Our mentor text will be the TEDx sketchnotes from this blog. Since members of our group are quite artistically inclined and have previous experience making visual notes, I think this will be an effective method to combine text, drawings, and pictures. From the collection of sketchnotes that were shared, we can see the different approaches and layout the artist has taken depending on the subject, this shows the flexibility this method has that will allow our group to channel our thoughts and feelings.
Yes our group intends to do both sketchnotes and a video. The video will capture the dynamics of our project week and allows others to visually see what it must have been like to be on our trip. The upcoming grade 11s will also be able to get a real feel and the service provider may use the video to incentivise other volunteers. As for visual notes, we can be more text heavy and provide information that may have been harder to capture in a video without making it too long. By having a visual note clearly laid out, other people can read the information they need to know without having to sit through 5 minutes.
At the end of each day, we will get together and reflect and share the evidence (e.g. photos, videos, quotes) that we have collected. It will be a great opportunity if we could interview other volunteers as well as our service partner herself. By doing it in small portions throughout, we can see if there has been any change in our perspective as we got more exposure.
From this list – future-ready skills – I think an important skill to have is cognitive flexibility. As we have only talked to one representative via email, which is very different from face-to-face real-time interaction. What we say to third graders in UWC, will be quite different to what we say to children the same age in the village we’re going to. We will need to so independent research before hand such as learning some simple phrases in Tagalog, learning Filipino cultural norms, and the social context of the issue. With more prior knowledge, we will be able to become more sensitive and communicate with them more effectively.
