Saturday, 5 May 2012
ICT, UPDATE!!
So I have finally decided the theme of my final piece for my ICT and Visual Communication project! After spending quite a while on my sketch book, I decided to concentrate my final piece on my past, present and future, all of which, I personally believe give me 'a sense of place.' Another aspect of my final piece I plan to include is my family tree, or at least a part of it (as it is so big!) This idea stemmed from the sad death of my Great Aunty Jean over easter; despite the sad circumstances, being surronded by family I love and would never change for the world, really gave me a sense of place and belonging at her funeral. It then dawned on me, that regardless that I'm miles away from any of my family really, as long as I know that they are there, I will also belong. I have really enjoyed creating and working on this ICT project, and am really proud of the final piece.
Friday, 16 March 2012
GUEST LECTURER- Widening Access
In addition, it is fair for one to suggest that a large amount of attention is placed merely on the policy, not its customers, the children. Alice Davies came to inform us on the company, Widening Access. Widening Access is a programme run for students in Wales who “aim to improve access to higher education for those with the potential to benefit from it.” (HEFCW, 2012) Interestingly, a lot of the company’s work is directed at specific target areas including black and ethnic minorities, disabled people, children from low income families, children from deprived areas and those who have been a part of the care system. (Biddle, 2001) claims that poverty often has a profound effect on a student’s achievements and progression, and what happens in many developed countries such as the UK and US is that poverty often goes understimated. Due to this vicious link, higher education is dominated by the higher classes within society. A large amount of research on this connection shows that children from a poor household will often underachieve and ‘fall behind.’ Yet, what is made clear is that early research on this area concentrates on minorities (such as those from an ethnic background); so were researchers testing the effects of poverty or discrimination? (Biddle, 2001) Nonetheless, it is important to note, that perhaps both lead to a poor performance in education.
‘Widening Access’ simply aim to raise both aspiration and attainment of the under-represented, and to encourage progression onto Higher education. To aid this, they run many programs in order to promote a healthy attitude to learning, which will then hopefully lead onto a desire for individuals to increase their educational portfolio when the opportunity to do so arrises. Perhaps the most interesting is a course run for Year twelve students in which they are given the opportunity to study a ‘condensed course’ for four weeks at a University, such as Swansea Metropolitan University, where they live in halls of residence and complete coursework. Passing the course will lead to a reduction in UCAS points if they choose to apply to the University in which they completed the course at. (Smart, 2011) suggests that there are not only financial benefits of Higher education, but research implies that it can also lead to better working conditions and has also been shown to improve your child’s cognitive development; evidently, progression onto Higher education can largely impact an adult’s life, so programmes such as those run by Widening Acess are not only useful, but perhaps vital. What is also helpful about schemes, such as those run by Widening Acess is that its results can be easily measured by factors such as GCSE results and attendance to name a few. (HEFCW, 2012). It is fair to suggest that if ideas, such as those presented by Widening Access were more widely implemented it could lead onto many positive improvements including the promotion of adult education, more part-time and distant learning, and simply, more students in Higher education.
‘Widening Access’ simply aim to raise both aspiration and attainment of the under-represented, and to encourage progression onto Higher education. To aid this, they run many programs in order to promote a healthy attitude to learning, which will then hopefully lead onto a desire for individuals to increase their educational portfolio when the opportunity to do so arrises. Perhaps the most interesting is a course run for Year twelve students in which they are given the opportunity to study a ‘condensed course’ for four weeks at a University, such as Swansea Metropolitan University, where they live in halls of residence and complete coursework. Passing the course will lead to a reduction in UCAS points if they choose to apply to the University in which they completed the course at. (Smart, 2011) suggests that there are not only financial benefits of Higher education, but research implies that it can also lead to better working conditions and has also been shown to improve your child’s cognitive development; evidently, progression onto Higher education can largely impact an adult’s life, so programmes such as those run by Widening Acess are not only useful, but perhaps vital. What is also helpful about schemes, such as those run by Widening Acess is that its results can be easily measured by factors such as GCSE results and attendance to name a few. (HEFCW, 2012). It is fair to suggest that if ideas, such as those presented by Widening Access were more widely implemented it could lead onto many positive improvements including the promotion of adult education, more part-time and distant learning, and simply, more students in Higher education.
Sunday, 4 March 2012
Guest Lecturer, Mike day
Today, our Guest Lecturer, Mike Day gave us a lesson of general Educational policies, with specific concentration on Wales. Firstly, one must consider who education is for, and why it is needed. It is fair to imply that education holds many purposes, one interesting view point is the idea that education can keep people 'safe.' Whereas this is clearly debatable, if you consider the large amount of bullying that takes place in educational setting, on a more long-term scale, this viewpoint is a fair one. (Massachusetts Appleseed Center, 2009) a company in colloboration with legal service provides and education organisers showed that out of 968,000 students who enrolled in the school year, 2006-2007 in schools within Massachusetts, over 64,000 of them were excluded for at least a day. As the title of the report clearly states “Keep kids in class: Breaking the school to Prison Pipeline,” such behaviour as a child could evidently lead to criminal offences within adulthood.
When considering who ‘education’ is for, it is also perhaps vital to consider who should develop it. There appears to be two candidates for this position, politicians and practitioners. Politicians, at first, seem appropriate, they supposedly ‘respresent’ people, and hold the purse strings, yet it is important for us to remember that they are not experts, so do they possess the right skills and knowledge to make accurate decisions? An anlternative option is practitioners, who, unlike politicians, have the ‘background’ to make precise judgements . However, often, you will find that practitioners often see the subject from their perspective, and are unable to take a wider view. A resolution to this is perhaps a ‘meeting of minds,’ in which strengths of the two are used.
One must also wonder, where an educational policy should develop. Should it be on a more global scale, such as a UK level, or perhaps a more local scale such as the school specifically or perhaps its Governing body (or even the choices in between, such as the Welsh Government or a Local Authority. If we consider educational policies on a grander scale, such as UK level, even though standards have been rising, many problems still desperately need to be addressed. ( Machin and Vignoles, 2006) highlight the fact that British education, in the Post-war period there have been several attempts to reinvent the UK educational system. Concerns including the poor ‘stay-on-rate’ and exam achievement were at their highest in the 1980s and 1990, yet, despite improvements since then on, many schools are still underachieving. It is perhaps in schools like these that a Governing body would be more useful and perhaps more successful. It is fair to suggest that a Governor, will accurately know, specifically, what is needed for their school to improve. The (BBC, 2003) shows that the Governing body works closely with the head teacher and collectibely work together as a team in order to better the school in which they work. However, one could go on to say that allowing each Governing body (of which there are many in the UK) to generate their own Educational policy could perhaps be very costly.
When considering who ‘education’ is for, it is also perhaps vital to consider who should develop it. There appears to be two candidates for this position, politicians and practitioners. Politicians, at first, seem appropriate, they supposedly ‘respresent’ people, and hold the purse strings, yet it is important for us to remember that they are not experts, so do they possess the right skills and knowledge to make accurate decisions? An anlternative option is practitioners, who, unlike politicians, have the ‘background’ to make precise judgements . However, often, you will find that practitioners often see the subject from their perspective, and are unable to take a wider view. A resolution to this is perhaps a ‘meeting of minds,’ in which strengths of the two are used.
One must also wonder, where an educational policy should develop. Should it be on a more global scale, such as a UK level, or perhaps a more local scale such as the school specifically or perhaps its Governing body (or even the choices in between, such as the Welsh Government or a Local Authority. If we consider educational policies on a grander scale, such as UK level, even though standards have been rising, many problems still desperately need to be addressed. ( Machin and Vignoles, 2006) highlight the fact that British education, in the Post-war period there have been several attempts to reinvent the UK educational system. Concerns including the poor ‘stay-on-rate’ and exam achievement were at their highest in the 1980s and 1990, yet, despite improvements since then on, many schools are still underachieving. It is perhaps in schools like these that a Governing body would be more useful and perhaps more successful. It is fair to suggest that a Governor, will accurately know, specifically, what is needed for their school to improve. The (BBC, 2003) shows that the Governing body works closely with the head teacher and collectibely work together as a team in order to better the school in which they work. However, one could go on to say that allowing each Governing body (of which there are many in the UK) to generate their own Educational policy could perhaps be very costly.
Sunday, 26 February 2012
Guest Lecturer, number 6
On the 21st of February, our sixth guest lecturer, Graham Allen, who is the Environmental Manager of Swansea Metropolitan University came in to talk to us. Unfortunately, I did not grasp what he was talking about, nor did I understand the relevance of his topic either. Nonetheless, he encouraged us to research certain topics. One which sounded particularly interesting was Agenda 21. Agenda 21 is a global 'plan of action' yet is also apparent on more national and local scales and relates to any area in which humans impact the environment. This plan has been adopted by more than 178 Governments. This plan elevates nature above man, and this 40 chapter document which basically could 'control the world' according to some. There are many objectives to the plan, including:
- The abolition of private property
- Restructure of family unit
- An increasing limitation and restriction to mobility and opportunity.
In the early 1990's, many believed that Mother nature's Earth should not have been 'scratched,'human beings should have been concentrated into 'zones,' and educations should have been concentrated on the environment. However, clearly these are idealistic ideas, yet should the United Nations consider this pathway, like they should of? (Some suggest.)
,
During the first World Public meeting on culture, held in Alegre (2002) it was decided to draw up a document for cultural policies, and so Agenda 21 was born. It is it the first global document of its kind.
- The abolition of private property
- Restructure of family unit
- An increasing limitation and restriction to mobility and opportunity.
In the early 1990's, many believed that Mother nature's Earth should not have been 'scratched,'human beings should have been concentrated into 'zones,' and educations should have been concentrated on the environment. However, clearly these are idealistic ideas, yet should the United Nations consider this pathway, like they should of? (Some suggest.)
,
During the first World Public meeting on culture, held in Alegre (2002) it was decided to draw up a document for cultural policies, and so Agenda 21 was born. It is it the first global document of its kind.
Guest Lecturer, number 6
On the 21st of February, our sixth guest lecturer, Graham Allen, who is the Environmental Manager of Swansea Metropolitan University came in to talk to us. Unfortunately, I did not grasp what he was talking about, nor did I understand the relevance of his topic either. Nonetheless, he encouraged us to research certain topics. One which sounded particularly interesting was Agenda 21. Agenda 21 is a global 'plan of action' yet is also apparent on more national and local scales and relates to any area in which humans impact the environment. This plan has been adopted by more than 178 Governments. This plan elevates nature above man, and this 40 chapter document which basically could 'control the world' according to some. There are many objectives to the plan, including:
- The abolition of private property
- Restructure of family unit
- An increasing limitation and restriction to mobility and opportunity.
In the early 1990's, many believed that Mother nature's Earth should not have been 'scratched,'human beings should have been concentrated into 'zones,' and educations should have been concentrated on the environment. However, clearly these are idealistic ideas, yet should the United Nations consider this pathway, like they should of? (Some suggest.)
,
During the first World Public meeting on culture, held in Alegre (2002) it was decided to draw up a document for cultural policies, and so Agenda 21 was born. It is it the first global document of its kind.
- The abolition of private property
- Restructure of family unit
- An increasing limitation and restriction to mobility and opportunity.
In the early 1990's, many believed that Mother nature's Earth should not have been 'scratched,'human beings should have been concentrated into 'zones,' and educations should have been concentrated on the environment. However, clearly these are idealistic ideas, yet should the United Nations consider this pathway, like they should of? (Some suggest.)
,
During the first World Public meeting on culture, held in Alegre (2002) it was decided to draw up a document for cultural policies, and so Agenda 21 was born. It is it the first global document of its kind.
Wednesday, 15 February 2012
ICT AND VISUAL COMM PROGRESS
Oh dear God. Just found out that our ICT project has actually got a theme, and not something we just get to choose. Initially very annoyed that we have only just been told about this, finding out it was the importance of place, relieved me a little. My first project idea was the influence of identity, which quite nicely ties in with the importance of place. Still, I think I may have to buy a new sketchbook and start over again. Never mind!!! GUESS IT IS JUST ONE HUGE LEARNING EXPERIENCE. In class, we discussed what we consider an important place to be. Yes, it can be a physical thing, yet we also quickly realised it could be about a mental place and your emotions. I'm going to research some artists and see how it develops. I think it will be something that develops as it goes along!!
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