January has been a busy month for our land-based crew in terms of finishing up big projects, ending our program in a good way and saying our goodbyes. Unfortunately, that means we have had very little time to dedicate to our Synergy project and have had to start thinking about alternative ways to accomplish our objectives! Luckily, a Film 10-12 class is running in second semester and is being taught by Elliot Fox-Povey, who has expressed interest in collaborating on this exciting project. While we are sad to say goodbye to Kim Lagimodiere, whose land-based teaching contract ends this week, we are excited to be forming a new partnership with Elliot and incorporating his and his students' ideas!
We have decided that we would like to use Google Earth to embed artifacts recorded about different points in the marsh. We anticipate that these artifacts could include audio, video and text; the type of artifact will depend on the point of interest and the students' ideas. We have spoken to our district's tech department and they have indicated that they will be able to support us in turning this idea into a reality!
Google Earth aerial shot of the Somenos Marsh Conservation Area, including boardwalk loop and outdoor classroom.
In addition to our exploration of Google Earth and its capabilities, we have also started exploring iMovie and how to create impactful video and audio pieces. One of our students has put together a short video of our trip to Tofino using iMovie and has incorporated audio, video, pictures and text taken and recorded by various members of our class. Our students report that iMovie is very easy to use as the features are highly intuitive. While there are limitations to this software in terms of high level video editing, it serves our purposes at this point just fine. Stay tuned for more tips and tricks in regards to iMovie and Google Earth and we jump further into this project in semester two!
This week our class received our Set-BC technology which means we can finally get going on our Somenos Marsh project! Many of our students were very eager to get the MacBook Pro computers and GoPros out of their boxes and up and running. Luckily, we have a few technology wizards in our class who were happy to take on this task.
Our next step was to start talking about what we want to accomplish in regards to enhancing the visitor experience, either in person or virtually, at the Somenos Marsh. We put students into groups of four and had them create T-charts which looked at "What is at the Marsh already? vs. "What needs to be added?" Many wonderful ideas were suggested, as noted by one such example below. Finally, we had each group choose their best or most important points and add them to the board so we could begin to prioritize ideas (as seen in the bottom picture). Our next steps will be to re-visit this list and identify the most feasible project ideas based on the time and resources we have available to our class. Stay tuned!
Students brainstorming what is at the Somenos Marsh now and
what needs to be done to enhance the visitors' experience either in person or virtually
More brainstorming!
An example of one group's brainstorming
The class list of most important points and ideas to explore further
This week our class had Sheri Kinney, our district's Library Learning Commons Coordinator, in to lead a lesson on digital citizenship. We started by asking our students to share in partners what they thought this term means. We then used our "community brain" to web our shared learning (see photo) to get a sense of what our students already know about digital citizenship and to identify gaps so we can focus our learning! Sheri then gave students questionnaires created by Common Sense Education and Harvard Graduate School of Education's GoodPlay Project, related to teenagers' technology use. This provided students with a better understanding of teenagers' 24/7, social use of digital media and technologies. It also begins to highlight the importance of carrying out online relationships responsibly and being good digital citizens. Many were surprised to learn about just how much time teenagers spend on their phones texting, using social media and connecting digitally with others!
Our "community brain" on digital citizenship background knowledge
Sheri Kinney speaks about technology use in the teenager population
Welcome to our blog! This blog represents the Cowichan Secondary School's land-based learning program's work in the Somenos Marsh. Our program consists of forty-three Gr. 10-12 students who use place-based, experiential learning to meet curriculum objectives. We spend approximately half of our time working and learning outside of the classroom alongside local organizations and community experts. Students are getting credits for courses such as English First Peoples, Environmental Science, Social Studies - BC First Peoples, Aboriginal Cultural Connections, Independent Directed Studies and Physical Education.
Our land-based learning team at Cowichan Secondary School. Back row (L to R): Kim Lagimodiere (teacher) and Venessa MacDowell (Vice-Principal), front row (L to R): Kelly Dougan (teacher) and Joann Champoux (Educational Assitant).
We received a SET-BC Synergy Project place-based grant to explore Somenos Marsh and create a virtual tour of this important ecosystem. The project objectives are to enhance the existing signage, that include facts about plants and birds, as well as the Hul'q'umi'num words that go with them. The enhancements which could include QR codes and an interactive map or a virtual tour would feature links to audio recordings of the Hul'q'umi'num words, local oral-traditional stories and more about the biology of the ecosystem. Ultimately, there could be tours given by the students to local elementary schools and school trustees. Ideally, the final product will help to bring greater public awareness to the marsh and enhance visitor experiences there.
Example of signage in Somenos Marsh featuring a description, map of geographical distribution and Hul'q'umi'num word for the organism featured
We have visited the Somenos Marsh with our class a few times already and have started to think about the importance of this special place and how our class can help to promote it as an important ecosystem in our community!
Some of land-based program at the Somenos Marsh enjoying the Open Air Classroom
