During 2005 Jon Robson undertook a speaking and listening project at Tweendykes special school in Hull. The project was entitled - “Talking Books “

Jon worked with each class in the school to create their own digital film story comprising still photographs and sound. Stories ranged from nursery rhymes to factual documentaries to dramatic historical stories. 

The pupils developed the ideas of the story then planned the scenes. Some stories were acted out by the children themselves other were created from puppets or clay models. Each class’ story became a unique product. 

The pupils were taught how to use a digital camera, down load the images onto the software and record sound effects. The project culminated in a whole school film show to which the pupil’s families were invited. 

The pupils were thrilled at the results- and proud with the professional finish of the end product.
Throughout the project the ability of the pupils in using technology exceeded the staff expectations. The pupil’s were eager and interested to learn.

Jon developed an excellent rappour with everyone in the school community and was able to bring out the best in each pupil. 

Throughout Jon led the project with patience , humour and purpose.

The legacy of his work is still alive in the school. “Talking books” are a valuable teaching resource. They are made following school trips, special events and to support topic based work. Pupils love to see themselves on a large screen and the stories serve to engage and enliven their language skills.

Berni Dobson - Head teacher Tweendykes school.

Winifred Holtby Technology College has worked with Jon on countless occasions. Each time he has been an inspiration to our students and staff ! Students have enjoyed, and thrived on the knowledge and skilled delivery of the workshops and have shown high levels of motivation and team work skills when working on their films.

The films made have left a lasting impression within the school and wider community. Through the outstanding staff training Jon has provided, we have been able to develop the use of Media software within the school especially in English lessons.

Jo Warnes
Head of Creative and Performing Arts
Winifred Holtby School Technology College

I first met Jon a few years ago on a Creative Partnerships course but already knew him by reputation . As a teacher of primary age deaf children I’m always looking for ways of making their learning stimulating and relevant.

Children with a severe or profound hearing loss need to learn primarily visually and kinaesthetically and they lack many of the experiences hearing children take as a matter of course. Film and photography is an ideal medium - it’s visual, immediate and can provide instant access and feedback.

Jon provided the means for a technically inept teacher to involve the children in film making projects. So far he’s worked with us on a film to promote deaf awareness week, a short stop frame animation film about recycling and an ongoing project about how it feels to be a minority group - a deaf child in a hearing school.

Although he can’t sign his easy-going and friendly manner allows him to communicate with the children who all look forward to his visits. The work has helped enormously in giving the children a voice and a sense of pride in what they can achieve.

Sue Fletcher
Deputy Head
Tilbury T.C. Unit Hull

Hull Museum Education are committed to making museum collections
accessible and relevant to young people today. During 2006 - 2008, Cafe
society worked with us on the ‘Campaign! make an Impact’ project, using
historic collections to help young people gain active citizenship
skills.

The outcomes of the project were phenomenal and have received
national recognition, even resulting in two Winifred Holtby pupils
attending a reception with the then prime minister, Tony Blair.

Jon had the citizenship knowledge and creative approach to make the
project a success. The second phase of the project with Endeavour high
produced highly professional films with very profound content from the
young people. Cafe Society have the skills to engage with young people
on a level relevant to them and get outstanding results.

Sarah Howard
Hull Museums Education Service 

During July 2008, Jon Robson of Cafesociety.org undertook a speaking and listening project at Sidmouth Primary School - Hull.

The project entitled ‘Fantasy Worlds’ was funded by Creative Partnerships - Hull and tried to answer the enquiry question - “Can new technology be used to improve speaking & listening skills in a year 1 class where over 50% of the pupils have English as a second language ?”

We decided to use digital story telling and film making as a vehicle to improve speaking, listening and written work. We themed the project around 4 areas. - Under the Sea, Castles, Space & Pirates.

The pupils developed their stories orally and created story boards to visualise the scenes, after the stories had been craeted, time was spent developing the characters before designing puppets and background scenery for filming.

Here are the finished films :-

They showed persistence and engagement with the making of the puppets and scenes.

The children very much enjoyed the artwork process… Getting messy and covered in paint is a real thrill..

They also showed imagination when creating their stories and designing their puppets.
The children gained experience in working in teams.

They had to plan and discuss their ideas for their own particular themed story.
Pupils had to work together and be able to listen to each others ideas.

Pirate Day :: We all planned to take over the school and hunt for the treasure. Luckily for us 3 ks4 pupils from endeavour were on work experience at the school and proved themselves invaluable.

The children came prepared with home made costumes to act out their story and take control of the school.

We planned our attack and filmed it as it unfolded.
Some teachers looked on with true fear !

Improvisation was a key element in our unfolding story. We were unsure how the head teacher would react to her school been taken over…. Luckily she obliged and the school became ours !

Because the project encouraged speaking and listening,
The EAL children benefited from this in that they were motivated to communicate their thoughts and ideas.

Fact :: Kids love technology !
being trusted to use high tech equipment was a confidence boost for the year 1’s

They engaged in the whole process of filmmaking from start to finish. It was clear that they had felt that the films were ‘theirs’ and they were proud of them.

The children were enthralled by the whole experience.

They are still talking about their films even now. The project has made a lasting, positive impression upon them.

Jon Robson and his crew from Cafesociety.org worked with our students here on the Gila River Indian Reservation in Arizona USA in 2002 and 2003. Our young Native American students had a great learning experience and a lot of fun while working on the “Digital Story Telling” projects.

Jon is an excellent educator who has certainly got the knack of working with young kids globally.
He educates students not only on the technological side of the projects but also integrates core areas of the curriculum like maths, and language arts.

We were so impressed with the initial project that we invited Cafesociety.org back the following year to work with our students and participate in the ‘Access Native America Technology Conference’.
Since 1997, the Access Native America Technology Conference has brought together educators, technology experts, and administrators from the 185 Bureau of Indian Affairs schools to learn from each other and from others outside of our school system about how to integrate technology into our schools.

Jon, along with his colleagues and a selection of our students made a presentation on the importance of storytelling with an emphasis on using new technology to reach a global audience. The presentation was a great success and made us proud of the work our students had produced during the digital storytelling workshops.

Our students really miss him and his British accent. We wish him all the best.

Jack Sharma
Head of technology
Gila Crossing Community School.

Video is a great tool for the exploration of space and place. arc architecture centre for Hull and the Humber Sub-region works with Cafe Society on the facilitation of schools projects.

For the ‘Shaping Our Place’ project pupils conducted research into the effect of good and bad design on learning and school community. Working with arc and Cafe Society the pupils created a video, documenting their school environment and making recommendations as to how the design of schools could be improved.

Video proved to be a dynamic and immediate communication media, that the young people could have a large degree of hands-on control of. The videotography support that Cafe Society brought to the project enabled a variety of participants to explore architectural and environmental themes, whilst developing transferable skills in new technology and communication.

The team worked behind and in front of the camera to produce a final edit to be distributed to their School Governors and the Local Education Authority. The professional product was edited by Cafe Society and the young people.

Gillian Dyson - Head of Learning, arc Architecture Centre

Over a number of years, BBC Learning ran a successful pilot community learning initiative across East Yorkshire & Lincolnshire.

Cafe Society proved to be an invaluable and respected partner for digital media project delivery, with a particular strength in the engagement of hard to reach youth audiences. High impact, imaginative and creative pieces of work were testimony to the understanding, patience and recognition of the challenges faced when working with young people.

The strength and diversity of skills within Cafe Society also provided continued professional development support to teachers in schools across the region on the use of digital media. Teacher evaluations and the subsequent cascade and introduction of new skills in teaching and learning had a positive impact back in school.

Cafe Society’s uniqueness is it’s seamless and relaxed approach to learning and development. Creativity and participant lead ideas are very much encouraged, supported and developed resulting in extremely high quality content and wonderful experiences for all involved.

Paul Corcoran : BBC Learning Project Manager Sep 2008

I have known Jon for a number of years, whilst I have been working as an Advanced Skills Teacher for Citizenship in Hull, based at Winifred Holtby School Technology College on Bransholme.

I had heard of Jon’s reputation whilst the school was engaged with a number of artists through Creative Partnerships and as school coordinator, I engaged him to complete a transition project that had stalled. He injected energy and a connection with our students that gave them the confidence to finish the work in an innovative and fresh way……their way.

I naturally had to use him again, and through Creative Partnerships, used Cafesociety as often as possible, building upon his work in Sierra Leone to enhance the confidence and literacy skills of Year 9 students, taking risks with the material and trusting the students. They repaid us by presenting a workshop at a national CP conference, reflecting Jon’s “can do” approach to problems.

He has since worked with History students on the Making an Impact project, other literacy work within the school and is known by many of the students. Jon has also begun CPD work with a number of staff on Adobe software.

He is committed to digital storytelling and we still have the aim of Hull Schoolchildren having the opportunity to “say who they think they are”.

Finally, I have passed Jon’s name to a number of other schools in my work as an AST, and the feedback to me is always the same…..high standards, innovative and willing to take risks.

Lance Boanas.
Advanced Skills Teacher.
Winifred Holtby School – Hull.

I am writing to thank you for the project work that you have carried out with our students during the last four years.

As you know we try and introduce new experiences and skills for our students on a regular basis. This is something that all schools do to enrich the curriculum, but for us such programmes have a special importance as the Seychelles islands are physically very remote. Within this context we have welcomed a good many facilitators over the years, but your contribution to developing this ‘added value’ curriculum has been unique.

Students working under your supervision have benefited so much. Many of them have taken the skills acquired further, to tertiary institutions for example. This is not just an issue of familiarity and competence with technology, although I must say that the manner in which you encourage confident and effective use of sophisticated equipment is exceptional. It is also an issue of enabling creative thinking and problem solving. Students working with you become better at responding to challenges and working as part of a team to resolve difficulties. They think ‘outside the box’ and are able to layer developments in terms of imagery, sound, concept and style. They can create professional products whilst maintaining a strong personal commitment to the content. I have noticed additional skills imported into the formal curriculum following involvement with Café Society projects, particularly in the areas of Art and Design and Literature.

Further, I must praise the way in which you engage with students; never patronising, sensitive to their agenda, but also clear about the need to produce work and create experiences that they feel proud to be part of. Your manner is engaging and productive; in short, the students really like you and enjoy working with you. They are comfortable working with you in your role as a facilitator, they enjoy the humour but are constantly aware of the prioritisation of work; they do not see you as a teacher, and I think that this is an enabling distinction actually! Many of them talk about you and the work that they made with you years after the event; if part of being a successful educationalist is to make an impact and convey sustainable and extendable skills then you certainly qualify.

Looking forward to the next series of workshops, Jon.

Martin Kennedy
Director, International Schools Seychelles