A Quantum Shift

One of the things that we like about inquiry projects is that it allows students to exert more control over the learning process. When proper amounts of time and guidance are provided, students can pause and reflect on what they have learned, what is relevant to the task at hand, and how best to demonstrate their new-found knowledge. Recently, we have come across to parallel approaches that teachers and students might find rewarding. The first came from documentary film-maker Nikos Theodosakis. The Kelowna-based Theodosakis has been offering workshops to teachers and students on the art of documentary film-making, taking the aspiring film-makers through the process of brainstorming and pitching an idea, to gathering and editing the film. For Theodosakis, the reflection that occurs is as important as the finished film itself, and to us, this process mirrors the same one we would love to see happen in science class - students brainstorm and pitch the investigation, research, experiment, and then present their data. Reflecting on the meaning and relevance of the acquried data/film is just as important as the gathering of the information itself.

Putting this process into a wider context is a recent contest launched by online video provider Quantum Shift TV, entitled "Be the Change! Share the Story". Quantum Shift Tv is loosely based around the YouTube format of social networking for video, but concentrates on "the cultural values of community, care, and interconnectedness" offered by citizen journalism. The school contest focuses on documenting a social or environmental project undertaken by the school. Not only does the project hope to encourage students to commit to some form of local action, but contest videos are then uploaded to the Quantum Shift Tv website, where they can be viewed, ranked, commented on, and linked to, by other contest participants in an effort to create a community geared around social and environmental awareness.