Each of our projects is funded by a different partner who have identified that they want to communicate their message to young people in your area. Our partners are sometimes public bodies such as the police or NHS and can also be companies who have a social or community message they wish to convey. In either case, they choose the region they wish to work within, and we then contact schools like yours in that area and invite them to take part.

Absolutely nothing! The cost of the materials is met by the partner for each project which means all Collaborate Digital projects are free of charge to schools.

All our projects tie into the English curriculum through creative writing, writing for a purpose or writing for an audience. They can also be used as a real-life project within media studies or tied into the PSHE curriculum. Each project has a full lesson plan with specific outcomes.

Aside from learning about a relevant social issue and a range of curriculum benefits, teachers have told us that participating helps boost the confidence of young people, encourages them work in teams and develop new skills in critical thinking, creative writing and performance. Our projects develop student’s speaking and listening skills and are a creative way into subjects that might be difficult to talk about or understand. And they’re fun too!

No, the more the merrier! We recommend students work in groups of four or five to make sure everyone gets the most out of the workshop. Once you have registered you are free to run the project in as many classes as you choose for the length of the promotion.

No, students can shoot a video or record a podcast on a laptop, smart phone or tablet and if you want to get fancy, free editing software is available on the net. We’re not bothered about the technical quality of the video/audio – it’s all about great creative ideas, enthusiasm and a well-planned, well-written script.

Once you register for a project you will gain access to all the relevant resources. This includes a full brief, lesson plan, supporting documentation, reference videos and links to appropriate websites.

This varies from project-to-project and teacher-to-teacher, but typically projects are designed to take between 2 and 3 hours. This can be done in one morning or afternoon, or it can be split over several shorter lessons. Some teachers run the workshop as part of a club at lunchtime or after school. Elements of the project can also be set as homework and you could even set it as an assignment over a longer period of time – it’s up to you how you do it.

Files can be uploaded through this website or sent via Dropbox or WeTransfer. If you need help with this, email us at [email protected].

Every Collaborate Digital campaign is tailored to the needs of each individual partner organisation and can be targeted at the towns, counties or regions they choose. Schools are recruited to participate on a project by project basis.