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Archives for June 2009

Radio 4 for Parents

Alistair Mooney Alistair Mooney | 12:34 UK time, Tuesday, 30 June 2009

Vivienne Parry investigates how talented children are identified in this edition of Am I Normal?

Girl writing

Just one of a selection of Radio 4 programmes to help you support your child. Have a look through more programmes available to listen to online for the following subjects: Schools, Primary, Secondary, Parenting, Family, Child Welfare.

Young Jazz Musician 2009

Alistair Mooney Alistair Mooney | 11:04 UK time, Monday, 29 June 2009

´óÏó´«Ã½ Scotland's music site has videos from the final of the Young Jazz Musician of the Year 2009 competition, including interview and performance by winner Andrew Robb.

Andrew Robb

Hear the whole event as broadcast live on ´óÏó´«Ã½ Radio Scotland's The Jazz House and see more photos at Jeff Zycinski's blog.

The ´óÏó´«Ã½ Young Musician of the Year 2010 competition is now open for keyboard, percussion, string, brass and woodwind players aged 18 or under. Auditions will be held in Glasgow in October and closing date for entries is 31st July.

Waggle dance at the Royal Highland Show

Alistair Mooney Alistair Mooney | 10:01 UK time, Wednesday, 24 June 2009

Get along to the Royal Highland Show in Ingliston and learn how to waggle dance.

Honey bees

All part of a demonstration by the Scottish Beekeepers Association, the waggle dance is used by honey bees to show each other where to locate a source of nectar. The Scotland Outdoors site has an animation of the dance and will have photos from the event later in the week, featuring school children dressed up and learning to dance like a bee.

The Royal Highland Show runs from tomorrow till Sunday. Highlights from Ingliston will be featured on Friday's Landward and Saturday's Out of Doors.

Moon landings - 40th anniversary

Alistair Mooney Alistair Mooney | 09:57 UK time, Monday, 22 June 2009

On 20 July 1969, Neil Armstrong became the first man to walk on the moon. Programmes celebrating this anniversary have started with James May on the Moon and James May at the Edge of Space.

James May in a pressure suit

Extended interviews from May on the Moon are available in the Moon Landing collection in the ´óÏó´«Ã½ Archive. This collection looks back at over 40 years of ´óÏó´«Ã½ tv and radio broadcasts about the moon and the Apollo missions.

Find out more about NASA and Space and look out for NASA: Triumph and Tragedy, a documentary series starting on Wednesday, looking at the ups and downs of US space exploration.

Democracy in Action

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Claire O'Gallagher Claire O'Gallagher | 14:58 UK time, Tuesday, 9 June 2009

We have another series of films transmitting this week (haven't we been busy!), this time on the topic of decision-making and democracy, or, 'Democracy In Action'. You may remember that I posted a blog entry about these programmes before, when I visited Shawlands Academy and Liberton High School with Julie Peacock, who directed these films. The views of the young people interviewed on those days gave the team a really strong basis for their programmes - their help was invaluable.

Ballot box

The final films focus on four very distinct areas. The first features the devolved Scottish Parliament, as described by the leaders of the political parties at Holyrood; Brian Taylor, ´óÏó´«Ã½ Scotland's Political Editor, describes the wrangling between the Westminster and Holyrood parliaments on the funding of the Forth Road Bridge in an entertaining case study; Armando Iannucci helps with a look at that unknown powerhouse, the Civil Service; and there is also a look at the proposal to raise the legal alcohol purchasing age to 18.

These programmes, all five minutes in length, form part of two hours of programming on the topic of democracy. ´óÏó´«Ã½ Learning in London made the first hour, and the second hour is comprised of 20 minutes each from Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland. We hope you'll enjoy the whole two hours, and in particular our twenty minutes! It's another late-night transmission, but as ever, the films will be in our Learning Zone for posterity; as well as on iPlayer.

Dirty Weekend

Alistair Mooney Alistair Mooney | 10:00 UK time, Thursday, 4 June 2009

Get your hands dirty this weekend and help make the environment a bit nicer for nature.

Dirty Weekend logo

Muck in and help create a place for nature in your garden, spruce an area up with a litter pick or join an organised event near you. Get an activity pack and ideas on how to get involved at the Dirty Weekend website, part of the ´óÏó´«Ã½ Breathing Places campaign.

The Designed World

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Claire O'Gallagher Claire O'Gallagher | 14:02 UK time, Wednesday, 3 June 2009

Calling all social studies and technologies teachers with VCRs, or insomnia! We've got some really cracking programmes transmitting in the early hours of Friday morning (or very late on Thursday night, depending on how you look at it) - 0400 hours to be militarily precise. The title for the hour is 'The Designed World'; 12 programmes, each lasting five minutes, focusing around three major areas: cutting-edge product design, engineering and the social impact of design and technology. The films are immediately useful for , but some parts would also stimulate discussion in . The targeted CfE level is Third/Fourth, but it's hoped that these will appeal to anyone with a real interest in design.

Interior of Hazelwood School

The programmes look at design solutions to changing needs in different areas of life - ranging from the engineering project to expand trade on the Panama canal to the smart textiles that make all of our lives easier day-to-day. My particular favourite is the one on '' in South Africa that provide a very simple, effective design solution to an endemic social problem, though I have to admit I was also very jealous of the team who got to make the film about the Nintendo DS!

The films are produced by Gerald Strother, who previously produced our China Stories content, and the innovative approach he's taken to these topics makes them really engaging and enlightening for learners of all ages (including myself!). Please do set your recorders, or check iPlayer in the next week; if you download from iPlayer, you can keep it for a month, or failing that, stay up and watch! Clips from the programme will also be available on our Learning Zone Scotland site from Friday, adding to the current range of design clips. I hope you enjoy the films as much as I did.


The Designed World, 0400-0500, 05/06/2009, ´óÏó´«Ã½ Two.

30 Days in Europe

Alistair Mooney Alistair Mooney | 10:00 UK time, Monday, 1 June 2009

´óÏó´«Ã½ Radio Scotland's 30 Days in Europe Season kicked off today with an investigation into the teaching of Languages in Schools.

European flag

Scotland and Ireland are the only countries in the EU where languages are not a compulsory subject. Clare English explores the challenges of language teaching in Scottish schools today, and asks what needs to be done to improve our ability to communicate in another tongue.

For the month of June there will be a European flavour to Radio Scotland programmes, from music to documentaries, as well as linking to coverage, including an online .

If you've had good or bad experiences of language lessons at school or are gearing up for your summer holiday, take a look at the online offering from the ´óÏó´«Ã½. Visit the ´óÏó´«Ã½ Languages pages with resources for teachers and tutors and a host of audio and video courses for beginners or improvers, including the BAFTA-winning Mi Vida Loca.

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