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Share Your Welsh in 2016

2016-02-09T14:00:00+00:00

What’s your aim for 2016? Climb Mount Kilimanjaro? Do a triathlon?Recreate a miniature Titanic using just lollipop sticks?

The new year sees many a resolution come and go so this January, �鶹Լ�� Radio Wales made it their mission to help keep one aim on track by launching ‘Share Your Welsh’.

Born and bred in Wales, I’ve often lamented that I should have learnt my mother tongue, but so often distractions and excuses have got in the way.

It was this thought - bolstered by the admissions of fellow sheepish colleagues - that made us here at Audio Always think about how we could reach out to those who felt a similar draw. And as an independent radio production company, how could we engage with this audience?

Working with �鶹Լ�� Radio Wales, we designed a campaign to inspire, encourage and support Welsh learners by sharing simple words and phrases every day, success stories from across Wales (and beyond) and helpful hints and tips to get us all on the right track.

We heard from so many incredible Welsh learners proving that learning a new language amidst a busy lifestyle can be done. Whether they be like Hugh from Ellesmere who wanted to learn a language that harked back to childhood holidays or 99-year-old Helena who is still winning awards for her Welsh at the National Eisteddfod.

We also featured helpful and sometimes inventive initiatives that can help people improve their vocabulary - such as welsh language walks around Barry with Ruth from Valeways to The Deck cafe in Cardiff Bay who play basic Welsh phrases in the loos of their café.

We quickly realised that learning Welsh isn’t just for those of us born here, as proved by surgeon Dr. Phillip Moore from Barbados who loves surprising the patients at Ysbyty Gwynedd with his Welsh skills. We also spoke to Lidia Lammardo who hails from Argentina, lives in Belfast and travels to Cardiff for Welsh classes.

The project also gave us a chance to explore how Welsh is developing alongside different industries including technology, leisure and emergency services.

For technology, we visited Canolfan Bedwyr in Bangor to check out their speech recognition software and even heard from Google Translate’s Chief Engineer, Macduff Hughes, about his love of the language and his efforts to represent Welsh online.

A huge part of Share Your Welsh was getting out and speaking to listeners across Wales. When I mapped everywhere we’d visited, it was great to see how many communities had been involved.

Map of Share your Welsh project

Whilst our main aim was to reach out to �鶹Լ�� Radio Wales listeners, the campaign also stimulated activity across other areas of the �鶹Լ�� including S4C’s Dal Ati, Pobol Y Cwm, Radio Cymru and more.

This external content is available at its source: https://twitter.com/�鶹Լ��WalesSport/status/693040546017734657

It also allowed us to talk directly with people who were getting involved through social media. We encouraged those connected with the campaign to get involved using #shareyourwelsh which trended a few times during the project.

This external content is available at its source: https://twitter.com/AbbyPobydd/status/687632480346726405

This external content is available at its source: https://twitter.com/ffrwti/status/685551556461215744

This external content is available at its source: https://twitter.com/DaiBanjo/status/692342744786812928

Some of our posts got a lot of attention online, helping �鶹Լ�� Radio Wales to connect with even more people.

This external content is available at its source: https://twitter.com/�鶹Լ��RadioWales/status/691609740628103172

And even though Share Your Welsh was focused on the month of January, the content will remain a valuable online resource for learners in the future. So if you’ve a desire to brush up on your Welsh or learn from scratch: rhoi cynnig arni (give it a go).

Chelsea Dickenson, Content Producer, Audio Always producers of Share Your Welsh for �鶹Լ�� Wales

Read also Share your Welsh in 2016 with Huw & Dot
Find out more at the Share Your Welsh website

Helping young people Be Smart online

2015-01-16T12:23:47+00:00

Capturing young people’s intimate thoughts on film can be a challenge, especially when we’re asking them to talk about sensitive subjects like the pressures they’re subjected to online. That’s why the Be Smart team at �鶹Լ�� Learning decided to take an unorthodox approach to marking Safer Internet Day 2015.

We’re installing a self-op video booth in a secondary school, so students can tell their stories on camera without all the usual film-making distractions. St Margaret Ward Catholic Academy in Stoke-on-Trent is the school taking the plunge, not because their students are any worse than other kids when it comes to online behaviour, but because they see internet safety as a big issue which they want to help us highlight. It’s a brave move, so huge credit should go to the students, parents and staff.

We’re doing this because all the research tells us that children and young people respond best to their peers. Whether they’re under pressure to take part in a dangerous prank, or to victimise someone, or whether they’re an online bully themselves, stories told by other young people are most likely to resonate and to help them cope, or change their behaviour.

The young people at St Margaret Ward are being invited to tell their personal stories: how they deal with online pressure; how they helped a friend get through a difficult episode; why they became an online bully... and what made them change. After an exhaustive compliance process, the stories will be posted online, along with links to �鶹Լ�� content and to external organisations that can give help and advice. We’ll be using the content on television and radio too, building it into films and radio output in the weeks following Safer Internet Day on 10th February.

It’s not the first time a video booth has been installed in a school for this reason, but we think it’s the first time it’s been done in the UK. In 2012, CBC in Canada ran a similar project, focusing on bullying. From a school roll of a thousand, 200 students made recordings. Some were very frank and moving and often positive and constructive too. Both the programme and website won numerous awards, and the school principal now frequently speaks about the positive effect of their involvement.

The Be Smart campaign is all about helping young people understand and deal with the pressures of being online. As well as the video booth, �鶹Լ�� Learning is helping Radio One produce a range of content fronted by hugely popular vloggers, including an hour-long live debate show. We’re also working with C�鶹Լ�� to make sure the issues are reflected on Children’s output ranging from drama to news – and we’ve commissioned a poll to provide us with a snapshot of how the issue affects young people across the UK.

Not only that, but we want famous �鶹Լ�� faces to tell their stories and to give their tips and advice about how to deal with online pressure. So after its week at school, we’re taking the video booth to �鶹Լ�� North at Media City in Salford so some of the famous faces there can tell their stories.

There are risks involved, of course. Who knows what kind of contributions we’ll get from the students. Perhaps we won’t get any at all. But if our experiment works, get ready to hear some frank and moving personal stories from the heart of The Potteries. I’ll let you know how it goes.

Sinead Rocks is Head of �鶹Լ�� Learning

Highlights from �鶹Լ�� Learning’s Industry Day

2014-12-09T11:43:02+00:00

Two industry briefings were held on Wednesday 5^th November at MediaCity, Salford.

The morning’s industry session was for educational publishers and distributors and summarised �鶹Լ�� Learning’s activities for 2014 and shared further information about Bitesize, iWonder and the strategic priorities for 2015.

�鶹Լ�� Learning industry presentation.

The afternoon session for independent producers introduced �鶹Լ�� Learning’s plans for 2015 and also shared further information about Learning’s commissioning priorities.

To find out more you can visit the �鶹Լ��’s Commissioning pages.

Download the presentations:
Industry Presentation (PDF, 1.3MB)
Draft Commissioning Presentation (PDF, 1.5MB)

Making a game with the beta Technobabble maker kit

2014-12-01T14:16:36+00:00

Anyone with children knows how difficult it is to part them from their tablet or mobile. Particularly mid-game. A recent survey suggested that eight out of ten parents now use restricting access to tablets and mobiles as their preferred form of punishment. I confess I’m one of them.

So imagine turning these devices into tools to create rather than just consume.

As part of the �鶹Լ��’s 2015 Make It Digital initiative we’re exploring ways of doing precisely that. Today we’re launching an early version of a tool that enables children to make their own games. It’s a type of digital maker kit we’ve called Make It: Technobabble as it’s linked to the popular C�鶹Լ�� show.

Technobabble is the ideal launch partner for such an innovative project. It’s a high-octane programme about the future. Each episode explores how technology is changing the lives of children and inspires them to acquire the skills to shape it for themselves. And the maker kit itself includes a range of familiar Technobabble assets for children to use, such as the presenters, vloggers and animations featured in the show.

It’s a starter kit. It requires no technical knowledge, no download and works just as well on mobiles and tablets as desktop. The only requirements are access to the web, a willingness to experiment and an idea. In minutes a child can create a game.

It’s designed to help children take their first creative steps into the digital world, engage with the characters of a �鶹Լ�� show they love, build their confidence and then inspire them to want to learn more.

You can find out more here or, even better, let 10 year old Lola walk you through how she bent a wide range of game design principles - such as the type of game, characters, rules and physics of the game - to her will.

Ten year old Lola demos the Technobabble Make It kit.

Engaging with our audiences

Throughout its development we’ve put children at the heart of the process. We’ve taken early prototypes out to events including ‘C�鶹Լ�� Live’ in Gateshead and the Birmingham Skills Show to see what children liked and, of course, what didn’t go down well.

We’ve learned a lot. And been surprised by just how quickly they were able to use the maker kit and just how creative they were with it. Young children were producing games even the developers hadn’t considered.

It’s wonderful to see how children were willing to have a go, try again if it didn’t work, share their creations with friends and collaborate to make better games. Precisely the skills and attitudes digital entrepreneurs value above all others.

Learning by doing

All this confirmed insights from recent studies emerging particularly from the United States, into how best to inspire digital creativity. They emphasise the power of informal learning, of play, experimentation, sharing, peer support and feedback. They also emphasise the need to focus on hobbies and interests so that the activities were relevant. And to create an environment in which there is genuine challenge, unpredictable outcomes and real audiences. This is what we’ve tried to bottle with Make It: Technobabble.

Google Chairman Eric Schmidt said: “The Internet is the first thing that humanity has built that humanity doesn't understand, the largest experiment in anarchy that we have ever had.”

Encouraging digital creativity in children through products like our maker kit can help children build the fundamental skills – collaboration, experimentation, computational thinking, confidence - to shape the fast moving, anarchic world of digital. And, importantly, start them on the road to learning higher order skills including coding itself.

Experimentation at the �鶹Լ��

It’s with this spirit of experimentation and openness that we’re launching Make It: Technobabble as a ‘beta’. It’s at a stage earlier than we’d normally launch a product. It’s still work in progress in other words. It’s because we want children to tell us what they make of it and help shape it ahead of a full release in 2015. As much as possible, designed for young people by young people.

Technobabble provides the ideal audience to test and improve our maker kit, but our research and user testing clearly showed the potential for all children – not just those with an interest in technology – to create something digitally.

As a result, the underlying technology enables us quickly to make changes and add new features, allowing us to easily explore ways we might expand this component-based system into to other areas in future, and potentially with other �鶹Լ�� brands.

We’ll be publishing some of the games children make on the C�鶹Լ�� site. We’re very excited about the capabilities of the tool and even more by the capabilities of the children themselves. We can’t wait to see what happens when the two get together. We’ll be looking for ideas for new features to include. And, of course, existing features to drop or change.

Martin Wilson is Head of Digital Creativity, Future Media.

The Make It: Technobabble Maker Kit is available on the C�鶹Լ�� website.
Read Jessica Cecil's blog introducing the �鶹Լ��'s Make It Digital initiative.

�鶹Լ�� Learning calls for expression of interest from partners for Make It Digital initiative

2014-11-28T14:27:52+00:00

In 2015, the �鶹Լ��’s Make it Digital initiative will shine a light on the world of digital creativity and coding. Why are we doing this? The �鶹Լ�� has already inspired a generation to get passionate about computing. Back in the Eighties the �鶹Լ�� broadcast hundreds of hours of TV, created a new coding language, and gave millions their first taste of computing with the �鶹Լ�� Micro. It’s firmly rooted in our public service commitments; in 2015 we want to capture the spirit of what we did with the �鶹Լ�� Micro, but this time for the digital age.

However, the environment is very different to the one back then; in 2015 there are many providers and companies already working with young people and successfully getting them coding. There is also a wide range of devices and programmes to choose from. �鶹Լ�� Learning has an ambition to deliver something that is complementary to existing initiatives and also leads to an explosion of creativity in young people and in the companies working with them.

We have some great ideas and plans but they are still very much at the preliminary/feasibility stage. We have already realised, however, that we can only deliver at scale through working in partnership. Initial consultations with the sector have led us to believe that this is the right approach to take. This is why �鶹Լ�� Learning is now inviting expressions of interest from individual companies, consortia and organisations who would like to be part of a public value partnership to deliver this ambition.

What we’re looking for

As part of Make it Digital, we’d like to create a hands-on learning experience that allows any level of young coder from absolute beginner to advanced maker to get involved and be part of something exciting. We are looking for partners, large and small, who are both willing and able to contribute services and/or funding to the delivery of this project alongside the �鶹Լ��. This initiative will involve the �鶹Լ�� working together with the market as a public value partnership and is not a call for tenders for the provision of services to the �鶹Լ��. If you do not feel that your services could cater for this size of audience or if you are unable to make a contribution in kind, please do not apply.

Schedule

8 Dec, 2014	Deadline for expressions of interest
10 Dec, 2014	Deadline for submission of pre-selection questionnaires with signed NDAs
12 Dec, 2014	Project briefs issued to prospective bidders
9 Jan, 2015	Deadline for submission of proposals
16 Jan, 2015	Invitations to pitch/meet & greet issued to a shortlist
19-21 Jan, 2015	Pitch/meet & greet meetings
23 Jan, 2015	Final prospective partner list confirmed
30 Jan, 2015	Invitations to partner issued (subject to the project getting green-lighted)

Next steps

Please submit expressions of interest by email to learning.makeitdigital@bbc.co.uk at your earliest convenience and no later than 2pm 8^th December 2014.

For more information on �鶹Լ�� partnerships policy and eligibility to partner, please visit http://www.bbc.co.uk/editorialguidelines/page/guidelines-appendices-appendix-3-partnerships

Computing for a New Generation Conference in Salford

2014-07-02T07:28:59+00:00

In only a few short months, students up and down the country will be embarking on the new computing curriculum with the start of the new school year. So I'm delighted today that in partnership with Google, the �鶹Լ�� is hosting a conference - "Computing for a New Generation" - at our flagship digital centre in Salford.

The conference will be attended by over 200 local teachers from the North West who will be at the forefront of educating children in coding and all things digital. This one day conference will give teachers an important insight into computer science: offering them a chance to hear from industry experts, learn about support organisations and get hands-on with new digital kit from a wide range of coding and digital partners who are also taking part in the conference. Partners like CoderDojo, Raspberry Pi, Code Club and Teen Tech to name but a few.

But it's not just about providing insight and education. "Computing for a New Generation" is about inspiration too. Inspiration for teachers, and therefore children alike. In October 2013 the �鶹Լ��'s Director-General, Tony Hall, set out his strategy for the �鶹Լ�� in a speech entitled Where Next? This included plans for the �鶹Լ�� to inspire the next generation to get creative with digital technology and computer coding. As is well known, the �鶹Լ��'s mission is to inform, educate and entertain – hopefully just three of the things happening at today’s conference, in addition to our sixth public purpose that being to deliver to the public the benefit of emerging communications, technologies and services.

In this way today's conference is at the core of the �鶹Լ�� and something we feel passionately about. We all know that children are embracing new technologies with a vengeance, and teaching them to code can unlock an even greater world of digital potential for them – a lifetime of fun and creativity. And importantly, as an employer of over 500 software engineers at our Salford base, the �鶹Լ�� is always on the look out for the next generation of digital talent to build on the things we’ve already started from our northern hub. Whether that’s taking the �鶹Լ��’s iPlayer to the next level, or ensuring you can watch whatever you want, wherever you want it – just as we’ve done with the live platform – there is a world of possibilities and we are proud to be working with Google and our partners today to help unlock that potential with "Computing for a New Generation".

I look forward to seeing the fruits of all our labours, and particularly from the dedicated teachers who will be teaching the new curriculum from September. It feels like the start of an exciting new chapter.

Alice Webb is Chief Operating Officer, �鶹Լ�� England

Radio 1 Academy in Glasgow

2014-05-19T15:51:22+00:00

This year's Radio 1 Academy was the biggest social action project on the Radio 1 calendar - a partnership between the station and �鶹Լ�� Learning.

This year the Radio 1 Academy - a one-week programme of inspirational workshops and hands-on masterclasses for young people from the local area - was in Glasgow, playing an integral part in the build-up to �鶹Լ�� Radio 1’s Big Weekend.

One of its producers Lanre Leandre - on a placement from Radio 1 for the project - shares her thoughts and experiences working on this year's Academy.

Earlier this year I got an opportunity to work on a project which brought together both Radio 1 and �鶹Լ�� Learning: Radio 1’s Academy. After seeing the great work and impact the Academy had made on the young people of Derry-Londonderry and Hackney, I was determined to get involved in some way or another.

My role began in February and split my working week between �鶹Լ�� Learning in Salford and Radio 1 in London. I didn’t know a great deal about �鶹Լ�� Learning when I first started but I was introduced to its Executive Editor Helen Foulkes who quickly welcomed me into the team and bought me up to speed with all the excellent work and projects that �鶹Լ�� Learning are involved with.

From then, I got hands-on, producing Radio 1’s Academy sessions, tapping into the expertise of �鶹Լ�� Learning with my own experience of working with young audiences at Radio 1. I had to ensure the Academy fulfilled its educational objectives but most importantly, that it was going to be a week that was fun, entertaining and an event that young people would want to come along to.

Using the good relationships and contacts Radio 1 already has across the music and entertainment industry, the next step was drawing up a wish list of people we wanted on-board. For my part, I knew I wanted a positive mix of people with interesting backgrounds who could tell young people about how they got to where they are now. It didn’t matter if you failed your exams at school or simply had no idea what you want to do in the future, it was about getting successful, inspirational people to share their stories with young people. That’s why Radio 1’s Academy is here to help. That's why it works.

�鶹Լ�� Learning held several focus groups with young people in Glasgow to find out who inspires them. Maybe it should come as as no surprise that many said they looked up to and admired homegrown local talent such as stand up comedian Kevin Bridges, singer songwriter Emeli Sande and music stars Biffy Clyro. But that information was still useful to us. It helped shape our thinking.

What struck me was how, as soon as I starting reaching out to the guests, how overwhelming everyone’s enthusiasm and willingness to get involved was. There seemed to be a real appetite to inspire the young people of Glasgow amongst the contributors we invited. Emeli Sande, for example, helped us to design an intimate face-to-face song-writing workshop and even offered to bring her band along who could also help out. Perfect.

Getting Sir Richard Branson involved in the Academy was a massive coup for the Radio 1 Academy. I had heard from �鶹Լ�� Learning that he was going to be in Scotland during the week of the Academy so I simply put in a call to his PA and she passed me onto his Press Executive, the fabulous Lucy. She was excellent and managed to squeeze the Academy into Sir Richard Branson’s lunch hour in the middle of a very busy schedule and in return all they asked for was a sandwich and bottled water. A small price to pay.

As I had hoped, the list of names agreeing to come on board kept on growing and I was still booking guests a few days before the Academy opened. That's something really special to be a part of when that happens. I remember when we got the final timetable printed and it hit me that Rita Ora, Kevin Bridges, Sir Richard Branson, Emeli Sande, Biffy Clyro, Katy B and Example all confirmed to take part. Its not until you see their names on a list that the reality of the situation actually hits you. Quite some line-up, I thought!

Undoubtedly, the toughest challenge I had throughout the whole producing process was to co-ordinate every last detail for each guest visiting the Academy, at times I thought my brain might melt. I had to produce Q&As, prepare itineraries, brief our DJs, organise specific dietary requirements and even plan a secret entrance to the building to avoid the paps! When I write it down it all seems so straightforward, but logistically that's quite a lot to handle. There is no greater feeling than when you look back on it and discover that yes, it all paid off!

Now, as I look back on this year’s Radio 1’s Academy, there are so many rewarding and magical moments I reckon I'll remember for a long time. As I write this blog post memories of Biffy Clyro - the nicest guys in the industry - and the many fans who had travelled from all around the country to see them at the Academy and spent hours queuing outside since early in the morning, figure large in this week's sights. So too Emeli Sande’s song-writing workshop and seeing a beautiful song written, rehearsed & performed by young people in just a few hours. And, there was also something really special about receiving feedback from people who had attended the sessions and couldn’t believe they were given the opportunity to ask their favourite pop stars and DJ’s questions about how they made it big. Feeling a part of that process is something very special indeed.

Radio 1’s Academy could not have happened without great teamwork and making sure we always kept our young audiences at the heart of what we do. From the stations DJs who did their shows live from the Academy, to the members of the team who posted videos, links and clips across Radio 1 online and the Academy's Facebook pages, ensuring our social action programming reached as many young people across the UK as possible. The work didn't stop when we'd booked the guests: it had only just begun and everyone delivered. A fantastic effort all-round.

The Academy ambition was to offer inspirational and practical advice for young people and if anyone who came through the door this week was left feeling inspired by what any of the big name music superstars, local business entrepreneurs or DJs had to say, then every single moment has been worthwhile. I've had a ball.

A 500 Words challenge

2014-01-22T14:51:29+00:00

Writing can be hard. Never mind writer’s block, the very motivation to put pen to paper can be elusive. So thank goodness that �鶹Լ�� Radio 2’s 500 Words competition is back offering children aged 13 and under the incentive to write an original work of fiction in no more than 500 words.

The stories will be judged in two categories, 9 and under, and 10-13 years. First prize take home Chris Evans’s height in books (6ft 2”), second prize winners get a stack of books the same height as Alex Jones (5ft 6”), and bronze place winners get a pile of books measuring up to their own height.

And if the competition and prizes are not motivation enough to get the ideas flowing, the 500 Words website has lots of inspiration, including a video featuring celebrities sharing their favourite words – and writing tips. You’d never guess Eddie Izzard and Rob Brydon’s, and Chris Evans’s is downright obscure.

The Alphabot is here to help! Just press his tummy to get five words to start your story

The site also has a new feature for this year’s competition – Alphabot – an online robot who will generate five words to inspire you. Last year the word most used across all the stories entered was ‘Mum’- as one myself that gives me a warm, fuzzy feeling.

There’s also a free downloadable learning pack and you can read winning stories from previous years, or hear them being read at previous year’s finals by the likes of Miranda Richardson, Michael Ball, Michael Palin and others. The quality and variety is quite astonishing. 2013 Bronze winner Archie O’Dair’s piece starts:

“There is a man watching me. He doesn't think I know he's there, but I do. He was there yesterday too staring at my home as if he is waiting for something. He carries some sort of machine and it is making me nervous. I am scared and don't want to go out so I am sitting here watching him back.”

Intriguing no? You can read the rest on the 500 words site.

Once you’re 100% happy with your story (you can only enter once) you need to submit it through the site the deadline is 7pm on Wednesday 26 February.

This year’s judges are TV presenter Richard Hammond; author Francesca Simon; Children’s Laureate Malorie Blackman; actor, comedian and author Charloe Higson; and Frank Cottrell Boyce the writer behind the London 2012 Opening Ceremony. Frank’s also recorded his writing tips for the competition.

Volunteer judges are also sought to help sift through the entries (last year there over 90,000 stories submitted) – the team are looking for teachers or librarians who can read a batch of about 30 stories in early March. Find out how to apply here.

The top 50 authors will all be invited to the 500 WORDS Final on Friday 30 May to hear the winners announced live from the Hay Festival on The Chris Evans Breakfast Show, which attracts an average weekly audience of 9.35 million.

And I’ve fulfilled my brief from Jon Jacob – write about 500 Words in 500 words exactly. Done.

Hannah Khalil is Digital Content Producer, About the �鶹Լ�� Website and Blog.

Read all about the competition, see resources and enter at the 500 Words site.
Read the press release on the Media Centre.

The story of Magic Hands, a TV first

2013-04-19T12:42:21+00:00

Camilla Arnold is the director of a new CBeebies show 'Magic Hands' which translates poems into British Sign Language. Here she explains how it evolved ,from brainstorming session to post-production and the challenges faced in bringing the pioneering show to our screens.

The seed that became Magic Hands came about through one of our many brainstorming sessions for new programme ideas. We often go around the room and each member of the Media team will offer one or two idea for a news item, or documentary, for example. We had been contemplating ways to breakout into mainstream programming, and wondering what would be the most accessible and engaging way to do so. It was the brainchild of one of the team to focus on poetry and short stories presented for children, and when we wondered what it must be like for hearing children to watch sign language, with pictures and concepts being visualised in 3D, we agreed it must be a little bit like magic. Thus, our hands telling these stories are indeed 'Magic Hands'!

The next step was creating a proposal, and deciding how to pitch it. We made one 'taster' episode which featured a researcher in the Media team, Ashley, presenting a poem from Shakespeare's Macbeth. It is The Witches' Spell, which as you may know, has some quite dark imagery, and in the context of Macbeth is not suitable for children. This was a great opportunity for us to get our heads together and focus on the target audience. They will be both deaf and hearing children, and they will be watching our show for the unique experience of seeing a poem presented in British Sign Language (BSL). We don't want to scare them away - we want to have some fun! So the interpretation shifted ever so slightly to make it more mischievous, more naughty and more giddy. A voice-over was added so hearing children could appreciate the story and the written language, and graphics were added to illustrate how the sign language makes words come to life. Once completed, we decided to aim high, and pitched it to CBeebies. The rest is history.

Once we got the green light, pre production went into full swing. We had a casting to find four different Deaf presenters, and we went through the mammoth task of finding thirty poems that would be suitable for children, and easy enough to clear the copyright on. Our final four presenters: Aimee, Donna, Simon and Ashley from the taster, were chosen from a very impressive shortlist which was not an easy task. The poems were broken down over and over again, re-interpreted, visualised and made appropriate for the audience by our fabulous Deaf consultant Jean St Clair. Sign language does not match English word for word - it is a completely separate language with its own grammar and syntax, so one of our biggest challenges was entirely text based. Then finally, a few pieces of set dressing and props, some deep discussions with our graphic artists and the all important green screen, and we were rolling.

Magic Hands presenters Simon Herdman, Donna Mullings, Ashley Kendall and Aimee Campbell-Nottage

Once on set, the new challenge became ensuring all the elements came together seamlessly. There were many different approval processes which had to be cleared with every episode on the shoot. Sound quality in the studio, the presenters had to memorise their poems, the BSL that was choreographed to match, the translation had to be accurate to match the 5 minute timing window each episode had, we had to allow room for captions at the bottom of the screen and the timing of the poem had to allow for an English voice-over, and all movement had to be specifically placed so the graphics team could work their wonders in post production. We couldn't have any overlap of hands in certain areas as the graphics wouldn't be able to be placed correctly. Our director had to be thinking of all these things during filming as we didn't want any delays or re-shoots. It was such a challenge and fortunately we had a great team working really co-operatively.

Post production faced the same challenges - all the timing, as mentioned before, had to be accurate through the editing process, and all sound effects placed to match the graphics had to take into account the voice dubbing necessary. The �鶹Լ�� has very high standards for their technical review, and besides the enormous process that went into each 5 minute episode, we had to, at all times, focus on the audience. We wanted full access to both Deaf and hearing children - we wanted it to be educational as well as fun, and a final product we could really be proud of. It is a landmark achievement for us to be the first mainstream programme for children presented in BSL to appear on CBeebies and we all want to keep going from strength to strength. We cannot thank everybody involved enough - Magic Hands is history in the making!

Camilla Arnold is Director/Writer/Producer of Magic Hands.

The first episode of Magic Hands will be aired on the CBeebies Channel at 9.15am on Monday 22 April.

Watch an interview with Camilla and the Magic Hands presenters on the �鶹Լ�� Media Centre website.

Share Take Care: Cover Yourself Up

2013-02-05T07:16:24+00:00

Until this week I had no idea what a 'digital nudist' was. Do you?

It turns out it’s a term coined by the internet security expert Tom Ilubé, to describe someone who’s revealing everything about themselves online -- without a privacy setting to their name. The �鶹Լ��’s Media Literacy team in Salford has been working with Tom over the last couple of months to get digital nudists to cover themselves up, for the sake of their online safety and security.

It’s an issue that’s sometimes presented in the news media in a fairly light-hearted way, with stories of how an ill-considered Facebook invitation to a house-party resulted in hundreds of excited teenagers trashing someone’s suburban semi. That’s bad enough, but the results of 'digital nudity' can be much more serious than that.

The importance of managing your online reputation, and highlighting the risks of oversharing, is the focus of Share Take Care – the �鶹Լ��’s contribution to Safer Internet Day today – an international campaign to encourage people to stay safe and responsible online. We’ve developed the campaign in partnership with the UK Safer Internet Centre, targeting teenagers and younger children who are, of course, growing up in an environment where social media are used routinely but not always wisely.

We’re also aiming to get the message to adults who can influence the way kids behave online. Many of us who came of age before the internet are playing catch up, particularly with social media, and awareness of the potential pitfalls as well as the positives are important to us too.

I was beginning my career as the digital age arrived. The paper where I started was the first outside London to get newsroom computers. They were truly massive (about the size of desktop washing machines). It was all chunky keys and tiny green type glowing on a tiny screen. A couple of years later, reporting on the miners’ demonstrations against pit closures, I was an early adopter of the Radio Stoke mobile phone - a huge contraption, the size of a breeze block. None of these monster devices were with me 24/7, nor did they instantly connect me to friends or strangers around the world to share my pictures, music and videos, or half-formed thoughts on life.

Thank goodness those days are over. Being connected has brought enormous benefits in our working and personal lives, but we have online responsibilities as well as rights – so Share Take Care is campaigning for us to ‘connect with respect’ and we’ve produced a raft of new resources to help.

�鶹Լ�� Learning has worked with Radio 1 and 1 extra to create a new online game where you race against the clock to like or un-tag yourself from comments and posts to keep your online reputation intact. The station has also produced a series of documentaries highlighting the pitfalls of over sharing. C�鶹Լ�� have commissioned a number of �鶹Լ�� Learning-funded music videos featuring presenters delivering internet safety messages in song. The Newsround reporting team channel their inner boy band.

And in two films for �鶹Լ�� Learning’s Webwise site, we set a ‘digital detective’ – aka online security specialist Tom Ilube - onto some willing victims. Armed only with their names and the town they live in, he spent a day on the trail of two mother and daughter teams. What he discovered shocked us, and them. In the films, fronted by Breakfast and Five Live's Louise Minchin, you’ll see jaws, and then pennies, dropping, when Tom tell them that he’s found dates of birth, mothers’ maiden names, addresses, schools, a partner in his underpants (viewable by a billion people worldwide), a grandfather who’s undergone a sex change, intimate chats conducted on public twitter feeds, jokes about homework and teachers, tattoos, and nights out in all their gory detail.

Since our filming, passwords have been changed, accounts locked down to private and potentially embarrassing online histories deleted. Even the most digitally committed mum now wonders: “why would I want strangers knowing so much about me?”

And hopefully they’ll remember Tom’s top tip: whenever you’re about to post something online, pause and just imagine someone you respect reading that post or looking at that photo. If that feels uncomfortable, don’t do it.

Andrew Tomlinson is Executive Producer, Media Literacy, �鶹Լ�� Learning

Find out more about the �鶹Լ�� Share Take Care campaign via Webwise

The UK Safer Internet Centre has more information on using the internet safely and responsibly

Harnessing �鶹Լ�� brands to inspire learning: the Wallace and Gromit soundtrack competition

2012-09-26T15:04:04+00:00

For the last two years, �鶹Լ�� Learning has run a competition for children to write a mini episode of Doctor Who. The prize was one that money can’t buy: the winning script was performed by the eleventh Doctor, Matt Smith, filmed on the TARDIS by the Doctor Who production team, and broadcast on national TV. You can watch the finished film below.

This is an exclusive mini episode of Doctor Who, written by three pupils from Wilmslow who won the 2012 'Script to Screen' competition. Starring Matt Smith, Karen Gillan and the Weeping Angels, the mini episode was inspired by the Olympic Games.

Talk about writing for a purpose. The take up was fantastic. Tens of thousands of pupils from more than a thousand schools across the country took part. Children described it as the highlight of their school year. 96% of those we surveyed said that the competition was a very good tool for teaching literacy and writing skills.

One of the reasons we wanted to run this competition was to try to motivate some of the more reluctant writers. As Chair of Governors in a Manchester primary school, I had observed first hand the way boys in particular were becoming increasingly reluctant to write by the time they got to year 5 or 6.

Could the power of the Doctor help make writing cool? Teachers were conclusive. One told us 'The boys are sometimes hard to motivate, and they absolutely loved it. It motivated kids that usually found literacy a bit of a struggle. The Doctor Who element meant they were all working with a genre they understood and enjoyed. It was priceless.’

Doctor Who Script to Screen embodied the new strategy for �鶹Լ�� Learning: to harness the power of the �鶹Լ��’s big brands to inspire learning.

Our latest venture is a competition for primary-aged children to write a sound track for Wallace and Gromit. Inspired by this Summer’s delightful �鶹Լ�� Wallace and Gromit Prom, the challenge is for teams of children to compose the music to accompany a clip of the dynamic duo.

As with Doctor Who Script to Screen, �鶹Լ�� Learning has developed a range of resources to help the creative process. These include printable storyboards and a composer’s notebook. We’ve also produced a series of films, 'Compose Yourself', which show how to make music, even if you can’t play a musical instrument, using found sounds and even rubbish.

As music education starts to focus on participation and making music, we want to inspire children’s creativity, and given them the chance to win another money can’t buy prize. The winning entries will be recorded by the �鶹Լ�� and broadcast on Blue Peter. Winning teams will also get to visit the amazing Aardman Animations studio in Bristol.

We hope that the competition will help unleash more creative talent in our primary schools. In the meantime, we’d welcome any suggestions on the next big creative adventure involving a �鶹Լ�� brand!

Katy Jones is Executive Producer, �鶹Լ�� Learning

Further information on how to enter, downloadable notes for teachers and video sequences can be found on the Wallace and Gromit Soundtrack Competition website.

Combining learning with drama: Secrets and Words

2012-03-22T15:15:09+00:00

I'm writing this on a train and apart from the odd lurch of the carriage the words come quickly. Before I began writing, I read emails and skimmed some papers without having to make any particular effort to decode letters and words.

It's very easy to take all this for granted but for many people across the UK reading and writing is a struggle. Often they try hard to hide it but experts estimate that as many as one in six adults in England have difficulty with reading and writing in everyday life.

I find that profoundly shocking and hope that Secrets and Words, a week of dramas for �鶹Լ�� One, commissioned by �鶹Լ�� Learning with Daytime, will help raise awareness of the experiences of people with low levels of literacy and give some of them the confidence to seek help.

�鶹Լ�� Learning has a vision to inspire a life full of learning for all our audiences and we work across the �鶹Լ�� to help create powerful opportunities for learning.

This year, for example, we've collaborated with �鶹Լ�� Two's Stargazing LIVE to inspire people to look up at the night sky and find out more; with �鶹Լ�� Three we co-commissioned the new debate programme Free Speech and, with CBeebies, we've just launched The Lingo Show, which aims to give very young audiences fun with words in different languages. In June, �鶹Լ�� Learning is collaborating with Radio 1 and 1xtra, to create a unique academy for 16-19 year olds in Hackney in the run up to Radio 1's Hackney Weekend.

Bob Hoskins as removal man Alf Hunt, who has difficulty reading and writing in 'On the Move', an adult literacy TV programme from the 1970s.

Whilst we range widely across many different areas of learning, one of our key commitments is to literacy. Here the �鶹Լ�� has a significant track record. In the late Seventies, the series On The Move, starring a young Bob Hoskins, was a catalyst in an extremely effective literacy campaign which helped tens of thousands of people. Before commissioning Secrets and Words I watched some of it again and found myself laughing out loud and unable to get the theme tune out of my head for days - here goes - I'm humming it again!

But the world of broadcasting has moved on and though some of the sketches are as fresh as ever, the formal teaching on screen seemed very dated. For Secrets and Words we've been able to create a range of online specialist resources to complement the series.

It was important to �鶹Լ�� Learning and Daytime that the dramas would stand alone as powerful stories and appeal to the widest possible audience. They are about parenting, friendship, bereavement, or getting a new job, and not just literacy. We wanted to avoid some of the stereotypes and show lives in the round, how people from different backgrounds and for different reasons may need help with reading and writing.

We had terrific support from NIACE, The National Institute of Adult Continuing Education, and Sue Southwood of NIACE was series consultant. Sue would offer advice and correct misconceptions but rather wonderfully understood the dramas had to work as television and not a public information campaign.

Tony Maudsley and Julie Graham in 'Love Letters' from the five part series Secrets and Words.

Secrets and Words is part of a much wider strategy to enhance the reading and writing skills of different audiences in different ways. With CBeebies we've been thinking about the foundations of good literacy and developed The Rhyme Rocket to inspire very young children around poetry and nursery rhymes. And we're working with The Book Trust and other partners to encourage learning around this new series. But I'm still on the lookout for fresh ideas.

Commissioning should be focused on the interests and needs of our audiences but it's not a science and, for me, the literacy project is also very personal.

When I started school I struggled with reading and, at seven, still could not recognise all the letters of the alphabet. I was put in a special group and remember being jeered at in the playground. Luckily my problems were shortlived, family circumstances changed, in the end my little brother taught me the alphabet, and I thrived.

Now I find it hard to imagine a life without all the pleasure and enrichment, let alone the practical benefits, of reading but this early experience has given me some understanding of the embarrassment and shame so many adults face today and I'm mindful how easily my own story might have turned out differently.

I hope Secrets and Words will show people they are far from alone, there's lots of help out there, and no need to keep difficulties with reading and writing a secret.

Abigail Appleton is Head of Commissioning, �鶹Լ�� Learning. Hear more about work in the interview below.

This external content is available at its source: http://soundcloud.com/aboutthebbc/learning

Secrets and Words is a series of stand-alone dramas on the theme of adult literacy and broadcasts daily on �鶹Լ�� One at 2.15pm from Monday 26 to Friday 29 March 2012.
More information about Secrets and Words, The Lingo Show and The Rhyme Rocket can be found on the Media Centre website.
An telephone advice line is available for anyone looking to improve their reading and writing skills. The number is 08000 150 950, or you can text WORDS to 81010.