Age of Revolution launches animation competition
The Age of Revolution national educational project has teamed up with historian, broadcaster and author Dan Snow to launch an animation competition for primary and secondary schools. Open to entries until February 14th 2020, the Age of Revolution invites schools to submit a short animation using the title ‘What Does Revolution Mean to Me?’ The animation can be influenced by a revolutionary invention, event, idea or person from the Age of Revolution (1775 – 1848), however, it could also be something revolutionary from another time, inspiration from students’ local history or in their own lives or wider world today. The Age of Revolution also encourages schools to involve objects and artworks from museums, galleries or archives in their animations. This could be achieved through our extensive online Revolutionary collection. A winner and a runner-up for both Primary and Secondary sectors will be chosen in March 2020 by a team of expert judges, including Dan Snow, award-winning Casting Director Kate Rhodes-James, BBC Animation Producer Barry Quinn and Anra Kennedy, Partnerships Director at Culture24. The judges are looking for imaginative, creative animations, which genuinely reflect students’ own ideas and thoughts about ‘Revolution.’ Animation prize for winning schools Winners will be announced at the end of March 2020. The winning entries will be showcased on History Hit TV. The winning schools will also receive £500 to support further cultural and digital learning. The Age of Revolution project aims to inspire and support learning in schools about the extraordinary people, events and ideas of the time and to connect these to the lives of children and young people today, working actively with more than 2,000 UK schools. The project provides bespoke educational materials, multimedia technology and educational and cultural partnerships for children at all Key Stages. Victoria Nielson, CEO for Waterloo 200 says: “The revolution in Europe saw seismic change and upheaval, extraordinary ideas and innovation and radical new ways of thinking, living and working. By asking schools to think about the period in a new way – through the lens of a modern medium like animation – we hope to inspire a new generation of teaching and learning about this important piece of history. Ultimately, we are looking to create a broad and varied collection of learning resources and inspirational work, created from and by, children.” Dan Snow, historian and ambassador for Waterloo 200 added: “We know that children can make some amazing observations, and this competition will allow us all to see an important period of history through a new lens. We’re looking forward to finding out how they see revolution, and how key moments in history are impacting on their lives today. This competition will encourage children, who may have never really thought about revolution before, to talk about it, to appreciate it and to learn from it.” Schools can find out more about the competition and how to enter at The Age of Revolution website. And, to provide food for thought, The Age of Revolution has worked with a primary school to produce an inspirational animation, which showcases what can be created in the classroom. For further information on the animation competition visit www.ageofrevolution.org The Age of Revolution resource brings together objects and artworks from museums and galleries across the UK, together with fascinating facts, information and curriculum-linked ideas to help bring this extraordinary period to life. The Age of Revolution is an educational legacy project from Waterloo 200 – the official body recognised by the UK government to support the commemoration of the Battle of Waterloo during its bicentenary in 2015 and beyond.
reuse4education – like eBay, but better
With another term underway, schools, colleges and universities will have the opportunity to make their budgets go a little bit further thanks to the launch of reuse4education. At a time when funds are constantly being stretched, this free, easy to use online platform allows educational institutions to buy, sell, swap and loan anything from photocopiers and PE equipment, to musical instruments and books, and reuse4education is the only site that is exclusively for education institutions. Accessible on a local, regional, national and international scale, it is hoped that reuse4education will not only help fill resource voids, reduce waste and maximise recycling, but also build a sense of community between users. The service has been created by Mark Abrahams, the CEO of Recycle Your Cycle, an innovative programme run in partnership with HM Prison Service that sees over 300 bikes and more than 100 vacuums being refurbished by UK offenders every month. Mark says, “While buying, selling and recycling furniture, books and clothes on a personal level is common place, this isn’t generally the norm in educational settings, but with this site, it could be. Whether you need a new set of French textbooks or stacks of old classroom chairs are taking up valuable space in your school hall, you can add them to reuse4education, the only site of its kind for the education sector, and we are confident that a solution will be found. He adds, “We believe that by re-using, recycling, upcycling, and sharing equipment, not only will students be educated within budget, but a new community will be created and connections will be made. We know there is a need in the UK for this service, but we also hope reuse4education will help those studying in developing countries where resources are scarce but the passion for learning is alive and kicking. One teacher, says, “As a science teacher in an 11-16 secondary school, I often find myself wanting pieces of equipment for lessons that wouldn’t justify the cost of only being used once a year. I love the idea of sharing such equipment between schools and allowing the students to access even better resources for their learning!” Another teacher comments, “Amazon and eBay are great but searching for text books and resources is hard work, so reuse4education is just fantastic and really, really needed. We have items at school which I know would be of use to someone else when we finish doing certain courses, so it is great to know we can now put them on this site and pass them on.” Users simply sign up and list the equipment they need, as well as the things they no longer require and want to donate to someone else. As well as items being listed on the website, an email is sent out to members once a week as a reminder that a wealth of resources are there for the taking. For more details go to reuse4education