"Big Picture" Brochure

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Hartlepool College of Further Education

HELPING STUDENTS TO SEE

THE BIG PICTURE A METHOD FOR SHARING EQUALITY, DIVERSITY & SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

HISTORY CURRENT AFFAIRS SOCIETY CULTURE HUMANITY MORALITY RIGHTS BELIEFS

What is the BIG PICTURE? The Big Picture is a static feature located within Hartlepool College of Further Education in one of its public areas. It is closely tied to the College’s RESPECT campaign, which promotes equality, fairness and understanding for all individuals across a range of social, moral and historical topics (see back page for more information on RESPECT).

The Big Picture has been a popular feature since its introduction in late 2011. It forms a part of a gallery space on the third floor mezzanine overlooking Hartlepool College’s central atrium.

The focal point of The Big Picture is a large picture frame containing a striking image chosen to be representative of a particular topic, along with compartmentalised information panels that examine various aspects of the picture and the story behind it. The information covers both broader aspects and the finer details of the subject, supported by illustrations which capture the essence of the topic.

The Big Picture is a rotating exhibition, changed roughly every four to six weeks to coincide with either specific dates/anniversaries or to tap into topical events. The presentation is always purely objective, the idea being to encourage debate and

to allow viewers to form their own opinions and lecturers to integrate the topics into teaching.

The subjects are often provocative and mature in theme, and the images frequently hard-hitting.

This is in keeping with the intention of The Big Picture to tackle issues without compromise or dilution, and also to reinforce one of the College’s primary principles, which is that young people are intelligent enough to understand subjects without being patronised, and mature enough to absorb the reality of the world they live in.

Opinions are often divided, and sometimes impassioned. However, the debate is always healthy and reasoned, and more than once a viewpoint has been altered when the subject has been examined academically and not just reacted to emotionally – all intentions of The Big Picture.

Implementation The Big Picture is designed with one reason – to be an internal educational resource within the College for the benefit of students and staff. It has its own dedicated space, and is backed up by access to the original artwork files and supplementary information in the form of suggested links, social media and further materials.

The Big Picture is researched, written and designed by the College’s Creative Director, who through personal activities away from work as a writer and publisher also has over twentyfive years of research and editorial experience.

Suggestions for topics come from a variety of sources. Some are based on a direct request from the Principal to tie in with a specific agenda within the College, others from topical news events, while some also tie in with established calendar dates such as anniversaries or events in order to raise awareness of a subject.

Occasionally they are also generated by specific suggestions from staff or students.

The Principal has final say on a topic and once approved the work begins. The average Big Picture takes around two working days to produce. Every time a new Big Picture is installed an email is sent to all staff informing them of the subject and suggesting key areas in which it applies to teaching and learning.

PDFs of the artwork are also made available via the College’s Blackboard system, which can only be accessed via a closed internal system. At no point are the files published online to keep within legal “Fair Use” (see opposite).

Below: some of the topics used so far in The Big Picture

To coincide with National Mental Health Week, TBP examined the potential stigmatising of mental health sufferers, and how accurately (or otherwise) such illnesses are portrayed in media dramas such as Eastenders.

To mark the final withdrawal of UK troops from Afghanistan, TBG looked at the events of the war, the causes and effects, and past conflicts within the country such as previous British and Russian military interventions.

TBP examined the pros and cons of Scottish devolution at the time of the referendum in 2014, and the political, social and community impacts of concepts such as nationalism and patriotism.

This TBP was a purely local story - the centenary of the bombardment of Hartlepool in December 1914 by German warships, making it the only UK mainland battle site of the entire Great War, and the political and public reaction to the attack.

This TBP was positioned during the first season of controversial “poverty porn” Benefits Street, and examined the truth of welfare fraud and a comparison with corporate and personal tax avoidance at the opposite end of the wealth spectrum.

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Format

Legal Issues

All panels are set into frames acquired especially for the purpose of displaying the Big Picture. The main “Big Picture” is 125cm tall by 84cm deep, meaning that images selected need to be of a quality and resolution capable of sustaining being printed to this size. One of the first tasks of the Big Picture production is to ensure that images of a suitable size and which adequately support the subject are available. If they are not, a new topic needs to be selected.

As the Big Picture is purely for internal education purposes, any images and excerpts of text used within it are done so under Fair Use, which is defined in US law as:

The smaller “info panels” are 50cm by 40cm, a size again determined by the frames acquired to display them. Three of these contain five paragraphs of text and five images. The remaining panel is a description of the image and credit to its source.

The upper image and paragraph on the three supporting panels acts as an introduction/ overview of that panel, while four smaller illustrated columns below it highlight and focus on particular details or aspects of interest or importance. To maintain a consistency of layout a strict word count is used, which the artworker must stick to. We are also careful to ensure that all images selected are used in a completely appropriate context.

Artwork is generated in Adobe InDesign, and then converted to PDF for printing and digital distribution. The fonts used are from the Swiss family and the artwork (such as the colours and layout used) conforms to Hartlepool College’s corporate identity to maintain coherence with other materials installed in the College.

The Big Picture is also supported by social media, with links to further suggested sources of information on the topics used being positioned as a resource primarily via Facebook.

“Fair Use is a limitation and exception to the exclusive right granted by copyright law to the author of a creative work. Fair use is a doctrine that permits limited use of copyrighted material without acquiring permission from the rights holders. Examples of fair use include commentary, search engines, criticism, parody, news reporting, research, teaching, library archiving and scholarship. It provides for the legal, unlicensed citation or incorporation of copyrighted material in another author’s work.”

The UK does not have a dedicated interpretation of Fair Use, but like most countries applies an exemption to usual copyright rules regarding the use of materials used for education. This means that the Big Picture cannot be used commercially or outside of the context of teaching, nor can it be used by anyone intending to use it for any and all differing purposes.

Hartlepool College therefore is happy for other establishments to adopt or adapt the model and form of the Big Picture, but not any specific subject sheets except for use as examples of what we do and how we use it.

Firstly, as web-searching is a vital part of image acquisition we have found it is quite common to come across the same image on numerous sites, sometimes with contradictory authorship information. In cases where copyright ownership is stated, for us to seek permission may delay the process significantly (in fact, most major news organisations we have contacted have failed to reply), and thus to do so may remove the timely aspect of some Big Picture subjects.

In addition some topics do not have a wide selection of images available at the resolution required, and therefore choice is limited (some subjects simply do not have any copyright free images attached to them, and therefore we would have to ignore certain subjects, which undermines the very concept of the Big Picture).

Some images used have been granted Creative Commons licences, while others are outside of copyright due to age, but these are in the minority.

When all of the above are taken into consideration, the use of imagery in the context of the Big Picture is legally and morally fair.

As the Big Picture is not used outside of the organisation and has a purely educational remit permission to use images is not sought nor needed to be. In fact, to do so would be impractical for a number of reasons.

You can find out more about The Big Picture and see example PDFs of previous topics used by Hartlepool College of Further Education at

http://sharingthebigpicture.co.uk

The outbreak of Ebola in Africa was tackled from the perspective of whether or not the “first world” remained apathetic to the crisis until western cases emerged and how some affected countries simply sealed off affected villages rather than treating victims.

For Holocaust Memorial Day, “Hidden Holocaust” looked at how the Nazis killed 40,000 disabled or ill German citizens who represented “no value to the state”, and how they tried to fool the Red Cross with a special camp set up purely for inspection.

TBP examined Fracking, using experiences in the United States to ask if it does indeed present a solution to dwindling fuel reserves and the belief by many that it will lead to environmental disaster, resulting in several confrontational protests.

Suggested by a member of the RESPECT team who had made social media contact with victims, this TBP looked at the maiming and occasional murder of albinos in Africa, the consumption of whose flesh is believed to have magical and medicinal powers.

This TGP appeared as the story on the Mediterranean migrant crisis was emerging, and looked at the root causes, practical challenges and political reaction to the subject, and the issue of UK immigration in wider social and economic contexts.

WHAT IS RESPECT? RESPECT is Hartlepool College’s well-established initiative that promotes equality, fairness and understanding for all individuals. It is a valuable resource that links to a range of teaching, learning and tutorial activities. It involves and applies to everyone who works or studies in the College.

A particular remit of the RESPECT steering group, drawn from members of staff from right across the College and with the involvement of students, is to highlight topics that have a specific interest to the student population across the College’s many subject areas.

RESPECT is also a set of rules and values that apply to the way all students, staff and visitors are expected to conduct themselves and interact.

It takes a zero-tolerance approach to offensive or disruptive language and behaviour, as well as any form of prejudice.

Some will be specific to selected courses, while others will be general to all students. The College’s academic schools play a major role in defining topics for the RESPECT agenda that relate directly to the particular areas, and from this an annual calendar (pictured right) is produced, and special events organised to tie in with as many as possible.

A major philosophy of Hartlepool College is that we are not just here to deliver skills and qualifications, but also to prepare people, especially young people, to enter the world of work as better informed, better balanced and more mature citizens. RESPECT is a major tool in helping us to achieve that aspiration.

Hartlepool College of Further Education Hartlepool College can trace its lineage back to 1849, and has undergone several new builds in its history, the most recent being a £53 million stateof-the-art campus opened to the public in 2011.

Hartlepool College of Further Education in 2015 and below, in 1965. Both occupy the same location, on Stockton Street in the very centre of the town.

The College supports around 8,500 full and part-time students per year, and is officially in the top 17% of all English colleges for overall performance. For adult education, HCFE is within the top 10%, and is 7th best in the country for the delivery of Apprenticeships.

Hartlepool College is the biggest provider of Apprenticeships in the Tees Valley and East Durham, and the second biggest in the entire North East region. Pass rates for 16-18 year olds are substantially higher than the national average.

Hartlepool itself is a town on the North East coast founded by Saxon monks in 640AD. It was expanded greatly in the industrial revolution, and was for a time one of the largest commercial ports and centres of industry in the world.

Today it has a population of roughly 100,000 and is a centre of digital and manufacturing technology, medical research, business, retail and the service sector, all of which Hartlepool College has evolved to support by delivering the skills demanded for these areas.

Other areas the College is renowned for are Engineering, Fabrication, Aerospace, Sports Coaching and Science, Health & Care, Construction & Building Services and Creative Design, and courses range from Access to Foundation Degree level.

The College is officially rated Grade 2, “Good” - the highest of any in the town. It also offers an extensive portfolio of preset and bespoke commercial training to business and industry.

For more information on RESPECT or The Big Picture contact: Debbie Caygill, Respect Co-ordinator & Director, Learner Services (01429) 404142 | dcaygill@hartlepoolfe.ac.uk