The Creative Learning Centre

“Creativity opens new pathways to learning for every child. It provides new languages, inspires new ideas, instils confidence and stimulates the imagination. New moving image technologies now provide us with an unprecedented opportunity to release the creative energies and critical talents of our young people, in unique and distinctive ways.”
Extract from the mission statement of the NI Film and Television Commission’s educational working party.

The Nerve Centre aims to demonstrate in practical ways the educational benefits of creativity and the
myriad ways in which film, music, animation and digital technologies can enhance current teaching practices. As a Creative Learning Centre, we see our role as providing training, support and a programme of creative activities for teachers who wish to see their pupils benefit from the new opportunities of the digital age.

The Nerve Centre education provision includes:
* Film screenings, workshops and presentations on a range of curriculum subjects, including English, History, Citizenship, Art, Music and Film/Media Studies.
* Teacher-training opportunities and practical demonstrations of how new digital technologies and interactive resources such as the NI Digital Film Archive and educational CD-roms produced by the Nerve Centre can stimulate creativity in the classroom.
* Hands-on workshops providing pupils with the opportunity to learn skills in digital video editing and camera techniques, animation and multimedia design, music composition and sound recording, through creating their own video productions, musical soundtracks, animated films and web pages.
* Training

The Nerve Centre also offers ongoing free access to the NI Digital Film Archive. Classes or individuals can come to view a selection of the 55 hours of archive material on the Nerve Centre’s large video screen or enjoy a workshop presentation on a topic of your choice. The Nerve Centre’s educational CD-Roms and film/animation resources are also freely available to teachers and demonstrations can be organised on request. We currently have 3 CD-Roms and a number of animated film resources available for the post primary sector and 1 CD-Rom and several film resources for the primary sector.
This academic year will see the launch of several new interactive resources for both sectors by the Nerve Centre.

Finally, the annual Foyle Film Festival offers an extensive range of educational screenings and workshops and a once-off opportunity to meet international film-makers, writers and special effects artists.

So whether you are a teacher considering undertaking the new AS level in Moving Image Arts over the next few years or simply interested in how new music and moving image technologies can enhance the learning experience, we hope that you will take up some of the opportunities on offer in this programme.