Category: Blog

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Networking and best practice at 4D creative

4dexhange2

Last week we welcomed practitioners from our network of schools for the second 4D exchange of the 2014-15 school year.

4D exchange is a regular event where teachers working in 4D immersive spaces can exchange ideas, best practice and resources with each other. It’s also an opportunity to hear from the 4D team about new tips and tricks that will help you make the most out of your immersive space.

The afternoon featured a huge range of topics including examples of use from practitioners, a demo of our new software, a presentation on a PHD project researching immersive learning and discussions on the next batch of immersive content 4D will be developing.

Explore a gallery of the event below:

As ever, it was fantastic to meet with creative and enthusiastic practitioners who use their immersive spaces for a wide variety of activities. These conversations also help shape how we develop our software and immersive content.

Our next 4D exchange will take place in February 2015 and all the details will be online soon. If you have an immersive space in your school, then we’d love for you to join us.

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BETT award nominees!

BETT awards

4D creative are proud to announce their nomination for a prestigious BETT award and attendance at the 2015 exhibition.

BETT is the world’s leading learning technology event and every year welcomes over 30,000 educators looking for new technologies that will enhance teaching and learning. This year BETT takes place on the 21st – 24th January at the Excel Centre in London.

4D applied to be part of the BETT futures programme this year and were successful after our entry was reviewed by an expert panel all looking for edtech start-ups with the most innovative solutions to today’s classroom challenges. This means at the exhibition 4D will be with 29 other forward looking companies in a ‘Futures zone’ where practitioners can explore the very latest tools to enhance their work.

Running alongside the exhibition is the BETT awards where we have been nominated in the Digital Devices category for our immersive spaces and bespoke software. This is a huge honour for us and it’s fantastic the impact of immersive learning has been recognised by the judging panel. Fingers crossed we get another trophy for the office!

The build up for the show has already begun with stand designs already being mocked up by our always creative team. We’re determined that our stand is a real show stopper and will be a favourite with the visitors to the event. If you’re attending BETT 2015, then be sure to come and find the 4D creative stand in the BETT futures zone! Keep your eyes on this blog too as we will be updating you with all the news in the run up to the event and the awards.

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Showcasing portable immersive experiences in dementia care

tech kit

Each year Greater Manchester West Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust invites staff members to pitch new ideas in a Dragons Den style event and this year 4D were invited to showcase our immersive approaches to dementia care.

4D were invited by occupational therapist Hayley Wilkinson to join her pitch to the Dragons made up of the Trust’s Chair Alan Maden, Chief Executive Bev Humphrey, Directory of Operations and Nursing Gill Green, Director of Development and Performance Neil Thwaite and Deputy Director of Service and Business Development, Mary Lee.

Hayley is looking to use the 4D tech hub in her work with people living with dementia to inspire conversation and create calming, relaxing environments.  Her aim is to use our mobile tech hub around the ward she works on and the flexibility of the kit means it can be used in a huge number of ways with a variety of people.

The Dragons Den pitch gave us five minutes to present on how immersive experiences could impact positively across the Trust. Hayley explained passionately how it would hugely benefit her work and team 4D used the kit to turn the Dragons Den into an immersive space during the pitch. The presentation was received well with the Dragons asking Hayley and the 4D team lots of questions ranging from day to day use to training to costings.

For 4D, it’s fantastic that more and more practitioners are seeing the huge potential in creating immersive experiences for people living with dementia. We’ve already seen great results through our trial project with Mersey Care NHS trust and we’re confident that more spaces will be in use soon, hopefully including our mobile kit at Greater Manchester West Mental Health Trust.

Watch this short video to see the impact of our portable immersive kit:

If you’d like to find out more about our work with people living with dementia, get in touch with the 4D creative team.

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4D workshops – empowering staff and inspiring pupils

Bowlee_training

This week we’ve been running creative workshops and staff training with a number of schools to enable inspiration and creativity.

At 4D we work hard to ensure that each of our schools get the very best from their immersive space and can create memorable, inspirational learning experiences. This may start as basic technical training on our 4D create software but also includes best practices for planning immersive lessons and how den making can enhance a space even further.

This week the 4D team have:

  • Visited our first ever immersive space to upgrade their computer system to the new 4D create software and trained new staff on using the immersive space.
  • Spent two days with Bowlee Park Primary looking at their recently installed immersive space and how combining low tech with high tech through den making can inspire young minds. The feedback has been fantastic and staff were amazed at the impact on their pupils engagement and vocabulary.
  • Run a 4D Pop Up workshop at Brentwood School to showcase how our portable immersive space can be used for pupils of all ages and abilities.

Explore our training experiences further with our photo gallery:

If you’d like a den making workshop at your school or want to find out how immersive learning could raise engagement and achievement at your school, contact the 4D team.

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University of Manchester dementia insight event

stoddart2

Last week members of the 4D team attended a lecture hosted by the University of Manchester looking at dementia, the search for a cure and best care practices.

Hosted by NHS England’s Dementia Director, Professor Alistair Burn, the panel of guests shared a huge amount of insight and knowledge.

Heledd haf Griffiths and Professor Nigel Hooper are two biologists researching the causes of dementia and shared much on what they’ve found so far and the next steps. Professor Hooper shared with us the rate at which dementia is growing and then looked at the biology behind the disease. Professor Hooper’s colleague Heledd shared her families journey with dementia which led to her becoming determined to help find a cure.

The next part of the lecture looked at dementia therapies and we heard from Jacqueline Kindell, a PhD student at UoM’s School of Psychological Sciences. Jacqueline’s work is focused on best care practices and how to help those people living with dementia. The emphasis here is on familiarity and creating environments that support and help nurture the patient.

Everyone in the team got a lot from attending the evening and it also reinforced many of the ideas we are trying to implement in our immersive spaces for people living with dementia; a person centred approach that looks to engage and inspire.

If you’d like to find out more about our immersive, multi-sensory approaches to dementia care then just get in touch. We’d love to tell you more.

You can also find out more about this event at the University of Manchester’s website.

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Intergenerational Immersive Experiences. Register to find out more.

Intergenerational

Our immersive experiences are having a huge impact on young people’s learning and those with dementia. As such, 4D are uniquely positioned to offer a new project looking at intergenerational immersive experiences.

This is a project that will use immersive approaches to blend cross-curricular teaching and learning with the development of a dementia-friendly community

We’ve identified a number of funding streams that would support this project and are now looking for expressions of interest from primary and secondary schools, as well as health care provisions.

For full details and to register your interest, visit our intergenerational experiences page here.

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Dementia Special Interest Day with Disabled Living

stoddart1

This week we were delighted to be invited by Disabled Living to run a seminar about our immersive approaches to dementia care at their Dementia Special Interest day.

The event, which could have sold out over three times, welcomed a wide range of delegates from carers to occupational therapists to those managing care home provisions across the North West.

The line up of speakers was also wide reaching including those from the Alzheimer’s Society and Dementia Friends.

Our hour long seminar was built around how 4D have developed an immersive approach to dementia care. To give the delegates an instant understanding, our mobile kit was set up with three areas of projection complemented with lighting and sound instantly transforming the seminar room.

Images and videos were displayed and then delegates invited to explain how they felt, how the space had changed and how it could be used in their work.

There was also chance to explore some examples of how immersive experiences have led to a positive breakthrough in communication with some people or been used to calm a distressed individual.

It was a really positive day and we took much from it. At 4D, we are still on a journey of understanding as we develop a person centred immersive approach to dementia care and being able to talk, share and listen with others is always a really valuable experience.

If you’d like to come and explore more about our approaches and experience an immersive space for yourself, we’re hosting two open days in the coming months. Full details can be found here and we’d love to welcome you to our offices at MediaCityUK.

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Latest news on the SEND reforms & more resources to share

heaton1

With the start of September nearly upon us, the SEND reforms will soon be in place. From September 1st, schools will be expected to have clear systems for identification, assessment, monitoring and securing appropriate support for children with special educational needs.

To support our network of schools, we have been compiling lots of useful information on the 4D blog to give you a variety of tools and resources to enable a smooth transition.

New Resources

The Special Needs Jungle website has created four really useful flow charts in partnership with the DfE which you can download. These have been created as tools to support parents but are really relevant to everyone working in an education setting.

In a really creative and straightforward way, SNJ have outlined the SEN system process. The four charts cover a variety of processes including:  SEN support, when you feel your child’s needs are more serious, when assessment is agreed and where there may be an issue that needs resolving.  Follow this link to visit SNJ and to download the resources. 

Secondly the SEND Gateway from NASEN has lots of great resources worth bookmarking too. As an example these key requirements for updating your school SEN policy is a really useful guide and there’s lots more to explore.

Other Resources previously shared: 

  • The new SEND Code of Practice can be downloaded from the government website here.
  • Whilst a school leaders slide pack is available here and contains key information to help headteachers introduce new practices to staff and governors.
  • There is also guidance notes which you can download here.

What can 4D creative offer you to support the implementation of this legislation?

Within the 4D team, there are a range of skills and knowledge from across the disability agenda. Our operations manager, Colette Gollcher also works on behalf of the Council for Disabled Children supporting local authorities in their preparation for these reforms. We have a variety of workshops for you to consider:

  • A full briefing session to understand the upcoming reforms to enable you to support your children, young people, their families, your staff and governors.
  • A workshop explaining how to utilise an immersive space for person centred annual reviews
  • A day of live planning for a group of young people and their families who may be starting the journey in education health and case plans
  • Learn how to develop immersive content relevant to preparing children and young people for adulthood
  • A bespoke workshop designed around your ideas and intended outcomes. Just get in touch to find out more.

If you’d like to find out more about an immersive space being installed at your school contact Louise on
louise@4dcreative.co.uk

Alternatively, to discuss a workshop on the SEND reforms, please call on 0844 414 2595 or email: hello@4dcreative.co.uk

Finally keep up to date with all our news by following us on Twitter and signing up to our newsletter below.

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The Power of Play! National Play Day 2014

denmaking

National Play Day is being celebrated across Britain today. The annual event now in it’s 27th year was set up to celebrate the power of play for all ages and abilities. The aim is not only to have a day of fun and adventure but also highlight how important play is in the development of young people especially at school.

Coinciding with today’s events is the release of a report from Tim Gill “A review of the wider impact of play initiatives”.  Whilst Gill focuses largely on outdoor play there is much to learn about what goes on inside the classroom or home too.

Playing leads to a wide range of interconnected beneficial outcomes for children. These include:

  • Cognitive development (including language skills, problem solving and independent learning skills, self-efficacy, gaining perspective, representational skills, memory and creativity)

  • Physical health and development (including physiological, cardiovascular and fine and gross motor skills development as well as increased physical activity);

  • Mental health, happiness and emotional well-being (including building confidence, improved child- parent attachments, coping with stress, tackling anxieties and phobias, aiding recovery in therapeutic contexts, and alleviating the symptoms of ADHD for some children);

  • Social development (including working with others, sharing, negotiating and appreciating others’ points of view);

  • Risk management and resilience through experiencing and responding to unexpected, challenging situations. 

At 4D, our work started from den making and creating immersive spaces out of parachutes and umbrellas! The aim has always been to take young people on journey, setting them challenges, exploring new ideas and creativity.   Light, sound and projection has taken the initial den making ideas to the next level but is still something we encourage! Our co-founder and creative director Cathy Cross has been blogging some of her recent den making adventures here which is well worth a read.

We’ve seen how immersing young people in new experiences has improved language skills, encouraged participation and inspired peer to peer learning. Come and explore our case studies page to find out more.

Our design team would love to look at how we could work you to install a new creative classroom in your school, ready to immerse your pupils in their learning and develop new approaches to teaching. All of our immersive spaces come with a full training package so your staff are able to creatively use this new tool to get the very best from every pupil at your school. To find out more just call our office on 0844 414 2595  or email the team via our contact page. 

Read more about Play Day at their website here or this news story from the Telegraph contains lots of further information.

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SEND reforms – latest news and support documents

Hebden

As we have been covering on the 4D Blog, the upcoming SEND reforms could have an impact on practice in your school. From September 1st, schools will be expected to have clear systems for identification, assessment, monitoring and securing appropriate support for children with special educational needs.

The latest news is that as of yesterday, these reforms have now been approved by the House of Lords. Following this, the House of Commons has today voted to ratify the Committee’s decision. The SEND Code of Practice is therefore now approved by Parliament.

Information to download and understand
With lots to consider, we have compiled some key documents below which you can download. Just follow the relevant links. These resources are hosted elsewhere so if the links have been moved please let us know by sending Pete in our team a quick email. 

  • The new SEND Code of Practice can be downloaded from the government website here.
  • Whilst a school leaders slide pack is available here and contains key information to help headteachers introduce new practices to staff and governors.
  • There is also guidance notes which you can download here.

What can 4D creative offer you to support the implementation of this legislation?

Within the 4D team, there are a range of skills and knowledge from across the disability agenda. Our operations manager, Colette Gollcher also works on behalf of the Council for Disabled Children supporting local authorities in their preparation for these reforms. We have a variety of workshops for you to consider:

  • A full briefing session to understand the upcoming reforms to enable you to support your children, young people, their families, your staff and governors.
  • A workshop explaining how to utilise an immersive space for person centred annual reviews
  • A day of live planning for a group of young people and their families who may be starting the journey in education health and case plans
  • Learn how to develop immersive content relevant to preparing children and young people for adulthood
  • A bespoke workshop designed around your ideas and intended outcomes. Just get in touch to find out more.

If you’d like to find out more about an immersive space being installed at your school contact Louise on
louise@4dcreative.co.uk

Alternatively, to discuss a workshop on the SEND reforms, please call on 0844 414 2595 or email: hello@4dcreative.co.uk

Finally keep up to date with all our news by following us on Twitter and signing up to our newsletter below.

 

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