Heathfield students push creativity in the world of pop promos

Last week all students in year 7 at Heathfield Community College took part in an exciting range of activities melding creativity with the iPad. Every student had the opportunity to learn new skills in 3 key areas, Music, Photography and Video.

In Music, students created remixes of Can’t Stop the Feeling by Justin Timberlake, learning about how song structure, texture and effects can be used to build tension and excitement in a song.

In the Photography sessions students learnt how to frame shots, thinking about leading lines and the rule of thirds. They went out around the College to find interesting compositions of nature, architecture and the surrounding landscapes. These were then edited using a variety of editing tools and Apps.

In the final video session students learned how to find interesting angles when recording to create creative videos about the College. Students captured a variety of footage and then edited these together using slow motion techniques as well as filters, effects, split screen and fragmenting the video clips.

All work was recorded and edited on the iPad demonstrating both the capabilities of the students and the technology. As a College each student has access to their own iPad. The College decision of iPad as the device of choice was for partly for it’s ability to expand and develop creative possibilities. This day showed the creative power of the iPad and how in the hands of students, can unlock their creative potential.

One parent contacted the College to say their child “had a fantastic day with the collapsed curriculum focus.” And that “he was hoping every day could be like that!”

Staff involved praised the engagement of the students saying that they “really enjoyed it and students were clearly excited about the creative activities they were taking part in.”

Student quotes include:

“I had a really enjoyable day and learnt lots of new things about my iPad. I learnt new stuff about editing and the cool things you can use on GarageBand. In photography I learnt about lots of more ways of editing photos and had a really enjoyable time.”

“It was an amazing day! I learnt so many different techniques, how to take great photos and making expressive pieces of music.”

Jonathon Marrows, Digital Lead –

“It was fantastic to see the students so engaged with the creative tasks and every single one of them was able to produce work of a really high standard. The technology allowed them to use their imaginations and original ideas to create music, photos and video that they can all be proud of. I think all of us learnt something new during the day”

Students will now go on to learn how these creative skills can be used across the curriculum beyond just those subjects that might be seen as traditionally creative. If they are keen on learning more about media they also have the opportunity to be part of Heathfield TV after school club.

Showing just how integrated the iPad is with learning at the school, the school has recently been granted the exclusive Apple Designated School Status. This award recognises schools for their continuous innovation in learning, teaching in the school environment. They look to designate schools they believe to be centres of leadership and educational excellence. Currently there are only 400 such designated schools in the world and they are located across 29 countries.

“The power in this award for us is that it recognises the impact of our approaches to technology, utilising only the most effective and most impactful methods to enhance our students’ experiences.” Caroline Barlow, Headteacher