Cleveratom

Fastsigns, Chelmsford

Hal

I had to pass on my thoughts about this company after they produced some pull up banners for the YHGfL ‘Virtually There’ project launch.

We were asked to create six banners for the day, about four days before the actual event. This is pretty tight to do, but fortunately the artwork was quite simple. I contacted Fastsigns to check that they could produce the banners in time.

They could, and did so at a very reasonable price. I gave the artwork to them on a DVD late on a Thursday afternoon. The signs were ready on the following Monday. Personally, I think that’s pretty good going!

So thanks, Fastsigns – the work was excellent, the client was pleased and the signs helped make the event look good, too. I’d certainly recommend anyone looking for a signmaking company to contact Fastsigns in Chelmsford:

FASTSIGNS®
6 Victoria Court
Victoria Rd
Chelmsford, Essex  CM1 1GP
England

Tel: 01245-350450
Fax: 01245-280022
863@fastsigns.com

Virtually There: Learning Platform Evaluation, VLE evaluation

Hal

virtuallythereIf you are working in a school in the UK then you’ll almost certainly be aware of the need for every child to have access to an online space or learning platform. However, the sheer weight of information available about the various options open to you is staggering. Some schools are well along the road to having a decent VLE (virtual learning environment) solution, but there are many more who either have not yet bitten the bullet or who are completely mystified as to what a VLE is and why it is necessary.

Working with the Yorkshire and Humber Grid for Learning Foundation (YHGfL), Cleveratom have conducted a research project exploring the extent to which VLEs have begun to be implemented and, more importantly, what the learning journey was for the schools involved and the impact on the people in those schools. The book was accompanied by a DVD which we also created and was launched at Castleford’s ‘XS!TE’ on Wednesday 23rd May. We were delighted to have Stephen Heppell for the day to lead the proceedings and bring his unique insight into learning and global trends in education.

Whilst this book is a landmark moment for Cleveratom, it is also a massively important publication for lots of other folk. It is true to say that we have been involved in establishing, researching, exploring and disseminating information about learning platforms for many years now, including our time at Ultralab. We understand a lot about why schools should have them, the benefits they bring and the ways in which implementing them can be accomplished beneficially. There is no one size fits all solution here, and each school needs to understand the processes involved and know what it is that they are aiming to achieve by setting one up.

We can help with all of that.

If you’d like a copy of the publication, contact the YHGfL team in Scunthorpe and they will send you one for £15. It is money well spent, I think. If you’d like to talk to an independent impartial company about VLEs first, get in touch with me. We will take you through the quagmire of information and lead you to a carefully thought out decision for which software to use.

Images from the YHGfL launch day can be found here. More information about the entire day and the research can be found on Matthew Eaves’ Blog.

Anglia Ruskin Summerschool

Hal

I recently went back to Anglia Ruskin University for two days to run a ‘journalism and broadcast’ summerschool for a group of 14 year-old students. Working with Matt, we ran through some (by now very) familiar ground but as ever tried to provide a twist to make the event unique and fresh for the participants. On this occasion we looked at still images telling a story and then the use of digital video to capture a point of view. With more time we would have looked at how broadcast technologies could be used, creating a short TV schedule and running it live.

The group were excellent – every single person remained engaged despite some pretty intensive talking at various points. They were enthralled by the editing process and the ability to re-tell a story to create an event that just didn’t happen. Use of five shot technique, editing for story telling, cut aways, audio creation and so on really helped bring their work alive. I can honestly say that this group were amongst the very best in terms of their concentration and drive to succeed.

One very notable trait was that we spent a lot less time explaining the technology than ever before, and a lot more time on how to get the best story out of the footage. It is almost as if the young people were fully aware of how the technology would support them, and in fact were almost unconcerned with it to the point where they didn’t question whether it would or wouldn’t work, just that they could rely on it and get the best result from it.

Once again, we were using Apple kit. This time we provided a number of desktop machines to augment our small and ageing fleet of powerbooks.  If ever we needed new equipment for these events it’s now! However, the desktop power macs did us proud – incredibly heavy to move around, but ultimately the most reliable kit for the job.

We edited with iMovie again. I am always amazed at how versatile this software really is compared to some higher end authoring apps we use, such as Final Cut Pro. iMovie does the job up to the point where someone wants multiple video tracks. Using garageband to create a soundtrack is usually a second activity for a different part of the day, however during this event we found the participants anxious to multitask and were firing up garage band during the import process. We  were intrigued to see how they would review the footage but as it turned out most of the groups used a shot list and storyboard, despite not having introduced that. Times they are a-changing! In the end they achieved a remarkable amount in a short time, and out of 24 or so students only one had used a Mac before, two others had seen one and the others weren’t fussed. The type of kit they used wasn’t as important to them as whether they could tell their story. Powerful stuff, eh?! I guess if we had used unreliable machines the whole event would have been different, so once again a big grin from me for the old faithful hardware!

Check it out in more detail over at digitalcreativity.org 

Cleveratom reaching a critical mass?

Hal

After just four months work, building up a new company, we find that we are already at the point of discussing whether or not to take on a new member of staff. This is actually a big decision to make, and quite a step forward for the company – how best to go about it, who to look for, how to pay the person appointed, how to ensure some kind of security…

We will be thinking about this a lot more before we post an advert anywhere, but essentially we will very soon need a competent PHP coder who has a passion for getting things right, wants to add their own ideas and be part of a dynamic and young company. The right person will work closely with our director of technology, Alex Blanc, to fulfil some of the many projects we are generating with a growing number of clients. Ideally, the right person will have a lot of ideas to throw into the mix, be passionate about what they do, be prepared to work hugely long hours and hit deadlines when they are needed. An eye for design, an eye for accuracy and a desire to improve what you just created will be ideal!

In return they will become part of a fast growing and dynamic group involved in some highly innovative projects. As for salary – it depends on your experience, and what other skills you bring to the post besides those we set out… we want the right person when the time comes, and want them to feel as much a part of the company as anyone else. We don’t do elitism, massive hierarchy or power trips. We don’t want someone who doesn’t want to be fully involved.

So where do we find a person like that, a team player willing to commit to a new company based in the Chelmsford area of Essex? Do you know someone we should talk to?? Let me know! In the next month to six weeks we will have made our appointment, I hope.

Three months later…

Hal

cleveratom_logo1.jpg
We started Cleveratom in January 2007, and we planned what we would do for it in December 2006. Matt did the review for the end of week Seven, so I am looking at what we have achieved at Cleveratom at the end of week fourteen!

This all started when I looked back in the archives to find a post in September 2004 called ‘Is there a future in it?’. At that time Ultralab had just received a visit from the Pro Vice Chanceller at Anglia Ruskin University, a man called Peter Creamer. He claimed that he was ‘not here to shut you down’, and ‘I’ve never shut a business down in my life…’. Big words, little truth.

But as a direct result of that meeting nearly two and a half years ago, Cleveratom was formed and we are now busier than ever! Having started modestly with a reasonable project based in Southend, we have taken on more and more work. To keep on top of it all we have started a project board – basically a noticeboard with bits of paper pinned to it in different categories. This was one of Matt’s ideas, and how well it is proving to work!

Right now we are engaged in an evaluation of learning platforms for Yorks and Humber Grid for Learning, working with Becta on design quality indicators for ICT, building websites for smaller clients, working with Stephen Heppell on a number of things, working with BBC Blast on the tour for the truck this year, working with Apple and a number of partners on the Digital Teacher Network… In addition, I am finding that people want me to present at conferences around the country – the last was in Kent for BSF, the next will be in London at the Institute of Education, and after that in Oxford. This is excellent work – I am delighted to be asked to talk, and I am thrilled that Cleveratom is doing so well so soon.
There are quite a few other projects we are hoping to do which are either in the planning phase or that we are waiting to hear back about, and of course there is still the never-ending stream of great, crazy and plain silly ideas which typifies the creative approach to what we do!

So thanks to Peter Creamer for his ‘vote of confidence in 2004’, without it we probably wouldn’t have found all of the brilliant things we are doing now 🙂

Of course, pride comes before a fall so very often, and whilst we are optimistic, we realise that there is a long, long way to go. The thing is, we are all ‘up for it’ and chasing things to make it happen. Long may it last!