DIVERSASIA - Best practices

Year Dot (www.yeardot.co.uk) is a cross platform resource commissioned by Channel 4 Education and produced by So Television. Year Dot is growing in popularity amongst schools as a resource that can stimulate discussions on the trials and tribulations of key transition stages in young peoples’ lives.

Context:
Year Dot follows a fly-on-the-wall documentary format that cuts across both broadcast television and online. 15 teenagers over the course of a year try to gather support across the internet, through social networking and video-sharing services, to reach a personal goal.

Method for inclusive practice:
Teacher activities with this resource are often based on guiding their students in setting their own goals or simply realizing that ‘changes’ are part of growing up.

Focus of inclusive practice:
Year Dot aims to provide access to the life stories of young people from diverse sectors of society, and to provide insights for other young people into how they develop their aspirations and cope with failures and success. Access to social networking and sharing sites online allow any young viewer to have their say and participate in the lives of these showcased young people.

Level of success:
Some of the comments from teachers who use Year Dot include: “It shows a real day-today existence for these young people and the kinds of situations and emotional journeys they are making… there’s nothing fantastical or glamorous about it – it’s real and that’s what makes it such a good learning resource”