Knowledge Media Institute, The Open University

Seventy pupils from Farmborough Primary School in Bath took part in three photomarathons during their trip to the Roman Baths today. Photomarathons are a timed competition in which a group of photographers are given a set of themes to take photos on. At the end of the available time the photographers submit a set of photos, one photo for each theme in the given order. The judges then choose the best photos and award prizes.

As a school trip activity, we modified the competition so it could be completed within an hour (including the judging and prize giving). For 15 to 20 minutes the pupils took photos on three themes around the museum. Photo galleries for each theme were then generated and made available on a website for the pupils. The intention is that by using themes provided by the teacher the pupils’ photos will form a personal collection of resources, which they can use after their trip.

The school trip photomarathon is a collaboration between Trevor Collins in KMI, Richard Joiner and Alice White at the University of Bath, and Lindsey Braidley at the Roman Baths. We are interested to see if aligning the competition themes with the curriculum topics encourages pupils to think about the topics during their trip, and helps them to relate what they learn during the trip to the work they do afterwards in class.

Next week we’ll be visiting the school to see how they are making use of their photo galleries.