Artifact #2 Scavenger Hunt & Instagram Photos

The Grade 8 students in Yellow Pod completed the first round of this project. They explored the school with a scavenger hunt and pulled out themes based on what they found. Their inquiry question was “When you started at JH, what do you wish you had known?”. To answer this question they had to research their chosen theme and create an informational video for incoming students. We finished off the unit this week with a film festival in the theatre to showcase their videos. They did a great job with a tight timeline under the direction of Clara Salja and Aaron Vick. 

 The SET-BC team met today to reflect on the process and make adjustments for the next group. The information is based on the self-reflection the students did as well as Clara's reflection on the process from the teacher's perspective.


Here is what we found:
  • Students were very engaged with the process and were committed to finishing their videos. We think it is because they were going to have them showcased and also there was a sense of community and giving back to the next incoming group of students next year. 
  • They learned a lot about the school and its traditions/opportunities which we feel is a great foundation for their subsequent years at JH.
  • Having portable technology with the laptops made it easy for students to edit and work on their projects. 
  • Go-Pros were hard for the students to use. We need to do more teaching around that. What are the Go-Pros good for and what are they not so good for? 
  • The Go-Pro with no screen was a challenge because students didn't know when they were filming or just taking pictures. 
  • Also, it was labor intensive for the teacher to upload the videos from the Go-Pros.
Suggestions for the next round:
  • Have students do a short test video to practice the skills of uploading, editing, etc. before the real thing.
  • Give more time to film and edit. Maybe an extra block for each. Less time for planning
  • Guide the students into more informational style videos rather than scenes with acting.


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