Reflecting on Our Fall Hour Of Power

Two months ago inspiration struck as a result of a 2-day technology conference I attended in Boston. A weekend of creating and computing, we rolled out both a S'more website and the post "Sharing our Planet: Hour of Power."

Upon unleashing the project with the students, you know it's successful when they start complaining when it's time to leave for the day.

As we were wrapping up our inquiries, investigations, and final projects right before the holidays, we ended with a reflection on our 8+ weeks of our "Hour of Power:"  Yes, we all learned a lot from the studies on oil spills, water pollution, deforestation, methane plumes, world hunger, clean drinking water, overfishing, and more. Yet, the student reflections below (in addition to their projects) showcased their creativity, collaboration, and level of engagement during this process.  

Hour of Power Reflection

We started our “Hour of Power” with the hopes of giving each of you the opportunity to explore a topic related to the environment that is important to you. Take some time to reflect on everything we did from:

· brainstorming environmental issues
· thinking about a topic
· creating inquiry questions to investigate
· researching
· taking action & making a personal action plan
· creating a project
· including technology
· and presenting our project.

• "'Hour of Power' was very fun, interesting and educational to me...I think it was fun trying to get other people involved in helping this situation because I feel like other people are going to be interested in it." ~ L

• "'Hour or Power' was a gigantic project full of excitement, fun, and tough times... My partner was awesome, especially because we got to bounce ideas off each other, and helped each other improve our own ideas." ~ J1

• "I really enjoyed being able to pick our partners and topic." ~ C1

• "It was a good way to learn about our environment.... We accomplished a lot." ~ N1

• "My favorite part was when we made our documentary video. I found the editing very challenging.... I am especially proud of our documentary..... I would love to do it again." ~ N2

• "In the end of the editing, it was worth the work, even though it took a lot of time... I am super proud of the documentary we made." ~ B

• "I learned lots of facts in water pollution. I learned how much polluted water there is all over the world and who it affects."  ~ N3

• "I felt it encouraged others to think about not using water that they have been using unwisely. Also, it will make them save water because they know someone has less or unhealthy water." ~ M

• "I think our topic is important because when one problem starts, another starts and another. So if you can help our problem, we can help to avoid more problems. I learned that there are many other environmental problems than pollution, and other major problems." ~ S

• "I was not aware of how bad overfishing is. I did not know overfishing is right where we live!" ~ K

• "One thing I enjoyed about Hour of Power is that we came up with over 25 facts about water pollution! HOP really educated me about problems in the world." ~ G

• "I think working with my partner was good because he had a lot of determination for this project. He and so ended up being really successful....I learned that world hunger is one of the biggest problems in the world and kills a child every 5 seconds." ~ R1

• "My group and I worked really well together. We stayed on topic, we used our time wisely, and our final project turned out great! I wouldn't change a thing!" ~ J2

• "I liked working with a partner and choosing something I thought mattered to me. I also enjoyed the creative part like the action plan." ~ R2

• "The part that I was most proud of in the outcome of the scripts. They included facts, humor, and most importantly what new information we learned... We learned that many of the marine animals suffer from all the trash that people drop--some on accident, some on purpose." ~ M1

• "It is important to inform and persuade people about safe, clean drinking water because a lot of people die from it and it is terrible. I learned that environmental issues can cause a lot of things to happen to our environment." ~ C2

• "It felt good when we were taking action to take inform people about our problem... If we could do it again, I would definitely do this because I liked having the choice on everything and to be able to use a lot of technology." ~ P

• "I have learned that one environmental issue leads to another." I think that is important for people to know....it was really nice focusing I what really matters to me an deciding where the project should be driven....This project has provided an experience that has changed me to be more aware if environmental issues." ~ G2

Nearly all of the students mentioned being so proud of the work they did... and how much they both learned and enjoyed the process.  That is the part that truly stands out!!  Will we do another Genius Hour?  More than one student requested that we do!  Time will tell!


Image from our S'more website & Hour of Power paperwork.