Media Scape Project
I spent a day at Ulva Ferry primary yesterday learning a bit more about media scape. Ulva and Dervaig primaries last year took part in the launch of the John Murray archive - John Murray wrote some of the first travel guides and to celebrate the schools were invited to write a very modern travel guide. Ulva Ferry primary have written a guide to some of the island of Ulva’s many interesting places - you have a PDA with the media scape called Ulva Walk downloaded to it, as you do the walk when you get a marked spot, a satellite sends your PDA a signal via GPS, it springs into life and you get the pupils of Ulva Ferry giving you a little commentary about where you are standing, as you move away it stops until you get to the next spot.
Funding has been extended to this year to involve all of Mull’s primary schools. I am hoping to have my S3 pupils works with the primaries some of which will have only relatively young pupils next year - in return we will use the primary pupils as local experts and then make up commentaries to deliver the media scapes in French.
I managed to make up a little sample yesterday and was amazed that it actually worked! As long as you have the right map satellites seem to do the rest.
Apart from the technology part of the day it was definitely a Carlsberg inset - if Carlsberg did inset they would probably be like this - stunning views, sunshine and a lovely lunch. As we move into a new timetable (we change on Monday of next week) and Curriculum for Excellence then hopefully this media scape project will start us in the right direction. In the meantime have a look at the views around Ulva Ferry primary - it has 7 pupils and you have to think that they are probably the luckiest pupils anywhere to go to school here.
