Image may be NSFW.
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At the end of the October half-term we took 41 @Rossett students from years 9, 10 and 11 to Ypres and the Somme to gain an understanding of the trenches, cemeteries, museums and memorials of the First World War. This is a yearly trip which follows a similar pattern each year.
Clik here to view.
At the end of the October half-term we took 41 @Rossett students from years 9, 10 and 11 to Ypres and the Somme to gain an understanding of the trenches, cemeteries, museums and memorials of the First World War. This is a yearly trip which follows a similar pattern each year. Why?
- A trip to the sights and memorials of the First World War is an emotional an moving experience that deserves to be documented.
- Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.Using social media allowed the parents to see where we were and what we were doing. Twitter is public and you do not have to have an account to see the Tweets. - I also believe that it probably had a reassuring effect as parents knew we were safe and well.
- I believe that it involved parents (and other interested parties) in the trip.
- It was (wifi permitting) real time and the story unfolded on Twitter as it happened on the trip.
- Upon returning to the UK it allowed the students to see how the trip had been documented.
How did it work?
1. Wherever we went on the trip I took my iPad and photographed and filmed what was happening.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.2. Whilst we were on the bus between the sights I wrote out Tweets, such as the ones you can see on the right, I saved these tweets to my drafts. I also used iMovie to edit together the footage.
Clik here to view.
2. Whilst we were on the bus between the sights I wrote out Tweets, such as the ones you can see on the right, I saved these tweets to my drafts. I also used iMovie to edit together the footage.3. When we were in a wifi zone (on the ferry, In Flanders Fields Museum, at Thiepval, in the hotel) I Tweeted my drafted tweets and uploaded the footage to YouTube. This was quick and easy because they were pre-written.
4. Parents and other interested groups could see what was happening on the trip.What was the impact?
- Whilst we were still in Belgium the footage of the first two days on YouTube received over 40 views. This shows that the videos were being watched.
- About 5 or 6 parents engaged directly during the trip by Tweeting, Re-Tweeting and favouriting the tweets that were being sent.
- Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.Some parents had never been on Twitter but explained to me when we returned that they were now 'adicted' and had 'loved' seeing the trip on twitter. - Whilst we were still in Belgium several students showed me texts from their parents saying that they had seen the photos and videos.
- Several students said that, although their parents didn't have Twitter, they had still seen the photos and videos because they had just 'Googled' @RossettHistory.
- Several students told me that Grandparents and other family members had seen the videos and photos.
- Upon returning to the UK several students looked back through the feed and Re-Tweeted and favourited the tweets.
- A media company affiliated with the school is producing an article about the trip which has been based on the information in the Twitter feed.
- As I write this blog the cumulative views of the videos from the trip stands at just over 500.
When assessing the impact of using Social Media in this way it is difficult to be precise. I could ask students to fill in a questionnaire but I believe that the huge amount of 'anecdotal' evidence I have suggests that this has clearly been a worthwhile exercise.
I would encourage anyone planning a trip to use social media in this way.
If you would like to see the videos of the trip the playlist is embedded below: