Social Lab

The first Diplomas are being taught from September 2008, building up to 14 in different employment-related areas by 2013.  They join a plethora of other lines of learning and qualifications available for young people: GCSEs, A-levels, apprenticeships and other vocational learning.

How can young people understand this complex variety of qualifications available to this such that they are meaningful?

The project will encourage and enable young people to make short films about their experience of their courses and learning, their lives and their aspirations and to upload these films to YouTube.  These films will be a valuable resource for other young people to view when considering their options on their learning journey.  Collectively they will provide a rich resource of user generated content explaining the pros and cons to different learning pathways. Potential students would use these films to inform them about what each option feels like.

Aims

• To give young people an accessible information resources to help them choose what line of learning to take, informed by their peers.
• To create a ‘big-picture’ and apolitical view of the different lines of learning available for young people in the UK, and link to relevant films describing them.
• To encourage young people to create short films of their learning experiences and upload them to YouTube.
• To create a rich resource of films over a breadth of subjects and lines of learning that will help young people make informed education choices for their futures.

Opportunities

• A large number of young people use Bebo, find a way of working with this online platform.
• Capitalise on YouTube’s viral qualities and its ability to spread content quickly.
• Award young people cash prizes or run competitions to encourage good content.
• To create a national portal that could be adapted at a local level providing local specific content and links
• Partner with Government site (DCSF or QCA communications about the Diploma).  DCSF are looking for positive stories about the Diploma.

Pilot project

The pilot project would partner with a consortium delivering the creative and media diploma.  It would offer a project brief for students to document their learning experiences and those of their friends on different pathways.  This would seed the project with a range of good content.

1. Young People-led Research
   Research young people’s questions and challenges with understanding lines of learning.  Investigate what influences a young-person’s decision and identify opportunities for better information and partnerships with existing information and guidance bodies.
2. Develop Creative and Media Diploma brief
   Work with a consortium to write a good project brief for young people to record their and their friends’ experiences of particular lines of learning.
3. Develop (or partner with) online resource
   Build a site that pulls appropriately tagged videos from YouTube to a central location to deliver information and guidance.
4. Testing
   Launch site in partnership with an Information and Guidance organisation and measure web statistics.  Allow users to rate and comment on videos and measure feedback.
5. Promote
   Promote like mad!  Get everyone really excited.