The Locative Learning project (LLp) is a collaboration between the Banff Community High School (BCHS), Learning Through the Arts, and the Banff New Media Institute's ART Mobile Lab (at The Banff Centre). The LLp is made possible by a grant from the Inukshuk Wireless fund.
The LLp provides students with a unique opportunity to learn about local history and explore special places of historic interest. Using new media tools including mobile phones, GPS, and multimedia creation software, the social studies students at BCHS have researched and created their very own multimedia GPS walking tour of Banff area history in 2007/08. Tour participants walk around downtown Banff with a cell phone equipped with a GPS receiver. When they step into an area of historic interest or "hotspot" selected by a student, the phone automatically plays a multimedia presentation that tells a story about the historic surroundings.
Two grade seven social studies classes took part in the pilot project during 2007/08 under the guidance of Irv Semenok, their indefatigable teacher, and LLp learning facilitators. The project couldn't have happened without the support of Language Arts teacher Ben Reed and many other teachers in the school - Carol Beaton, Janice Rogowski, Cheryl McCarvill and Melissa Gustafson, as well as Principal David Brazeau and the whole BCHS community. Over the course of the school year, the students worked in groups of two to research a topic from Banff's colourful history. They then chose a hotspot in which to tell their story, wrote a script, and recorded an audio presentation based on the topic they'd chosen. With the audio files recorded and sound effects added, the students set about finding historical images to produce compelling visual presentations. Ultimately, each student group produced a complete audio-visual presentation to be played during the Banff Mobile History Tour at the specific place they'd chosen.
To facilitate this creative process, John Scully and Learning Through the Arts created a lesson plan and employed local filmmaker James Reckseidler to guide the students through the multitude of steps required to become successful media makers. Meanwhile, the team from the ART Mobile Lab also facilitated many lessons about exploring the relationships between place, media and mobile technology, and contributed the location-based GPS technology that makes the tour possible.
The Locative Learning Project Lesson Plans
Learning Through The Arts has created a series of lesson plans based on the Locative Learning Project. Download the lesson plans below:
- Learning Through Location
- Learning Through Locative Media
- Audio Media Creation and Exploration
- Video Media Creation and Exploration
- Online Mapping and Web Communities Audio
Locative Learning Project Research
An evaluation research report written by Ann Patteson of Learning Through The Arts:
The Locative Learning Project in the Press
Community History in the Canadian Rockies: Students Combine Stories and Technology to Map Their Town
The Locative Learning project was featured in the March/April issue of Legacy Magazine, a publication of the National Association for Interpretation. Click here for a PDF version of the article.
Banff e-history goes mobile
Article from The Banff Centre's "Inspired" magazine discussing the lab's Locative Learning Project and our partnership with Banff Community High School (Winter 2007-08).
Students Create A New Way To Explore Banff
Article on the Locative Learning Project and Banff Mobile History Tour Launch (June 3rd 2008, Banff Crag and Canyon)
Banff students offer a walk back in timeArticle from the Canmore's Rocky Mountain Outlook about the Banff Mobile History Tour and the public demos. (June 5 2008)
Magical History Tour!
Advertisement that appeared in both local Bow Valley newspapers about the launch celebration of the Banff Mobile History Tour. (June 2008)
