2024 Student Handbook
Student handbook for the ETC class that started August 26 2024
Adventure Module
Each Fall, ETC students embark on a thrilling event known as the Adventure Module. While this experience has taken on a variety of activities throughout the years (cruises, museum visits, theme park visits, etc.), it has remained an important part of the ETC Fundamentals course and has become an important yearly ETC tradition.
A core component of the ETC curriculum is for students to create interactive, immersive experiences, be it a game, an app, a VR experience, a museum display, etc. In doing so, it is helpful and almost essential for students themselves to engage in these types of experiences, and thus the Adventure Module was created.
Currently, the Adventure Module consists of a two-day event at the Bedford Springs Resort and Seven Springs Mountain Resort. Students participate in a variety of team-building activities including “building their own boat”, an all-time favorite. Karaoke, s’mores around the fire pit, and swimming give students the opportunity to get to know each other better and bond as a class. This helps a lot with the team-based philosophy of education at the ETC.
Since the Adventure Module is part of one of the ETC required courses, The Fundamentals of ETC, upon their return to Pittsburgh, students must complete a creative assignment based on this experience. Students are challenged to tell a story about the Adventure Module using original drawings, photographs, or mixed media to reflect on their experiences and what they found motivating, inspiring and/or challenging and why. The assignment focuses on the user experience by creatively expressing emotions using images and words. One single activity may be transformative, or perhaps the entire event was an awesome experience. Students submit paintings, tone poems, a storyboard, songs, short films, playable games and more along with a written statement that explains their expressive objectives.
The 2018 Adventure Module took place on September 13-14, and a display of the paper submissions is scheduled for September 27 in a creative development workshop.
Below are some of the pictures the students sent to us while they were on the Adventure Module.
