Consider a one-year project designed to motivate 100 disaffected teenagers back into learning. How many might you reasonably expect to still be involved at the end? Twenty per cent? Forty per cent? Few would expect a 97 per cent success rate.
“I didn’t know what I was going to do,” explains Linsie, a 16-year-old girl who found herself pregnant at 14. “I was asked to leave school when I was five months pregnant. They said they couldn’t do anything for me. The education department gave me home tuition which was difficult because my baby had health problems and had to have several operations. The home tutor wanted my attention, but so did my Son. Guess who won.”
Instead of this, Linsie now has a more flexible approach to learning. She logs into Notschool.net, an online learning community, in the evening when her child, Ryan, is asleep. “I think I’ve learned as much as I would have done at school. There is so much on the site and it is always changing. All I have to do is mail my tutor if I have any questions.”
“Notschool is about taking away the barriers to learning and helping young people discover what interests them,” explains Jean Johnson, Notschool principal. “There are many reasons why young people don’t attend school in the long-term, including illness, pregnancy and bullying.”
Last September, 100 young people located in Glasgow, Essex and Suffolk, were given a fast Internet connection, an iMac computer, a scanner, printer and a graphics package. No longer attending school, they became researchers assigned with the task of investigating whether this experimental project might work for them. Nine months on, 97 remain actively involved. Half have received formal accreditation such as ICCA and City and Guilds certification. Some are studying for their GCSEs.
The Notschool project was masterminded by the Anglia Polytechnic University’s Ultralab research team. Stephen Heppell, the director, has created several virtual communities with the support of software company Oracle. Notschool is the latest addition to the Think.com site, which began as a safe community for children. There are now over 12,000 users.
“In Notschool, we stress creativity and rely on non-textual cues such as sound, pictures and video,” explains Heppell. “Notschool is about community. It is this, not content, which is most important. High-quality content emerges when those taking part in the community are fully engaged.”
Every Notschool researcher has their own Web page and this is their gateway into the community. From this, they email experts with questions, debate with other researchers and display their work.
The Notschool team is staffed with “learning experts” who are professionally qualified teachers. They work together with artists, musicians and other professionals to offer the materials researchers need. For instance, Gary Plumley, a session musician who has played with artists like James Taylor and George Michael, worked with Kris Popat , the online expert for music, to create a series of online saxophone lessons. Gary started with step-by-step instructions on how to put the instrument together. He then chose four notes and built lessons around them. “You’d be amazed at what you can play with just four notes,” beams Heppell. To demonstrate this, he clicks the mouse and a sophisticated saxophone solo is played by David, a researcher. “How cool is that?” he asks.
“Gary has thought it through from the point of view of someone who has never played before,” says Heppell. “The idea of starting with four notes was great for building David’s confidence. David has not only learned to play, he’s begun to write songs.”
“The sax lessons have been so popular with the other researchers that we’re now planning to add keyboard and drum lessons to the site,” adds Johnson.
Notschool has links with the Science Museum, whose staff offer their expertise to researchers. “Notschool is researcher led,” explains the Science Museum’s Lindsey Clark. “They set their own agenda. For instance, they email us with questions about topics such as organic farming or the foot-and-mouth crisis. We then find the information they need. They also debate these issues with one another.”
Notschool has a team of governors who serve as role models to encourage researchers. Typically, they are people who were not successful at school themselves. Colin Salmon is now an actor, appearing on television and on the big screen in films such as James Bond. He was excluded from school in the sixth form. “I lost touch with my friends because they went on to college,” he says. “I spent five years in the wilderness. I found my way back, but it wasn’t easy. That is what Notschool is about - helping kids who are in limbo find the right path for themselves.”
Ann Logan is a freelance writer Notschool: www.notschool.netThink.com: www.think.com
