Virtual Learning Environments

SARAH HAAS
BILLY PARRETI
EMOGENE SHADWICK
August 1, 2008

We have been working with GlobalHood and Global Potential for almost two months as a support mechanism for their research initiatives by teaching them how to be ethnographers. We have been teaching the youths how to see and also how to communicate what they see. This ultimately delivers value to the GlobalHood and Global Potential programs in a variety of ways. Global Potential is a not for profit that provides disadvantaged Brooklyn youth with mentoring, job skills, and the opportunity to volunteer abroad in a developing world community. In this case it was the Dominican Republic.

When contemplating what our group could offer GlobalHood, we looked at our individual knowledge of ethnography, our abilities and talents to come up with a list of objectives.  The amazing thing about this project was that we were able to create objectives for both the youth participants as well as GlobalHood as an organization.
Our objectives for the young people included teaching them the knowledge of data collecting and analysis that gave them the opportunity to see the Dominican Republic in an entirely different light.  These skills gave the young participants the ability to teach the people of the Dominican Republic ethnography as well.  In addition, we anticipated that the young people would have a more developed perspective about their surroundings and the communities in which others live.  Also, the field assignments we gave them to complete in the Dominican Republic would give them the ability to set objectives and measure their efforts.

Our objective concerning the GlobalHood organization was the contribution of the young people’s data that would be useful to market their cause to potential investors. The data also offers GlobalHood new ways to market their message (through Second Life, Facebook, etc.)

However, the most rewarding objective to all concerned will be seeing the young people consider how they can sell GlobalHood’s message based on the data they collect and interpret.  Their ability to become active participants in the marketing of the program in which they are involved will foster a sense of ownership, investment and responsibility toward their program and its message.

Through a one-hour training session in ethnography and a study sheet for them to take to the Dominican Republic, we were able to ready the young people for how to become participatory researchers.

The media platforms, which we used within our group for communication, varied. Since two of our three group members lived in NY and the third group member lived in Seattle, WA alternative forms of communication were essential to productive project development.

As such, our group communicated through face-to-face meetings, our group blog: http://4globalhood.wordpress.com, e-mail, Second Life, telephone and text messaging. In particular, our blog served as a way to keep up-to-date with one another in terms of communication and information exchange. Of the many benefits of utilizing multiple contact platforms, arguably the most significant benefit is that we were able to have real-time communication, as well as have our information logged and available for reference as needed.

Additionally, we worked with GlobalHood via multiple platforms including face-to-face, e-mail, video, cameras, blogs and the traditional paper medium. Since we did not have final analysis at the end of this course, we relied on the Global Potential blog the participants are maintaining in the Dominican Republic as a way to gauge their developing ethnographic skills. We found that the young people were implementing their observational skills.

To further shed light on the way in which the young adults have been utilizing ethnography skills, here is a blog excerpt from youth participant Keshia, who is observing her environment while in the Dominican Republic:

“There is definitely a lot to be done and I hope that we can make a big difference before we leave. The first thing that we need to focus on in the Batey is Hygiene. Lots of kids walk around without shoes. Some have deep cuts for that reason. They walk on the construction site were it’s easy to get hurt without shoes and around the Batey were there is waste at every corners.”

Since our objectives were driven by selling and teaching, our approach to the analysis of data will take (upon completion) a two-fold approach; both qualitative and quantitative. Qualitatively we will analyze the young people’s findings and materials from data collection (their photos, their journals, spoken word, etc.) through a working session when they return. We will take all the information collectively and craft stories based on how they talk to us about it. Pre-trip, we gave them an exercise to look at things and to absorb things in the environment around them. We then taught them how to interpret their data.  Relating these points to their pending trip, we sent them off with a set of guidelines (currently posted on our blog) and they are now successfully off being ethnographers.
Additionally, we gave the youths a brief questionnaire to fill out prior to the first exercise (also posted on our blog). This was to gauge interest, skills and perceptions. Upon their return (and during the work session), we will ask them to fill out another questionnaire. This benchmarked against the pre-questionnaire will allow us to quantify what the students learned and what their attitude and opinions are of their experience (in general sense and from a “researcher’s” perspective).
We believe our project leverages and creates a richer learning experience that encourages positive behavioral change in our specific target population, through empowering the young adults with the knowledge, resources and tools to refine their observational skills to gather information that will be used to benefit GlobalHood.   Seeing as our target population is the youth participants, we created a richer learning experience by expanding the young adults’ perspective through providing them with the tools and education to put into use productively many of their pre-existing observational skills. In short, the students were able to take what they already know and build upon their skill set. Having the tools and knowing what to do with them helped change and nurture their perspectives.  Subsequently, the students are implementing their skills and passing along their knowledge while in the Dominican Republic, thus transitioning roles from student to teachers; from participants to observers.

This was a great experience for our team.  As we learned to stay focused on the subject of social media and the marketing of a social message, we were able to supply both GlobalHood and the young participants the tools needed to make their trip more memorable and insightful.  The fortunate and unfortunate thing is that at this juncture we are not finished with the objectives we set out to complete.  We are in the process of arranging a post-excursion meet with the young people and will develop their film from the cameras we supplied and discuss the images, videos, blogs and observations they made and different ways they see to classify them.

What we continue to gain from this social marketing experience is that social causes are easily marketed with truth, reality and transformation.  Frank Cohn, Director of GlobalHood and an adult facilitator in the Dominican Republic says in his blog entry,

“They are… learning new skills and getting new perspectives on life and the world and I am learning from them”.

It is our pleasure to be a part of this life-changing excursion with GlobalHood.

Originally from http://4globalhood.wordpress.com/2008/08/01/participatory-research-final-group-report/