Young Scot Academy

So what’s it all about?

The Young Scot Academy encourages young people to get involved in producing information and creating opportunities in their area. By participating in these courses young people can collect new skills - ranging from how to write articles or make podcasts for the Young Scot website to influencing the media and even securing new discounts for the Young Scot NEC card.

In addition all the courses can be used towards attaining a Youth Achievement Award, run by Youth Scotland.

At the Young Scot Academy the emphasis is on participation and engagement. The courses are designed to be fun and practical as well as useful. They are packed with activities to get young participants on their feet and taking part! Completely flexible; the courses can be customised to the needs and requirements of the groups and individuals taking part.

What courses are available?

Young Scot: Deal Makers

Even Sir Alan Sugar would be proud of Young Scot Deal Makers! This course focuses on how young people can negotitate their own discounts at local shops and services which can be accessed through the Young Scot NEC card. Young people at the core of their local communities are perfectly placed to identify potential savings and offers and with the Deal Makers training they will learn the skills and know-how they needed to secure those deasl! The course also includes an introduction to the Young Scot Card and some of the 1,400 discounts already available to the 380,000 cardholdes across Scotland.

Young Scot: Digital Voice

If the internet is a city, then podcasts are the most popular radio station on the air! Podcasts are a new and effective way of communicating with young people and be downloaded to MP3 players or streamed online. Young Scot: Digital Voice gives young people the skills to produce their own podcasts and have their opinions and views heard throughout the web. At the end of the day those on the course will have produced their own podcast and have experience of interviewing, editing and presenting their very own audio show, which can they be uploaded to Young Scot’s podcast library or iTunes!

Young Scot: Hack Pack

The internet provides young people with the perfect medium to publish their own news, reviews and opinion. Every local authority area has their own Young Scot local site, providing the perfect platform to publish content on the web! This course will take young people through the Young Scot website, familiarising them with the technical aspects of creating content through the simple content management system. The course also covers training in plain English and writing for the web, giving young people some real experience of producing their own online articles.

Young Scot: Media Savvy
 

The Media is part of our everyday life. Newspapers, TV, radio and the internet are all part of the mix, providing an enormous amount of information and opinion. Whether you want to better understand how the media works, how you can influence it, learn media skills or have an amazing project you think everyone should know about, this is the course for you. This course uses real life example and shares tips and experience to give young people an essential grounding in influencing the media in their lives.

Young Scot: Video Bloggers

Videoblogging, like podcasting and writing on the web, allows young people to express their own views and opinions. However the experience of a videoblog is much more powerful as the audience have the opportunity to both see and hear the person behind the story. This course will take young people through the equipment used and some of the issues that need to be considered before creating a Videoblog. Finally, young people will be able to upload their own videoblogs to YouTube for everyone to see.

For more information email academy@youngscot.org or phone 0131 313 2488 and ask for the Young Scot Academy.