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, 麻豆约拍 Radio Wales made it their mission to help keep one aim on track by launching ‘’.

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 , 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.

Map of Share your Welsh project

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 麻豆约拍 Learning decided to take an unorthodox approach to marking .

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 麻豆约拍 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, 麻豆约拍 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麻豆约拍 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 麻豆约拍 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 麻豆约拍 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 麻豆约拍 Learning

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

The morning鈥檚 industry session was for educational publishers and distributors and summarised 麻豆约拍 Learning鈥檚 activities for 2014 and shared further information about Bitesize, iWonder and the strategic priorities for 2015.

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 . I confess I鈥檓 one of them.

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

As part of the 麻豆约拍鈥檚 2015 we鈥檙e exploring ways of doing precisely that. Today we鈥檙e launching an early version of a tool that enables children to make their own games. It鈥檚 a type of digital maker kit we鈥檝e called as it鈥檚 linked to the popular C麻豆约拍 show.

Technobabble is the ideal launch partner for such an innovative project. It鈥檚 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.听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鈥檚 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鈥檚 designed to help children take their first creative steps into the digital world, engage with the characters of a 麻豆约拍 show they love, build their confidence and then inspire them to want to learn more.

You can find out more 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.

In 2015, the 麻豆约拍鈥檚 initiative will shine a light on the world of digital creativity and coding. Why are we doing this? The 麻豆约拍 has already inspired a generation to get passionate about computing. Back in the Eighties the 麻豆约拍 broadcast hundreds of hours of TV, created a new coding language, and gave millions their first taste of computing with the 麻豆约拍 Micro.听 It鈥檚 firmly rooted in our public service commitments; in 2015 we want to capture the spirit of what we did with the 麻豆约拍 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.听 There is also a wide range of devices and programmes to choose from. 麻豆约拍 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.听 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 麻豆约拍 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鈥檙e looking for

As part of Make it Digital, we鈥檇 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 麻豆约拍. This initiative will involve the 麻豆约拍 working together with the market as a public value partnership and is not a call for tenders for the provision of services to the 麻豆约拍. 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.

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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 麻豆约拍 partnerships policy and eligibility to partner, please visit

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 麻豆约拍 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 麻豆约拍's Director-General, Tony Hall, set out his strategy for the 麻豆约拍 in a entitled Where Next? This included plans for the 麻豆约拍 to inspire the next generation to get creative with digital technology and computer coding. As is well known, the 麻豆约拍's mission is to inform, educate and entertain 鈥� hopefully just three of the things happening at today鈥檚 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 麻豆约拍 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 鈥� a lifetime of fun and creativity. And importantly, as an employer of over 500 software engineers at our Salford base, the 麻豆约拍 is always on the look out for the next generation of digital talent to build on the things we鈥檝e already started from our northern hub. Whether that鈥檚 taking the 麻豆约拍鈥檚 iPlayer to the next level, or ensuring you can watch whatever you want, wherever you want it 鈥� just as we鈥檝e done with the live platform 鈥� 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, 麻豆约拍 England

This year's Radio 1 Academy was the biggest social action project on the Radio 1 calendar - a partnership between the station and 麻豆约拍 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 麻豆约拍 Radio 1鈥檚 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 麻豆约拍 Learning: Radio 1鈥檚 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 麻豆约拍 Learning in Salford and Radio 1 in London. I didn鈥檛 know a great deal about 麻豆约拍 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 麻豆约拍 Learning are involved with.

From then, I got hands-on, producing Radio 1鈥檚 Academy sessions, tapping into the expertise of 麻豆约拍 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鈥檛 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鈥檚 why Radio 1鈥檚 Academy is here to help. That's why it works.

麻豆约拍 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鈥檚 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 麻豆约拍 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鈥檚 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听, Kevin Bridges,听,听,听, 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鈥檚 Radio 1鈥檚 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鈥檚 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鈥檛 believe they were given the opportunity to ask their favourite pop stars and DJ鈥檚 questions about how they made it big. Feeling a part of that process is something very special indeed.

Radio 1鈥檚 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.

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

The听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:听Aimee,听Donna, Simon and Ashley from the taster,听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.

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

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

It turns out it鈥檚 a term coined by the internet security expert , to describe someone who鈥檚 revealing everything about themselves online -- 听without a privacy setting to their name. 听 The 麻豆约拍鈥檚 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鈥檚 an issue that鈥檚 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鈥檚 suburban semi. 听That鈥檚 bad enough, but the results of 'digital nudity' can be much more serious than that. 听

The importance of managing your online reputation, and highlighting the risks of oversharing, is the focus of听 鈥� the 麻豆约拍鈥檚 contribution to today 鈥� an international campaign to encourage people to stay safe and responsible online. We鈥檝e developed the campaign in partnership with the , targeting teenagers and younger children who are, of course, growing up in an environment where social media are used routinely but not always wisely. 听

We鈥檙e also aiming to get the message to adults who can influence the way kids behave online. 听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. 听A couple of years later, reporting on the miners鈥� 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. 听Being connected has brought enormous benefits in our working and personal lives, but we have online responsibilities as well as rights 鈥� so Share Take Care is campaigning for us to 鈥榗onnect with respect鈥� and we鈥檝e produced a raft of new resources to help.

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

And in for 麻豆约拍 Learning鈥檚 Webwise site, we set a 鈥榙igital detective鈥� 鈥� aka online security specialist Tom Ilube - onto some willing victims. 听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. 听In the films, fronted by Breakfast and Five Live's Louise Minchin, you鈥檒l see jaws, and then pennies, dropping, when Tom tell them that he鈥檚 found dates of birth, mothers鈥� maiden names, addresses, schools, a partner in his underpants (viewable by a billion people worldwide), a grandfather who鈥檚 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. 听Even the most digitally committed mum now wonders: 听鈥渨hy would I want strangers knowing so much about me?鈥�

And hopefully they鈥檒l remember Tom鈥檚 top tip: whenever you鈥檙e 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鈥檛 do it.听

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Andrew Tomlinson is听Executive Producer, Media Literacy, 麻豆约拍 Learning

Find out more about the via Webwise

The 听has more information on using the internet safely and responsibly

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For the last two years, has run a competition for children to write a mini episode of Doctor Who. The prize was one that money can鈥檛 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.听You can watch the finished film below.听

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 , a week of dramas for 麻豆约拍 One, commissioned by 麻豆约拍 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.

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

This year, for example, we've collaborated with 麻豆约拍 Two's Stargazing LIVE to inspire people to look up at the night sky and find out more; with 麻豆约拍 Three we co-commissioned the new debate programme Free Speech and, with CBeebies, we've just launched , which aims to give very young audiences fun with words in different languages. In June, 麻豆约拍 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.