Workshops

On November 27, 2007 by admin

We design, plan and run creative workshops which are aimed at developing skills and understanding with technology, and develop a strong team-based approach to problem solving.

Our workshops are intended to be highly engaging and interactive, with a lot of practical activities which are hugely enjoyable. The themes for each workshop are carefully chosen and ensure that everyone, regardless of their background and ability, can achieve and have fun whilst learning new things. We have delivered workshops for schools, colleges, universities and commercial organisations, and have worked in partnership with organisations such as the BBC, TVNZ and the British Council, delivering expert sessions for a wide range of participants from all over the world.

Our workshop structure is designed and adapted for all ages and focus on being creative with digital technologies. We specialise in working with young people from the age of 6 through to 19, but we also deliver training sessions to adult groups such as those looking to develop new skills for their workplace, or for departments who need to develop a stonger team-based approach to their work. We focus on getting the right level of challenge and encouraging the right interactions between different people for a real sense of achievement. We aim to encourage people to continue with using the skills and activities that we teach.

The ingredients to this are simple, but only tend to work when managed as a whole.

From a well-structured introduction to the technologies and the tasks, we ask that the groups take ownership of the challenge we set by deciding how they can achieve it best, what tools they will need and negotiating the best way forward to create the final product. Amongst this we are looking for ideas from the groups, and no matter what we consider to be a ‘good way’ of doing things, the group decisions and ideas take precedence. We can learn from the less effective methods just the same as we can from the more effective. Above anything else we are looking to encourage innovation.

Throughout the workshop we ensure there are enough skilled people to support the work of the group and offer suggestions as to how they can best achieve the result the group is looking for. These facilitators will not take over and run the activity or demonstrate the technologies but ask the right questions, make suggestions and help provide the appropriate atmosphere for learning.

We specialise in using simple, easy to use tools and technologies which are robust and reliable. We endeavour to remove the frustration from having equipment that is unreliable or too complicated to understand and make best use of. When necessary, we will organise for the loan of equipment to allow the workshop to continue after our time with the group has finished.

The challenge has to be perfectly matched to the group’s abilities and accommodate all people. We have a lot of good ideas for setting the challenge, but we prefer to work with you to identify the most suitable approach to take. Whether the challenge is to create a small web site for a group who have never used a computer, or to produce a precise piece of video from a group of fifteen year old students, we know that the challenge has to be meaningful and lead to a clear end point where the work can be celebrated.

The showcase for the work is often very public and involves peer evaluation and often a defence in front of an audience. Whatever the event, the sharing and demonstration of the end product is essential to creating a strong sense of purpose for the workshop. Without a sense of purpose the workshop wil only ever have a small impact. If we create the right challenge and have the right showcase and purpose then the workshop will leave a lasting memory with the participants.

Throughout our work we encourage risk taking, fun and enjoyment, teaching the skills in ways that are not traditional and encouraging people to ‘think outside the box’.
Our team are fully CRB checked with at least three years remaining on each certification.

Please contact us to discuss your requirements and to talk about the ways in which we can help you.