Jun 15, 2016

Pilot Future Creators Cadets Programme Completed

On Monday, 13th June, the 10-to-12 year olds who took part in the pilot Future Creators Cadets programme gathered at the Learning Studio with their parents, siblings and programme tutors to show the digital work they created during the course of the programme.

The students guided by their tutors demonstrated their amazing digital creations:

 

  • The Burgizza – A burger/pizza/piano hybrid
  • Disco Ball Hair – A funky hairpiece with flashing lights that were activated by music composed by the students.
  • Voice changer mic – A miniature robot holds a small speaker that is activated from a mike placed in a flower constructed of foam, card and ribbon.
  • Giant microphone – Huge microphone, made from cardboard and plaster, that triggers sounds through Makey Makey.

Also in attendance was representatives from the Digital Hub Development Agency, the National College of Art and Design (NCAD) and H2 Learning.

All the creations demonstrated what the Future Creators Cadets had learned since the pilot programme commenced last November: basic circuitry and electronic skills, design skills, spatial awareness, sound and music technology, coding, filmmaking and group collaboration.

The students, who worked in collaborative groups, devised the ideas for the creative works themselves and got to experience contributing to each piece of work from different angles.

David Cotter, Future Creators Cadets Programme Coordinator paid tribute to the creativity of the young people and their dedication in sticking with the after-school programme since it commenced last November.  David said, “The creativity of each member of the group was amazing.  We are delighted that our fluid classroom setting provided a perfect outlet for their amazing ideas and energy”.

Each weekly two-hour session was purposely fluid and very hands on for the participants so that they could continuously generate ideas, invent and produce digital creations while drawing on the skills they were learning such as electronic circuitry, coding, sound editing software and design principles.

About the Future Creators Cadets Pilot Programme

The Future Creators Cadets was established in 2015 by The Digital Hub and is delivered with National College of Art and Design (NCAD) and H2 Learning.  The programme is similar to the existing Future Creators Programme, but it targets a younger cohort of participants with a programme tailored to their abilities, interests and needs.

The programme was run after-school, for two hours once a week.  The 10-to-12 year olds worked on projects that brought together electronics, design, fashion, music, film, art, code, and technology. The projects were very hands-on and the participants chose what aspect of the project to be involved in at any given time; thus creating a fluid workspace where collaborative groups are constantly interchangeable, and young people can experience contributing to a piece of work from many different angles.