Author: Nick Booth

Control in the classroom or "Zip it" at Speakers Corner

I’ve so far worked in a couple of schools to introduce podcasting. The teachers see the value, even if we are still learning the best ways to integrate with the wider work in the school. Some are hugely enthusiastic. The pupils mostly find it fun, some find it compelling.

But we always have to deal with the battle between control and freedom of expression which characterises school life. Which is why I was pleased to read Howard Rheingold on the DIY Media Blog. In his post he states the benefits very simply:

By showing students how to use Web-based tools and channels to inform publics, advocate positions, contest claims, and organize action around issues that they truly care about, participatory media education can draw them into positive early experiences with citizenship that could influence their civic behavior throughout their lives.

That is exactly what the students at Kings Norton Boys School in Birmingham are starting to do with their podcast the Podminions. The channel not only provides them with a patform to find a voice (or a collection of voices), the microphone is giving them a power boost – encouraging them to get out there and ask questions – query the world and then interpret it for an audience.

At Reaside School in Frankley the pupils combine podcasting with drama – developing self confidence and narrative skills. At the same time they shared their own view of the world – whether it was fear expressed in The Beast or affection in Wendy Scattergood.

Edit: and if you just want to listen to their in song it’s here:

So why tell you all of this? Read more

Conversation – re-newed skill or the lazy man's solution?

I’ve just noticed that the think tank Demos has launched a project on conversation called Talk us into it. You can download a pdf of their first pamphlet on the theme here. It proposes that

by combining what we know about conversations with what we know about the changing nature of community, we have the opportunity to reinvigorate the public realm to engage a wider range of people and give voice to the wider range of opinion on which our society is now built.

Curiously enough this throws me back to a conversation I had a good three years ago with a man called Grahame Broadbelt. At the time we were both working for the education charity Common Purpose – he as a staffer, me as a freelance. After years with CP Graeme had reached a stunningly simple conlusion – that ultimately it is the quality of the conversation which counts. It certainly struck a chord with me.

Almost all the work I have ever done has been improved and enriched by people willing to make the effort to have open, honest and challenging conversations. It is the route to that mental zing which in turn spawns the ideas and the energy to get things done. Of course this is a statement of the obvious, but oddly important in a world which seeks to measure every moment we spend against a tangible outcome.

I recently finished some work with R4R Europe – a vibrant network of active citizens from different European cities. 350 of us had spent three days in Birmingham listening to each other’s experiences, learning from each and building support networks. Everyone there had had a number of those ideal conversations – the ones with zing.

At the end someone stood up and asked where the outcomes of the different work groups would be posted. The R4R organisers replied that this is not the plan, but under pressure they agreed to sort out some bullet points for the different sessions. I absolutely sympathised with their position. To not agree to this almost looked like they couldn’t be bothered to write up the feedback. Yet what counted about this group was not the written feedback. It was the new things churning around in our minds. For each of us this meant an entirely different set of bullet points. This was the real outcome and it was all a product of nothing more complex than good conversation.

With my podcasting I have tried to create situations where conversation can both happen and be recorded. It’s tricky but sometimes works. A great example is when Sir Albert Bore met Natalie Brade. Have a listen, after all most us love to eavesdrop.

One last thing; Grahame Broadbelt isn’t at Common Purpose any more. He is now the Managing Director of Demos.

Steve Jobs for President!

I use Apple computers all the time. It was Apple which popularised podcasting, our listeners get the Grassroots Channel through Apple’s iTunes software and Apple machines and programmes help me with everything from making films to making christmas cards. So Steve Jobs has had quite an impact on my quality of life (thanks Steve).
From time to time I also visit a rather odd site called Longbets.org. It’s a place where people make long term predictions about the world and – to add a little jeopardy to this intellectual game – they bet against each other on the outcomes. It’s not another online gambling site, more an extension of futurology.

So prediction 244 left me a little taken a back:

Steve Jobs will be nominated for President of the United States, by one of the two major political parties in 2012

WOW! Well Steve if you are pondering a presidential punt perhaps this is not the best way to start. The prediction comes from a man who lists among his achievements writing a Brooke Shields tribute song.

Sherez Sarwar – Street Champion for Lozells – Grassroots Channel latest

Sherez Sarwar. Now 18, he’s been involved in improving his community since he was 13. His efforts have helped revive George’s park in Handsworth and he’s become a street champion for his road in Lozells. Sounds like a goody-two-shoes? Well he isn’t and if you listen to this week’s Grassroots Channel podcast you’ll find out why.

Programme links:

Birmingham Community Empowerment Network (dead link)

The BURA Awards for Community Inspired Regeneration (dead link)

Birmingham Street Champions (dead link)