November Update
Tourism 12 Class Update
The Tourism 11 class is one of the main groups working on the Synergy project in Semester I. It is composed of local Grade 11 and 12 students, as well as a number of our International students who are studying in the Comox Valley. Students were given an overview of our Synergy project proposal and the equipment we would receive to help develop media presentations for this project.
In preparation for the project, students in the class brainstormed ideas about what the Comox Valley does/does not offer teens. We wanted students to highlight some of our strengths, as well as areas that our Valley is “falling short”. From there, they identified individuals and businesses to invite in to speak with the class about tourism and livability for teens in the Comox Valley.
In addition, the class examined a few Comox Valley tourism related websites to see additional attractions and activities that community leaders have identified as tourist worthy. They also looked at marketing strategies that these sites employed, so that they could include some of these in the media presentations they create.
In groups of two to three, students started brainstorming more specifically about an aspect of the Comox Valley they want to showcase or that they think needs to be improved. The students were asked the following questions: What do you want to showcase or improve and explain why? Does this showcase or improvement fall under one of the tourism sectors (Accommodation, Transportation, Recreation and Entertainment, Travel Services, Food and Beverage)? If so, which one? Are there people (friends, co-workers, employers, family, etc.) who you could interview to obtain more ideas/ opinions/ suggestions/ stories for your project? Would social media help showcase or improve your project? If so, what, and how? What technology do you think you might need to help you with your project?
At this point, it appears that there is a balance between projects that showcase attractions/activities in the Valley (rivers, lakes, Mt. Washington, skateboard park, etc.), and areas that need improvement (e.g. Comox Rec Centre space and hours, public transit, etc.). We plan to help our students develop detailed plans on what they plan to focus on for their project, how they plan to go about gathering information, video, and images, and how they will create their media presentations. Before they begin in the community, we will work with the students on digital citizenship (explained in the next post).
Media 9/10
The Media 9/10 class is also involved in the Synergy project in Semester I. One of their focuses is to design and create the website that will showcase the media projects that students create. The class has explored and learned graphic design basics to guide their website creation. They are starting to plan and design the website using WiX. Students are learning digital citizenship protocol and skill (explained in the next post).
Photo 9/10
The Photo 9/10 class is also working on elements of the Synergy project. They have been tasked to take photos of community events and their favourite places in the Valley. Again, this group of students are following the rules around digital citizenship (explained in the next post).
