Weekly Objective and Achievement

Week 9:

Objective:

• Present the demo video to the community partners in South Vancouver Neighborhood House

Achievement:

• Received constructive feedback on how to improve the video
• Improved communication skills with the seniors
• Had an engaging conversation with participants on the concepts of food assets, food bank, community gardens etc

Upcoming Weeks:

Week 10:

Objective:

• Improve the video according to the feedback
• Look for more volunteers to watch the video

Strategy:

• Add some special effects in the video to make it more interesting and easier for the audience to follow the instruction
• Ask family or friends to watch the video

Week 11:

Objective:

• Work on the final report, presentation and infographics

Strategy:

• Distribute the work evenly for each member
• Read the infographics from previous years and brainstorm news ideas for our own infographics
• Recall video making process and discuss results, implications and improvements

Notes: The upcoming weekly objective and strategy are slightly different from that in the second post because we would adjust according to the progress we make along the way.

The Moment of Significant Change

During this week’s tutorial, each group was asked to draw a graph to indicate their knowledge and emotional changes throughout the past few months. The x-axis is the time (independent variables) and the y-axis is either the levels of knowledge or the stages of emotion (dependent variables). After completion, every group presented with their plot and shared their stories about the project.

We included all the elements in one graph. The blue line represents the skills/knowledge and the red line represents the emotions/feelings. The dotted lines represent what we believe the knowledge we can gain and emotion status in the future. Thank you for this activity which inspires us to recall memories and reflect on what we have been doing since the beginning of this Food Assets Map project. For the first couple weeks, we didn’t communicate and interact frequently since we were not familiar with each other and also the project itself. Therefore, we started the plot with a flat line. After the meeting with the Vancouver Coastal Health Dietician Teya, we were much clearer on the instruction and goal of this project. We later figured out the type of video and consulted the technician for technical support. We made such a great progress during week 7 (spring break) which can be marked as our moment of significant change.

The spring break allowed us to have sufficient time to meet and work together. We separated the group in half: 3 people working on the first half and 3 people working on the second half of the video. No one in the group has made a video before. It was definitely a challenge for us, but we were confident that we can conquer the difficulties. We started to get our hands on the software Camtasia and had a general idea of what the video would look like. Despite the video was not finished completely, we were pleased with the progress we made and looking forward to the community trial.

During the ongoing process of this project, we always remind ourselves the initial purpose of making the video. The How-To video serves as an instructional tool which educates people to take advantage of the Food Assets Map. People can find food related resources on the Map. It might seem that the map just has a simple function, yet it can be crucial in people’s daily life. For example, people with low income can’t afford fresh vegetables and fruits; or people with food allergies need special diet. They can look for the organization or community center that can provide help on the map. The map benefits two sides at the same time: the food resources are not wasted and people can get the real support to address their food concerns. The map definitely increases food security in the Vancouver Neighborhood and take positive approach to the poverty issue. A good educational video can help reach more audience which amplifies the significance of the map. Our target audiences are people who prefer to speak English, Mandarin and Cantonese. According to 2011 Census (Statistics Canada, 2016), 56% people identified English as mother tongue. The population of Cantonese and Mandarin speakers ranked the second and third in the non-official language group. Therefore, more than half of the people in Vancouver have no language barrier when watching the video.

In summary, we hope that more people who are fluent in different languages can join this video project to reach more audiences and promote the Food Assets Map. The main goal we set for ourselves is to create a video that is simple and easy which enhances the usability. During this process, we predict that we will gain skills steadily and improve the quality of video according to the advice from audience. We will also keep our positive attitude towards every challenge for the next following weeks.

Group Strategy For Success

• Even distribution of work

It is only fair if everyone in the group makes contribution to the project.  The feeling of fair is important to get a person motivated and get the work done efficiently. Each member is in charge of different parts of the project according to their strengths or preferences.

• Get help

The main goal of our project is to create a Food Assets Map video in three languages. This is a new project so we can’t look for references from previous years like the other groups. Another big challenge is that none of us have made a video before. Therefore, it is crucial for us to often communicate with Teya for clarity of the instruction and consult with the technician for technical support. Thanks to the technician, we find out there are four free softwares available on the Connect.

• Utilize the softwares

We used a few softwares for this project such as Camtasia and sound recorder. In order to get familiar with these softwares, we watched instructional video on Youtube and asked the technician for help. We first made a video without sound and subtitles as a baseline. Then we recorded the scripts in three different languages and added corresponding subtitles.

• Connect with the knowledge learnt in class

When we presented the video to the seniors in South Vancouver Neighborhood House, they got confused about the concept of food assets and also some categories listed in the map as well. They initially thought that food assets are just where they can purchase and get food. The definition given by Vancouver Coastal Health is that food assets are “places where people can grow, prepare, share, buy, receive or learn about food”. After we explained the definition to them, they realized they can find food-related workshops or community gardens on the map. We also show them how the map can improve food securities in variety ways. For example, they can look for free or low cost meal on the map which can address the concern of affordability. Affordability is one of the important components of food security (Power et al., 1998). The demo video educates people how to use the map and also promotes the food security in the Vancouver Community.

Reference:

Food Asset Map – Vancouver. (n.d.). Retrieved March 10, 2017, from http://www.vch.ca/your-health/health-topics/food-asset-map-vancouver/

Power, E. M., Sheeshka, J. D., & Heron, A. L. (1998). Canadian dietitians’ understanding of food security. Journal of Nutrition Education, 30(1), 45.

Statistics Canada. (2016, September 21). Focus on Geography Series, 2011 Census. Retrieved March 27, 2017, from http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2011/as-sa/fogs-spg/Facts-cma-eng.cfm?LANG=Eng&GK=CMA&GC=933