Friends,
Many of you have asked for a decent list of the projects that at heppell.net Lys and Stephen - with a host of collaborators, friends and partners - are engaged in. Quite a lot of our work is short term inputs, policy steers, government advice, corporate advice, conference events and the like, and we haven't shown any of that here, but below are some of the longer term activities.
Many also ask what decides us to do one project but reject others (the No:Yes ratio is probably 10:1 at the moment). Reading the list below should give you some clues - it does all join up if you share our big picture! Just think 21st century...
project: Be Very Afraid
Our annual get together of learners to show policymakers and key influencers just what they are up to with ICT in learning. Runs in BAFTA, with BAFTA. If you look at just one thing, look at this.
status: completed BVA 5, videos and DVD ready for Jan 09 - exploring overseas versions
website: www.heppell.net/bva
project: LP+
Stephen is executive chairman and LP+ is growing rapidly developing some very cool learning platform software, but doing a lot more besides on top of it - overseas collaborations include China and now India.
status: all going rather well, bit of a dream team assembling of both users and developers.
website: www.learningpossibilities.net/
project: horizonTAL
which is a horizon scanning initiative for the UK government's DCSF. By (much cherished) invitation we assemble leading global voices to discuss hot future topics and feed back policy futures advice - up in the North Tower of London's iconic Tower Bridge. All captured in a mass of video snippets.
status: explorations of (1) tech futures, (2) cognitive enhancement, (3) future economics of learning have been covered, more to come. Fascinating video snippets.
website: www.heppell.net/horizontal
project: CEMP
Stephen is a professor at Bournemouth University, based at the wonderful Centre for Excellence in Media Practice CEMP. Chair is in New Media Environments and we have some exciting projects starting including a look with Wellcome at games and play and a collaborative Prof D in new media industries. CEMP have created the issues debating tool for horizonTAL
status: loving it
website: www.cemp.ac.uk
project: the Inclusion Trust / Notschool
Stephen always says that of the things he set up he is most proud of Notschool.net and the remarkable progress its young people make. In its first decade Notschool.net has embodied personalisation, engagement, learner voice, bespoke accreditation, and so much more. This year saw our first 1st class honours university graduate (well done Kate!) - although many go on successfully to university. We are wishing we could help more than 1,000 or so a year. 50,000 is possible if anyone cared enough about the rapidly increasing number of lost boys and lost girls out there. The Inclusion Trust has a number of other projects too - including EU funded research and a halfway-between-Notschool-and-real-school project. Stephen is chair of trustees of the Inclusion Trust.
status: projects springing up worldwide - US, to EU. Charity is encouragingly solvent!
website: www.inclusiontrust.org
project: Mumology / Mum TV
With CEMP we are just beginning the exploration of a dedicated media channel - including new media of course, for young mums. The horizon scanning work should that the biggest contribution to cognitive enhancement, ahead of pills and genes, is great parenting. Rather than wait, we are doing something about it. Parenting by parents for parents, mediated by science and health science, accredited - we think we can graduate them in mumology so to speak.
status: Watch this space.
website: www.mumology.net
project: LEARNOMETER
the main push now is towards getting (lots of) schools globally engaged in collaborative Prof D doctorates and we look like having substantial cohorts in Tasmania, Kent, Wales, West London, China and elsewhere. The goal is thousands of schools each exhibiting annually their shared research findings about what was effective for their communty's goals and with a complex mix of metrics. Our talented friends at Cleveratom have built the metric software.
status: global roll-out begun
website: www.learnometer.net
project: Florida lab school project
with Fielding Nair International (Stephen is part of their team) we are thrilled to be really pushing out the boundaries of learning innovation in Florida with a lab school development in the grounds of the University of Florida, one of the 5 largest universities in the US. Florida has some distance to climb in the US education rankings, so this is particularly exciting because of the potential progress as the nation picks up the pieces from the testing mad wreckage of "no child left behind".
status: project just awarded
website: http://www.fieldingnair.com/
project: National Design standards in The Emirate
also with Fielding Nair International we are creating National Design Standards that will apply to all 400+ schools in the Emirate. Given the rapid progress of the economy, learning and school building there, and the level of ambition, this work is very significant.
status: progressing
website: http://www.fieldingnair.com/http://www.fieldingnair.com/
project: GEMS
Stephen has said for ages it is only a matter of time before some significant global providers really start to build global learning organisations across the spectrum of learner's and nations' needs. GEMS is the first and are building schools everywhere - Stephen is the advisor for the role, and indeed roll out, of technology for learning. Hand held is really going to matter! Some very good people indeed are involved; founder and chairman Sunny Varkey has a very sound big picture view of all this. "Learn, Aspire, Be" as GEMS says.
status: rapid development.
website: http://www.gemseducation.com/
project: Balfour Beatty partnership
BB are the only company with their role that we are partnered with. We have all sorts of projects on the go and Stephen advises them across a broad spectrum, from Knowsley to Washington. Amongst other exciting things we are exploring the prospect of turning the collapsed retail space at the heart of an economically challenged city into a full urban campus - revitalising an urban community through learning.
status: ongoing, significant!
website: http://www.balfourbeatty.com/bby/markets/education/
project: Cayman Isles education service
when the newly elected government of the Cayman Isles asked for support in a re-examination of their whole education service, including rebuilding all the secondary schools, the answer had to be "yes" (although we were desperately busy then, as now). In the two years since then huge progress has been made - a new curriculum, new models of CPD, changing structures and organisation, new teacher ed curriculum (soon!)... so much and, of course, the new schools too. A truly significant national project, largely steered and developed by the Cayman Isles themselves (i.e. not awash with World Bank consultants). It is establishing a very replicable model of progress. A LOT of people are watching this project worldwide, with good reason.
Stephen is there termly.
status: new schools rising up from the bedrock right now
websites: http://buildingcaymansfuture.blogspot.com/
http://buildingexcellencetogether.blogspot.com/
project: Cayman Isles computer bus "to the future"
It is invidious really pick just one project from everything we are involved with in the Cayman Isles, but Stephen is really trying to drive this one along (no pun intended!). Alex Townsend's wonderful Computerbus project on the Isle of Man, which we have had some passing involvement with for a decade, is the model and Alex is very much the Grandad of the whole project. Cable and Wireless through their Caribbean brand LIME, are sponsors and the intention is to get a big yellow (but repainted) schoolbus on every country in the Caribbean, all filled with flat screen iMacs and driving from community to community engaging everyone in the excitement of where 21st century learning is going.
status: barely begun - starts on the Cayman Isles, grows if/when that is demonstratively effective.
website: http://www.computerbus.com/
project: Kent Schools
Stephen has put in quite a few days in Kent, helping steer the many clusters of schools engaged in Kent's Building Schools for the Future projects - Kent is the UK's biggest local authority with many hundreds of schools. The diversity is exciting and some of the new school designs are properly ambitious 21st century blueprints.
status: Kent is moving rapidly
website: http://www.kent.gov.uk/education-and-learning/schools-and-sixth-form/schools-for-future/
project: Catholic Schools around Sydney
As the time with Kent closes, Stephen has agreed to put time into a similar project supporting the many schools managed by the Catholic Education Office in Sydney. He was talked into this, of course, by heppell.net's good friend Greg Whitby, Director of Schools there.
status: project just begun
website: http://www.ceo.syd.catholic.edu.au/
project: BBC learning layer for the www
At heppell.net, and indeed before, we have worked with the BBC in one way or another - and care deeply about public service broadcasting. Currently stephen is working with the BBC on a very blue sky project to add a functional learning layer to the whole web, but especially to moving media.
status; watch this space
website: not yet - way too early
project: Lightwave
Stephen was something like the "father" of LIGHTWAVE 08 - the wonderful festival of light in Dublin based around the Science Gallery at Trinity College that engaged so many. Following the "unprecedented success and international acclaim" of the "phenomenal inaugural show" - the whole thing is back in January 09. We don't have any input to this any more - it has a life of its own, but we are still rather proud of it, <smug> given the general cynicism and the "it-can't-work"ness of some comments before the original version launched to such acclaim </smug>.
status: an annual fixture now
website: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=EvqW7OqShj8
project: BETT Learning Elsewhere
as ever, with our friends at EMAP (and kind sponsors: LP+, SMART, Steljes and Tribal), Lys and Stephen have a significant stand at the heart of BETT, London's biggest-in-Europe learning technology show. As usual, we will be showcasing tomorrow's hot topic in learning with ICT. This year the hot topic is Learning Elsewhere. See many of you there, hopefully. Stand will be packed as usual and with real children doing real tasks, having real fun!
status: currently an annual fixture
website: http://www.bettshow.com/page.cfm/link=115/GoSection=2
project: BAFTA archive
we do lots of things with BAFTA, but a very-long-term project has been to get the Archive up and available and a LOT of nagging went into this initially... Now though, a very active Archive Committee (which Stephen is also on) are making it all happen properly. Hurrah!
status: sample material now available on-line, processes in place
website: http://www.bafta.org/archive/
project: reputation engine
For two years, with some really smart folk at Edexcel, led by managing director Jerry Jarvis, and now also with Stephen Barber who is senior experience architect at LBi, Stephen has been exploring a global solution to many of the shortcomings of building your reputation solely from accreditation and interviews, solving the portfolio problem and more. Very, very exciting progress, much to report publicly in 2009. Watch this space.
status: still at confidential stage - two year's progress though.
website: still at confidential stage
actual results may vary. some projects may contain nuts
Other news: Stephen has left the board of Teachers.TV, joined the board of Skillset (the UK wide Sector Skills Council for Creative Media), is back on the BAFTA Film Committee, is finally starting some visits to the University of Wales as visiting professor, and we are still advising a number of governments and organisations too.
This list doesn't include a number of embryonic projects- like Dale Farm - and a host of committees and advisory activities... but it'll do for now!
Quite a year, roll on 2009...
Lys and Stephen
last updated Sunday, January 11, 2009 9:54 AM