Storytelling
We believe that storytelling is a fundamental part of learning.
Stories themselves are one of the first immersive experiences anyone can have. A 4D room simply allows users to take people on a journey using technology, whether it be to space or to your own back garden. By adding images, sounds and lights and a touch of magic – you can transport people into their very own stories. Continue reading “Storytelling”
Intergenerational Immersive Experiences. Register to find out more.
Our immersive experiences are having a huge impact on young people’s learning and those with dementia. As such, 4D are uniquely positioned to offer a new project looking at intergenerational immersive experiences.
This is a project that will use immersive approaches to blend cross-curricular teaching and learning with the development of a dementia-friendly community
We’ve identified a number of funding streams that would support this project and are now looking for expressions of interest from primary and secondary schools, as well as health care provisions.
For full details and to register your interest, visit our intergenerational experiences page here.
Writing about memorable experiences creates remarkable improvements in literacy
A programme that enables pupils to create memorable experiences and improve literacy through visiting new places has been praised by the Education Endowment Foundation.
Schools which have adopted a programme tried out in the United States in the 1990s that focuses on getting children to write about memorable experiences in their lives have seen a remarkable improvement in literacy standards, it adds.
A survey of more than 800 primary and secondary school pupils showed it improved their writing standards by nine months on average – and 18 months for disadvantaged pupils on free school meals
The children were also told how to mark their own work, with teachers explaining how marks would be awarded.
In subsequent exercises – with the pupils knowing what was expected of them – their performance improved.
Blending a creative curriculum and an immersive approach
At 4D, we’re passionate about using immersive spaces to create engaging and inspirational environments and to give young people new experiences. Your pupils could visit the zoo in the morning, travel to a street in Delhi in the afternoon and the next day be in outer space all from one room. Each setting will have the sights and sounds to fully immerse your pupils to improve their writing.
An immersive, experiential approach has been shown to have clear impact on pupils especially in literacy. To hear from the teachers working in our immersive spaces, watch the video below or explore our case studies page.
What now?
A member of our team would love to explain how we could support immersive approaches to be in your school by September 2014.
Just drop us a line and we will arrange a time to come and see you or to give you a call. Or just leave a comment in the box below and we’ll be in touch.
T: 0844 414 2595 | E: hello@4dcreative.co.uk | Tw: @4dcreative
Bridging the gap with immersive learning
All schools are looking to give young people the chance to experience the world around them and develop all the skills to be successful in the future.
Your pupil premium has been introduced to help achieve better outcomes and at 4D, we believe our immersive spaces are a tool that will support better outcomes for your pupils
Experiential learning
An immersive space allows you to transport your pupils from their usual classroom to new cultures, worlds and experiences giving a fresh context to learning. This may be a trip to a museum or another country or be about a more abstract experience such as visiting other planets.
“The purpose of the room is that it blows the kids away and takes them to places they never thought possible. You can show them a picture on a board but it is not the same, it’s not the same at all. There are no boundaries in a room like this.”
Wendy Austin, Harwood Meadows School, Bolton
Communication and language skills
The power of giving a class a real stimulus that they’ve seen, felt, heard and experienced has been shown to improve writing and inspire young people particularly for those who English is their second language.
Pupils can be transported to read and write war poetry from a muddy trench or taken deep into the heart of a spooky wood and asked to imagine what is around the corner. Set imaginations and pens wild!
“By using the Dream Room, St Christopher’s has seen a marked improvement in the speaking and listening skills of its students. Teachers are taking greater accountability for creativity in their teaching and learning as the immersive space is proving to be a useful tool for this.”
Colette Denby, Headteacher, St Christopher’s Primary School.
Peer led learning and collaboration
Task young people to research and source images or videos and then present them back to their class. This is real life learning, developing an understanding of partnership working, creating suitable resources and then sharing this with their cohorts. The immersive space is a stage that brings the best out of everyone who works in there.
“The impact that we have seen on the pupils has been very impressive. The level of interaction and connection with subjects and topic areas has been outstanding.”
Dominic Annable, Head Of Languages. Wade Deacon High School, Widnes
Training with Education professionals.
An immersive space is a tool to facilitate experiences. All our spaces come with a full range of training with former teachers and for those interested, our team can create a whole school approach for your staff and pupils putting creativity at the heart of your curriculum.
“Teachers need support and time to learn to use new technology effectively. This involves more than just learning how to use the technology; it should include support to understand how it can be used for learning” – EEF guidelines
Find out more
Learn more about the impact of immersive learning at Harwood Meadows School with our case study video:
What now?
A member of our team would love to explain how immersive approaches could be in your school.
Just drop us a line and we will arrange a time to come and see you or to give you a call.
T: 01706 248112 | E: hello@4dimmersive.com | Tw: @4dimmersive
Ten reasons why an immersive space will transform your sensory room!
Lots of schools we work with replace their sensory room with an immersive space. The combination of light, sound and projection all run through a tablet device is ideal for calming sensory activities, fun physio sessions and curriculum based learning too.
If you’re looking for a fresh, creative approach to a sensory room, here’s ten reasons why you need to talk to 4D!
1. Curriculum focused…with a wide range of preloaded content, the immersive space can be used to teach lessons for all key stages
2. Inclusive…pupils of all ages and abilities can learn and interact in an exciting, creative environment
3. Instantly change…your environment to react to the needs and engagement of your pupils
4. Control…your entire space through tablet devices and wireless switches for captivating hands on learning
5. Built to last… only the best quality kit is used in our installations so you can be confident that your space is built to last
6. Future proofed…images, videos, sounds and lighting can all be customised for every session. New content is quick and simple to upload.
7. Interactive and fun…splash in virtual water, reveal hidden images or trigger sound effects for an active, physio session
8. Socialisation…from a trip to the shop to a job interview, practice real life situations in a safe, friendly environment
9. Cause and effect…use assistive touch technologies to control the entire space
10. Simple to use…a press of a touchscreen changes light, sound and projection instantly
Want to find out more? We recently made a video with Hebden Green School to show how they use their immersive space:
Inspirational Immersive Learning at Hebden Green School from 4d creative on Vimeo.
If you’d like some more information or for us to come and see what we can do with your sensory room, just get in touch via our contact page.
The Great Fire of London workshop at St Hugh’s Primary School
Last week we travelled to St Hugh’s Primary in Liverpool to run one of our new immersive workshops. The 4D Pop Up was the scene for as creatives to run the session looking at the Great Fire Of London.
The two primary classes entered a time tunnel in the 4D Pop Up where they met the man who started the fire, Thomas Farriner. Pupils learnt all about the fire and how it started in the Pie Shop before a newsflash from the 1666 news came in with all the events of the day. As the lesson progressed, a quick press of an iPad dramatically changed the 4D Pop Up to engage the young people and give them new experiences.
Groups then wrote and shared virtual postcards sharing their ideas on how London should be rebuilt using all the knowledge they had developed in the session. It was a fantastic time working with the pupils and we were delighted to see how much the young people learnt and how their confidence grew in the immersive space.
Check out our full gallery below
In the afternoon we also ran the second of our free creative workshops. We welcomed 25 practitioners to the school and ran a session in the 4D Pop Up before a second workshop in St Hugh’s immersive space. The focus of the event was creativity and best practices for sharing a whole school approach. We’d love for you to join us at our next creative workshop, to register, fill in this form.
Or if you’d like to book a a creative workshop for pupils, then just email Inés on ines@4dcreative.co.uk or call on 0844 414 2595
Save The Cycle Workshop at Holywell High School
Just before Christmas, we took the 4D Pop Up to Holywell High for a days workshop on the Carbon Cycle. Our friends from AS creatives joined us to lead a day long workshop for pupils from a selection of high schools from the local area.
Together, the group explored the impact we have on our planet, global warming and what we can do to prevent further damage. After an introduction in the 4D Pop Up, pupils explored the carbon cycle, wrote presentations and gathered content. At the end of the day each group presented their findings in the style of news reports to their peers inside the 4D Pop Up.
In a suitably overblown manor, we have quickly pulled together some photos of the event into iMovie. Saving the world should always involve ridiculously empowering music! iMovie trailer maker is one of our favourite ways to capture videos like the one below and is always something we recommend to the schools we work with.
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This year we will be launching our new programme of creative workshops – explore immersive learning in any setting for any age group. If you would like to find out more then just get in touch via our contact page.
Pupil led learning at Manchester Communication Academy
Our third case study video takes us to Manchester Communication Academy. Staff and students showcased some fantastic examples on how immersive learning can have a massive impact on pupils at secondary level.
We installed an immersive space at the Academy in July 2011 and since then it’s been used right across the curriculum.
If you’ve been following our recent project with the Academy, you will know that we’ve been working with pupils to create their own immersive content. Photos have been edited, videos cut and soundtracks created as the students responded to a brief set to them. It was fantastic to be involved in such a pupil led and empowering scheme of work that was such a success, it has been added to the school’s ICT curriculum.
Click below to hear from the staff and pupils involved in a wide range of outstanding lessons.
[media url=”http://vimeo.com/69459101″ width=”600″ height=”400″]
If you’d like an immersive space at your school or to visit a space, get in touch now!
Outstanding immersive lessons from Harwood Meadows Primary School
The second in our series of our immersive learning in action videos was shot at Harwood Meadows Primary School in Bolton.
Our space at at the school was completed in September 2011 and we’ve been blown away by how the staff have embraced immersive learning ever since. It was great to capture some of this work and chat to the ever friendly teaching staff and pupils. Click to watch below now!
If you’d like to find out more information on how an immersive space could transform learning at your school, get in touch!
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