Our students are tech-savvy digital natives who don’t know a world where they can’t get answers immediately. They can use their devices to find information instantaneously—especially while they are exploring new destinations on a travel program. In order to encourage students to stretch their critical thinking skills while they are interacting with their surroundings, we’ve developed a digital Discovery Journal for Ottawa that they can use as a resource to take their learning to new heights.
The journal is intended to supplement the travel program experience and can be used before, during, and after the program. The Discovery Journal is site-specific to Ottawa and the contents were designed to encourage moments of reflection as students experience new places and ideas throughout the program. We know reflecting and making connections are important parts of learning new things. The Discovery Journal can help students do exactly that!
The WorldStrides Curriculum & Academics team recommends three primary ways to use the Discovery Journal:
Engagement is key. The digital journal is intended to help students engage with what they are seeing and learning without detracting from their on-site experiences. A digital option provides more ways to consume information that wouldn’t be possible with a traditional physical journal, such as features like pop-ups, additional links to digital-friendly content, and engaging quiz activities. When it comes time for students to reflect on their experiences, students can write and save their responses all in one place. Additionally, WorldStrides is moving toward a greater focus on social responsibility through reducing our use of paper. Utilizing a digital version of the student Discovery Journal is one way we can do that.
Learning and discovery is tons of fun, whether your students are exploring the Rideau Canal, Parliament Hill, or the Canadian War Museum. Incorporating the digital Discovery Journal is a great way to support students on their learning journey and document all their memorable moments in a streamlined, interactive way during their Ottawa travel program!
To see a walkthrough of how to use the digital Discovery Journal and how to incorporate it into your students’ next adventure, check out the video below.
If you’re registered on a Brightspark program travelling to Ottawa and you’re interested in using this new tool, you can access it here.
Written by: Randi Chapman
Randi Chapman serves as an Associate Director of Curriculum and Academics for WorldStrides. She holds an M.T. in Secondary English Education and a B.S. in both English and journalism, with an emphasis on public relations. Ms. Chapman taught in a traditional high school classroom for eight years. She works tirelessly to increase the accessibility of meaningful professional development to educators around the world and to expand experiential educational opportunities to students.