Hulme has gone through many generations of building and demolition. It has been a test bed for innovative urban renewal and environmental approaches. The site of the Birley campus and Brooks building has been a topic of much debate and dreaming over the years. EdLab has inherited various documents which help to tell some of […]
Young Voices performances are children’s choir concerts held in MEN Arena for up to 8,000 kids. The organisation sends out the music, CDs and DVDs of dance moves. Over the years the children in the choir have performed with artists such as Alexandra Burke, Joss Stone, and Gary Barlow as well as raising over 1 […]
Sonic Pi is computer software which creates music with simple lines of code. Designed by a ‘live coding’ enthusiast called Sam Aaron with the support of the Rasberry Pi Foundation, this simple but revolutionary approach has created a new way for young and adults alike to learn coding concepts in an extremely engaging (sometimes compulsive […]
Use the Tinkering tools Scratch and Makey Makey to create engaging after school workshops Scratch is a tried and tested tool for exploratory play and learning of coding ideas via tinkering. It’s genesis in MIT labs has ensured it is well supported with wide adoption and an interesting research base. Impressively, the community of users […]
We often explore many of the issues that face us today through research and spoken debate. In a school setting this may involve presentations from teachers, supplementary reading, questions and a short discussion. Drama games and techniques offer radically different ways to explore contemporary political and personal aspects of our lives. One challenge of the […]
Have you ever wondered why your laptop, phone and gadgets become out of date so quickly? Has it ever frustrated you that mobile devices seem so tricky to repair? How can it be right that only 12% of phones are traded in or reused when users upgrade? What is the effect on our environment? The […]
One Manchester is a housing association that covers parts of South and East Manchester. As well as providing social housing to their customers they also help them with other services including opportunities for learning life skills. Currently these include a job search club, training around service support jobs. They are interested in learning opportunities that […]
The challenge to work with staff promote one off or regular film screenings in the Brook Building. Your key role will be to decide the right films, work out the practicalities and then carry out a plan to promote these free film events to your target audience be it student, staff or local people. Watching […]
Many local community groups are performing vital work but lack the sort of profile and recognition that they deserve. One particular area of interest to address this is the use of maps and timelines to represent successful projects and key moments in their history. The challenge is to identify and work together with a local group […]
This is a time-traveller activity for primary school pupils designed to take them on a journey of historical discovery. We have the resources and spaces to deliver a number of activities spanning different historical periods, and even a leap into the future! Students can access the support of staff and students who have delivered this […]
Using a device called a ‘Makey Makey’ we have designed an activity which engages learners in a process of creative, technological, musical and electronic discovery. This involves designing and painting t-shirts using a mix of fabric paints and conductive paints, and then linking them up to a short circuit via the Makey Makey in order […]
Code Bugs are programmable, and wearable devices which introduce programming and coding to people of all ages. It consists of a screen of leds which can be programmed using an easy to access online interface. See: http://www.codebug.org.uk/. EdLab invites students to design activities or workshops for any age, using the code bug. Juliette Wilson – EdLab “I […]
Home Educator networks provide a lot of opportunities to work with young people and try out new educational experiences. There are particular shortage areas which you can address by creating and offering activities for young people at the MMU or in the venues of local partners like Manchester Libraries.
This challenge involves creating a pop up activity to map local areas of learning or knowledge. This is a fantastic way for people at an event to share a little about themselves and to find out what other knowledge is in the room. Mick shares.. When we used a large scale map at a community learning […]
This Challenge involves identifying a suitable community or university event which will benefit from video coverage. You will be provided with the necessary equipment and training and no prior experience is necessary. Low cost media devices including mobile phones have revolutionised they way we communicate. This challenge takes advantage of this fact to support community […]
