does too much information really help?

I had some time today to get together an explanation of a new qualification that will be offered this time next year. it is all very exciting. but I have realised that the way in which I have started to gather, process and present information (over the last few years) is incredibly long winded and counter productive.

instead of reading something, hopefully understanding it, quietly thinking about it for a while then writing the presentation testing it then making any changes or additions then either presenting it or passing it on to some-one else to to it in which ever format suits the idea best. lately more especially today I have found myself reading and scanning through many different .pdf files websites, looking at other opinions, even 'legally' using sections of official comment to reinforce the work I am trying to champion. so in short spending hours on the internet for no reason.

so today I am in the position of having 40 or 50 pages of information (text) some of it very good, some complete nonsense all to produce a 5-10 max minute presentation. is this the information overload that we have heard of or just a form of laziness. we are so geared to finding stuff from wikipedia (as I have for the overload description), using other people web sites and search engines in the belief that others know better.(they often don't). but I, as many others use the internet as our first port of call for everything even the things were are supposed to be specialists in, not a great idea.

luckily I had an enforced break today (I had to teach!) during that time I was able to consider. by watching the way some students process information only listening to the stuff they need, using the software programmes they think fit the purpose, getting rid of stuff that is superfluous. as well as students who were absolutely stuck with more information than they will every be able to process never mind get into an order. it made me think 'forget the many differing internet opinions/text simply present the information clearly'. shame this seems to be the way I find out the bleedin' obvious!

its back to 'the hub' >> I am still trying

I haven't given up on 'the hub', I have mentioned it on this blog a few times.
it is a silly idea really, not because it wouldn't work as I believe it would but it would be just too expensive, and unless created in its entirety it would not have the same impact.

I don't now why but it has continued to make me think about the use of space in an educational situation and will still for a long time yet.
I have clearly seen that students or learners of any age react to their surrounding in such different ways but one thing they all do it respect something that had been designed with their use and only their use in mind, rather than something that just looks good.

futurelab have some really good stuff on their web site but it still follows the classroom model, in the original sense. however I like their (now unfortunately closed) invitation for ideas to create a better working and study space for learners.

I think what I am trying to say is that students are led to believe that a classroom must be quiet and the teacher speaks and the students listen the process is then repeated over and over for an hour. then they move on to someone else (another teacher) doing the same thing in another room that looks the same. in the later years of education I believe it is not really preparing them for employment or further vocational study because the situation is so different to the work place.

I know when I am studying I usually like it to be quiet but I well remember not to far from the college I graduated from there was a pub full of books looking as much like an old book shop or library as it did a pub.

it did get very lively in the evening yet within that environment some of us read books, often books we would not have even given a second chance in a way that was alien to us but good fun.

that said I want to make it absolutely clear that I am not advocating student of any age drinking alcohol in classrooms.

I do think that consideration to different solutions has to be found. just consider most of the larger waterstones book shops have a costa coffee shop in them to encourage browsers to spend more time thinking reading and in the end buying, a result as far as retail.

here are some current educational space practitioners web sites to have a look at if you are interested further.
ncaltd.com
tq.com
jisc.ac.uk

to be continued....................

'the hub' >> a working title

I am rather absorbed in thought at the moment I have been doing a lot of thinking and looking over the last few days. sort of hinted at it in yesterdays blog, but I am try to plan a layout for an educational space that is very different from the usual. I have a whole lot of work to do as I want to be able to present some complex (interesting/exciting) plans for 'the hub'. this is a working title as I would like to treat it as a hub of fact finding, learning and communication.

the main aspect of the design is a central 'hub' of the work space is an interconnected bank of five stations/computers all equipped with, well I will explain that at a later date as I am not sure of the spec yet. all I have is a head full of ideas I can almost see it in there but I need to be able to explain it that needs some more work. all I have so far is the first scribble (left).

I have obviously looked at and visited a whole bunch of places, along with my experience of both working in design studios and in schools and colleges I hope to be able to draw the many different elements together to produce a 'zone' of enjoyment and learning that is a great place to be as well as a great place to learn.

I have added some of the research I have been doing to this blog. looking through other schools with amazing buildings but tending to conform to the use of the inside space as in the picture (left). as you can see the desks and chairs are formally positioned. , chumleigh community college, classroom of the future, chulmleigh, devon. devon property, county hall, exter, devon. riba awards 2005. I want to move away from the formality of rows of tables and chairs.


absolute designs a design company based in falmouth, cornwall, uk have produced some design solutions, showing an inspiring use of interior space. you can see a couple of projects they have worked on. pictures (left) of falmouth college of arts and cornwall centre for professional development (right). for a better view have a look at their website its quite an amalgam of design from interiors to branding, packaging, design for print and more.

I still have plenty of planning and more thinking to do yet but a sensible proposal will hopefully come, whether anything will actioned is another thing completely. as a designer/ideas person you kind of get used to that. whatever happens the creative side of problem solving is often enough to fuel me to move on to the next project.

ideas >> associated place >> learning >> create

funny isn't it how ideas just seem to happen (or not) I always think it strange when creative agencies have a time and a date to have an idea.
I find that ideas happen, but the more I work at it the more they happen.
I am not one of those people who just has a great idea and then goes away to create.
when I have an idea usually I try it, realise that it doesn't or wont work, but the fact that I am trying to work at it makes other ideas come through. this can happen lots of times before I reach a solution to the original problem.

the reason for mentioning this is because in the normal run of things we wait for a problem think about it then spend ages working on it eventually solving it by one way or another. this includes for me pretty much everything I do from the smallest pre-prepared hand out for a specific lesson plan or a complete corporate identity.
must say the last major id I did was a few years ago and it was for a surf-wear company (flip-flops and surf sandals) three peaks see picture.

the thinking behind it took weeks but the actual design was relatively quick to do, and it came to me reasonably easily. we all have our own ways of creating and I believe it is experience that makes us able to re-think and re-design and while we continue to do this we will be able to maintain a design life. I find it much harder to try to instill in students the confidence to try.

I have had some ideas about the room I work in, teach in, spend hours in, that I am currently working on, in the hope that something may come of them.

I really believe that by changing the way the room looks/works I can start to challenge the way the students entering the room think, while challenging I hope to motivate and encourage even draw out some kind of creativity from an otherwise quietly compliant youth, who consider using msn, myspace and bebo as creative, perhaps surprising of all create graphics in ms paint 'cos thats what they have got at home', even though they have the complete macromedia studio package available to them!
we will see what happens?

long day >> blog - presentation >> myearthdream

it's been an interesting day, seems that I could have actually introduced a whole new (small) group of people to blogging. in a short presentation I gave this morning I used dgthekneelo (blog) to illustrate a form of communication (blogging). the reaction that it got actually surprised me as I was presenting to the bebo generation for whom myspace, youtube, (msn) instant messaging are part of daily life. they went very quiet and became very interested while I was speaking and within minutes of being able to log on to the computers in the teaching room where creating their own blogs. I genuinely had no idea that a brief mention of blog-land would have this effect.

mike who is working with me on this two day enterprise education project I think was equally surprised at the speed of which blogging was received almost as if it were new. for me I was surprised that they weren't doing it already.
having said all this I have to refer back to davidthedesigner's blog of a few days ago questioning why people stop blogging in remains to be seen how long their newly created blogs last?


I had originally meant today's blog to be about
myearthdream I have for along time been a fan of F1 cars and motor racing (many years ago while at art school my friend ham would drive up and we would go to thruxton in hampshire to watch motor racing) but in the last years I have felt uncomfortable about liking it. even though have I always watched the grand prix on the TV and will be getting up in the middle of the night to watch the australian GP this weekend. I feel a little guilty, as even watching people driving very fast in cars that cost millions of pounds (to develop) round and round for an hour and a half does seem a little silly especially as I can't see it being very carbon friendly. however myearthdream have come up with a nice idea to help me think that it is not so bad and I would image thousands of others feel a little less worried about liking motor racing. I have made a pledge.
N.B.I am not fanatic I just like the way the cars look!