Introduction to Yarn and the 'Weaving Ossett's History' project.
How to get involved If you have an interest in writing about any aspect of Ossett area history or you are inspired by Ossett heritage to create a piece of creative writing or art, we would love for you to share it as a Yarn as a part of the Weaving Ossett's History project. It can be as long or short, complex or simple as you like. You can contact lead project partners Ossett Community Archive or Ossett Library to find out more or talk through your idea. We are hoping that through local schools and our partner organisations we can interest as many people as possible in remembering and appreciating Ossett heritage.
What is the 'Weaving Ossett's History' project?
- One strand of an AHRC-funded research project 'Digital Community Workspaces: Delivering Impact through Public Library and Archive networks'.
- A collaboration between Ossett Community Archive, Friends of Ossett Library, Wakefield Libraries and the University of Leeds.
- Aims to get local residents writing about or responding to Ossett’s heritage and community, and to share these stories online, linking them to existing photos and material already on the internet. Responses can take the form of creative writing, artwork, audio recordings or performance.
- See the project Yarn page at https://yarncommunity.org/projects/3
What is Yarn?
- A FREE to use collaborative storytelling platform designed with and by community groups and public sector organisations.
- Allows users to assemble archive resources and a plethora of web content to tell the stories which matter to them
- Creates a mesh of stories and aims to make the process of collating and curating archives and web content more democratic.
- Created and owned by the University of Leeds in collaboration with a team of designers at Carbon Imagineering.
- Yarn is not a repository in itself.
In addition to physical archives maintained by libraries and museums, the internet is a great source of content which can be easily added to Yarn stories. Here's a selection...
What resources are available?
- University of Leeds staff can offer YARN training and suggest classroom activities.
- Volunteers from Ossett Community Archive, Ossett Historical Society and Friends of Ossett Library will act as a point of contact for each school, suggest activities (see handout) and offer support.
- Numerous resources are available in both physical and online repositories...
After we learned about Leo's Journey at the Holocaust Centre, we realised that in some ways Leo was very different to us, but we also had lots of things in common. We all enjoy spending time at home with our families and playing with our toys. Although we come from different countries and follow different religions and lived at different times, were are not so different from him. We are all different, but we are all the same.
How can Yarn be used in schools?
Schools involved in a previous research project were able to easily collate resources from archive collections and the web alongside pupils’ own work. Teachers appreciated the intuitive, tablet-friendly design, the ability to easily link
to other platforms (e.g. YouTube and Twitter) and bring a polished finish to presentations of work, whilst also supporting the development of children’s IT skills.
- Can be used both as an educational tool and as a means to collate a range of learning outcomes.
- An effective presentation tool for assemblies and performances.
This guide includes the following lessons. Each lesson has a key question, learning outcomes, activities and resources. Lesson 1: Who am I? Lesson 2: What big changes happen in life? Lesson 3: Why are journeys important? Lesson 4: What makes an object special? Lesson 5: Why are new experiences difficult? Trip to The National Holocaust Centre and Museum. Lesson 6: (Optional) What happened to the children left behind? Lesson 7: How can we remember the Kindertransport? Assembly
Consent and Safeguarding
- We suggest that schools (rather than individual pupils) create and monitor Yarn accounts and that use of the platform is carried out with staff supervision.
- School representatives and parents will be asked to sign consent forms.
- Usual precautions around web safeguarding apply (not disclosing sensitive personal information, obtaining separate photo/video consent).
- Different publishing settings are available as well as a 'report this content' feature.
Ok, so you've got to grips with the main features of Yarn and have started using material from other websites to create your own stories but what if you want to add your own photographs, videos or audio files?
How can schools add their own photos, video and audio files to Yarn stories?
Perhaps your school already has a website or other web platform which it uses to document pupils' work. If not, why not explore some of the free web platforms documented in the linked story, above?