gestures and communicate remotely with each other through haptic/audio sensors. Based on the findings from the exploration walk, the project will end with a discussion among participants and teachers on how we can collectively shape the school environment through the use of technology. Objectives: This short programme is based on Ling’s workshop. It aims to introduce pupils to technology, social responsibility and creative problem solving. Pupils will undergo a series of workshops that are designed to build confidence through using movement. They will explore environment, technology and social awareness. The pupils will develop their creativity through identifying problems in their community and attempting to solve them. The project is based on 3 parts of KS2 (Art, DT & Citizenship) National Curriculum and is predominantly aimed at pupils aged between 9 and 11.
Transcript
“Be a local Hero” learning resource and session for teachers and educators and diary of the experience aimed to KS2 students, a project by Ling Tan. Funded by Liverpool Cultural Education Partnership Fund 2017-18
Learning resource designed by Roz Dean, FACT’s learning team.
We would like to thank Leamington Community Primary School and all the pupils who took part in this project. We would like to give a special thanks to Jennifer Evans and her year 6 students: Tayla Pollard, Georgia Hughes, Callum Bell Storey, Harvey Cotton, Alfie Clayton, Chloe Quantrell, Tom Buckley, Joseph, Olivia Thomas, Jeff Omobude, Tymoteusz JaworskiEllie Macfadyen, Lucy Beadman, Del Philips, Lucas Connor
WorkshopWhat superpower do you want to have and what kind of superhero do you want to be? We invite you to join a series of workshops using wearable technology to explore empowerment in your school and its surrounding.
The workshop sessions will involve participants designing and making parts of the wearable devices which track their body gestures and communicate remotely with each other through haptic/audio sensors. Based on the findings from the exploration walk, the project will end with a discussion among participants and teachers on how we can collectively shape the school environment through the use of technology.
Objectives: This short programme is based on Ling’s workshop. It aims to introduce pupils to technology, social responsibility and creative problem solving. Pupils will undergo a series of workshops that are designed to build confidence through using movement. They will explore environment, technology and social awareness. The pupils will develop their creativity through identifying problems in their community and attempting to solve them.
The project is based on 3 parts of KS2 (Art, DT & Citizenship) National Curriculum and is predominantly aimed at pupils aged between 9 and 11.
Key curriculum areas: Green – Citizenship / Yellow -Art / Blue - DT
DiscussionWhat is a hero? What is a local hero? Examples? Local examples? Is a footballer a local hero? Why? /Why not?Do local heros make the word a better place? Has anyone helped you, a friend or a family member?
Possible local challenges and “missions for superheroes”: Tackling homelessness, stopping littering/fly tipping, protecting wildlife, creating community spaces, educators, wellbeing projects, care workers...
ProblemWhat could you do to improve the area that you live in? Social/environmental issues How could technology help you tackle problems in your community?
Part 1 - Ideas generating/context- What do you think makes a good hero? What qualities?- Problem/solution: Do you think you could be a local hero? Think of a scenario were a
local hero could be needed in your local area.- What careers can you get working with technology?
Part 2 - Tech: - How could technology help you solve a problem?
Possible technology resources for teachers: Conductive tape, bare conductive (paint), simple circuits, microbits
Possible light/tech/photography project: CYBORG LIGHT PAINTING GLOVES! (AN EASY LED SWITCH)http://www.instructables.com/id/Cyborg-Light-Gloves-an-easy-LED-switch/
Part 3 - Play: - Pupils play with their creations/problem solve through movement- Who else has used similar techniques before - what art movements/photographers?
Part 4 - PresentPupils prepare to present their creations back to the class. This time could also be used for a project summary activity/evaluation of design, as well as the opportunity to for planning an assembly based on their experiences.
Design and Technologyhttps://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/239041/PRIMARY_national_curriculum_-_Design_and_technology.pdf
Heading across the city to Norris Green, we arrived at our destination. There we waited as a group of year 6 entered the classroom. Anticipation rippled through the room as the pupils gazed their eyes over the technology that Ling displayed on her right hand.
As the class settled down, they engaged well with Ling’s introduction and were eager to answer questions raised by Ling surrounding technology, environment and superheroes. They were set tasks to explore superpowers and discuss which ones they would like to possess. Ling opened a group conversation, discussing the definition of superpowers which ranged from the extraordinary powers embodied by characters from comic book and films, to those that were enhancements of normal human abilities, which allowed people to overcome perceived shortcomings or show extraordinary courage when faced with adversity (Martin Luther King and Angela Davis were two examples provided to the group). The group were then given the chance to choose their own superpower to work with in the session, popular choices included shapeshifting, confidence and super strength. Others settled on time travel, the power of flight and intelligence.
The pupils worked in small groups and were set the challenge of applying their superpower to various situations. The confidence group decided they could apply their superpower of courage to help family members carry on after the loss of a loved one, to stand up to bullies or speak in front of large groups. The group who settled on flight suggested that if a pupil was late for school, they could jet off and whisk them to school on time.
The next task asked the pupils to pick another groups power and combine it with their own. They were then set the exercise of using that combine superpower to assist their teacher. The time travel group decided they would like to combine their power with shapeshifting and travel back in time to become a dinosaur, to discover what the world was like in the past.
After each group presented their ideas at the front of the classroom, Ling then went on to brief the students on the wearable technology they will be experimenting with tomorrow. They gazed in curiosity as Ling explained the motion sensors, pressure sensors and haptic feedback that makes up the glove that they will be exploring in the next class. The session finished leaving the pupils eager to get hands on with the technology tomorrow.
Day 2
The pupils rushed into the classroom keen to start the session. After a short recap, they were settled and ready to begin exploring the technology. In pairs, the pupils received a glove and a smartphone. They were wired to the ‘brain’ and asked to observe what happens to the glove when they move their hands and what does the phone record. The reaction of the pupils was immense as they watch LED’s flash on and felt the glove vibrate.
After presenting back their findings, Ling then asked the pupils to think about how their superpower could be integrated with the technology. Working in pairs, the pupils set about designing a movement and illustrating how it works. Notably the pupils confidence had began to grow as they became more confident with Ling, the technology and the task at hand. When asked to present their movement to the class they all participated and helped to encourage each other to act out their action.
To round off the session, Ling asked the pupils to think about what type of outfit their superhero would wear. Excitement rippled through the room when the pupils discovered that they would be making an outfit of their own, with one pupil ready to go home and make a suit of her own to bring in!
Day 3
Not letting the weather dampen their enthusiasm, the pupils arrived brimming with ideas for their superhero suits. Ling started the session with a recap of activities and encouraged the pupils to share the superpower poses that they had developed yesterday.
After explaining their outfit to the rest of the class, the students set about creating their costumes. Amongst the colourful card and the felt, ponchos proved a popular choice. Feathers were attached to 3D glasses, mask shaped to cover the eyes and skirts creatively formed from cellophane, the pupils were in their element.
After completing their costumes, Ling fitted the pupils with the wearable technology. The students reminded and demonstrated to each other how the glove worked, monitoring which LED’s flickered on and what arrows flashed up on the accompanying phone along with the various gestures they made.
After a quick demonstration of how the outfits integrated with the wearable tech, the pupils flew off to visit years 3 and 4. The younger years were dazzled by year 6’s outfits. The pupils performed their poses and the younger years guessed their powers. The costumes seemed to allow the year 6 class to come together as a group and perform their gestures for the younger years with a confidence and swagger that eluded some of the group on the first day.
Day 4
The final session of the project provided a chance to recap what the pupils have learned and for them to demonstrate their new found confidence and knowledge. Year 6 were excited to be reunited with their outfits. Colourful capes ruled the classroom as the first part of the session saw the pupils finishing costumes. In a change of plan the pupils headed to the year 5 class to demonstrate the wearable technology and see if their peers could guess their superpowers.
Before finishing the session, the pupils demonstrated their superpower movement to camera, describing how the wearable technology reacts as they move. Many of the pupils seemed to grasp the function of the technology intuitively from the off but by the 4th day of their experiences they were able to clearly describe how the technology worked and how it allowed them to express their superhero gestures through their body language.
Ling has created a unique way for these pupils to access their peers and environment. The workshop has helped to grow the confidence of each pupil, some who are recognised as having a low self-esteem and were specially selected to join the programme. The link between body language and confidence seemed implicit in their explanations. This workshop has provided a diverse set of possibilities to explore identity, confidence and expression. It has proved relevant to each pupil, but worked across the dynamic of a complex group as a whole.
