Developing an Ethnographic Data Gathering Tool
By venessa. Filed in Mapping_10, projects |Tags: ethnography, lesson plans, mapping, methodology, research, tools, visualization
Hi all,
Just wanted to touch base about group 2 and the ethnographic project. I’m still a little unclear about the objective… In our class wiki it says the goal is to create lesson plans of how to understand ethnography and mapping. To me, this is just a matter of creating outlines of how to effectively conduct research. If that is the case, that information is already out there, and we can just point them in that direction. But from the video, Frank described wanting a data gathering “tool.” Maybe just from being in the mindset of software development, I interpreted “tool” to mean an online application that would visually express the aggregation of the gathered quantitative and qualitative data. If anyone has clarification on this (until we hear back from Frank), please comment. Otherwise, here are the points I extracted from his video:
Task: Students spend 6 weeks with communities, understanding their needs and issues through dialogue. They conduct a 20 question census over 200 households, and need to make their findings publicly accessible.
- Suggestion: Use Zoomerang or SurveyMonkey, online survey/questionnaire tools, to input data and generate the visual and graphical displays which can be used for blog posts or reports.
Target Audience: classrooms around the world, media groups, parents, siblings, neighbors
- Suggestion: decide the types of formats most appropriate for the various audiences (i.e. white paper, video, ongoing blog)
Information to be Collected: Demographics & Key Community Issues (STEEP categories: Social, Technological, Environmental, Economic, Political)
- Suggestion: determine types of data to be collected and source for retrieval; Quantitative data may be best collected from research or governmental agencies, Qualitative data, like the opinions/feelings of the people, best collected by one-on-one dialogues and interview format, Real-Time Data, like which roads are cut off during rainy season may be best collected from live radio/television reports & mapped onto an online infrastructure
Collaboration Opportunities: Which other international NGOs or organizations are already collecting this data and can be approached as alliances?
- Suggestion: research the places this information can be found, via online resources or by contacting local organizations on the ground
Integrated Social Media Platform: Looking for a way to consolidate social media effort, via Facebook, Ning, and blog
- Suggestion: Create a website that links out to all these social media applications, and streamline a methodology for updating the various platforms and monitoring the ongoing conversations. Consider approaching Ushahidi to empower the local people to update local conditions when it comes to crisis or disaster response, and to have platform customized for local needs.
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These were the initial things that I came up with in response to Frank’s request. Let’s get a conversation going about what comes next!
Thursday, July 1st 2010 at 6:06 pm |
Hey, Venessa and all –
Rather than ‘tool’ as in online application, I think Frank means a process or methodology that might involve a set of tools (preferably, that they already use), so that students can go into the field and gather info and map data that helps them to understand the community better. I think that when we first wrote the description on the wiki, we were in the initial stages of envisioning it and then as Frank talked through it in the videos, it evolved a bit. And it will probably evolve again, as the group processes and tweaks the project. Feel free to adjust the description/info on the wiki project page as it morphs.
With regards to platforms, I think that Global Potential staff already feel overwhelmed by various platforms and would like not to have to incorporate another platform. As Frank mentioned, most of the staff, current GP students and alumni use Facebook as the main platform of communication so that’s why he mentions wanting to ‘integrate’ things into the FB platform – and by ‘integrate’, I think he just means that, say, the blog RSS could post to the FB page and the FB updates could be displayed on the blog – simple changes that reflect updates.
All that said, if there’s a platform (like Ushahidi) that you want to introduce into the curriculum for the students to use, then propose it, making sure it fits in logistically (I like Ushahidi, though many residents of the Batey in the Dominican Republic don’t have mobile phones, and students will most likely not have access to their mobiles while down there and will have limited web access — though with Ushahidi, you can also post by email/web, so students could foreseeably map/add stuff by email/web while down there or by any of those methods later when they return). As a side note, the students definitely love texting (while in the US), so if they can text and tag updates/media to the blog/FB/mapping platform (whatever ends up being the process the project 1 & 2 groups define), that will probably be a hit. You may also want to explore Textmarks, which allows for easy, group sms alerts. They have a free, ad-supported version lite.textmarks.com that could be good for educational use.
Make sure that whatever you propose, that you make space for REVERSE MENTORING. As mentioned, GP staff, like many nonprofits, are already overwhelmed, so any new techniques/platforms etc will most likely be taught and used by the students first. Perhaps a core group of students/alumni could be in charge of reverse mentoring — teaching the staff how to use whatever new processes are in place.
With regards to the question about structure in the blog: if you look at the Global Potential blog, you’ll see that most, if not all, of the posts are uncategorized and untagged. That’s what Frank means by needing more structure on the blog. By adding structure such as categories/tags, this would immediately define a repository of info that would be available about posts involving ethnographic/mapped data (or posts involving alumni experiences, for those in Project 1).
This would also overlap with Project 1′s objectives of enriching the alumni experience, so you may want to make sure that you communicate with the other group about categories/tags to add, and/or how alumni could get involved in distributing knowledge culled from ethnographic data mapping and/or teaching/mentoring around those processes. In other words, make sure you’re talking to each other to see how you can leverage each other’s processes.
Thursday, July 1st 2010 at 10:23 pm |
josephine,
ok, thanks. makes more sense. you mentioned at the beginning that frank means a set of tools they already use for gathering data – is there a list of what those tools are? i looked around on their website and didn’t see an overview anywhere. is this something we need to speak to frank directly about?
as for categories on blog – can we speak with some of the youth from the project and collaborate with them on suggested categories?
Saturday, July 3rd 2010 at 9:17 pm |
Note:
Platforms currently in use by GP: Facebook, Twitter, Ning, Second Life, Blog, Fotyi Photo Sharing
Global Potential Facebook Page is here: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Global-Potential/27679576083?ref=nf
And yes Venessa, my mistake, this program involves students from NY, Baltimore and Boston.
Tuesday, July 6th 2010 at 10:25 am |
Reading through the documents posted by Josephine such as the GP brochure and curriculum outline it brought me back again to the idea presented in our first email exchange about the incorporation of video (such as students posting questions to GP participants). In the brochure there is a section listing accomplishments from the students abroad such as the creation of 5 short documentaries about the Batey’s, family portraits and written family biographies.
I was thinking about the possibility of incorporating this idea of documentary/video onto the Facebook page. Students interested in participating in the program (or any other students around the country) could post video questions asking about the differences between cultural values of the United States vs. those of the places the GP students visit. Then, GP students could use the knowledge they learned in their workshops and experiences in the villages to answer these questions via video response. These video responses could be in the form of short documentaries and could be worked on over a certain amount of time teaching the students about time management, collaboration and collection of data to answer specific questions. Then these video questions and responses could be archived and categorized for the Facebook page and Blog so that other students can view them in years to come.
This could also tie in to Venessa’s idea of some sort of application that could do data analysis and mapping. This could help the students reach conclusions and analyze specific data that can then be incorporated into their video responses.
Just a thought…not sure if this is the direction people wanted to go in but let me know what you all think. Thanks!
Tuesday, July 6th 2010 at 2:12 pm |
Hi everyone,
I think Carolyn’s idea is great. I am not sure if a question and answer format is the best way to get to the point (although it is a great idea, there may be a better idea). I am particularly interested in the idea of videos with content that shows the culture or place or certain areas. Video could be posted on Facebook (organized within a separate page if possible), and linked to from the GP website. Or, it could possibly exist in both places. If it is on the GP website, everyone can look at it (not limited to individuals, parents, or adults that may or may not have a facebook account). In this way information can be reached to not only kids that are involved in and/or interested in GP, investors in GP, alumni of GP, but also parents, and parents are very important too.
Wednesday, July 7th 2010 at 1:03 pm |
Yes! However, we need to check with Frank to see if the GP students have access to video equipment. If they don’t have camcorders, cell phones could be used but the quality would be significantly lower, obviously. They most likely would have access to computer labs at their home schools or the GP offices which they could use to record/upload footage before or after the trip.
Are we supposed to contact Frank via TokBox or email? I can’t recall
Wednesday, July 7th 2010 at 1:15 pm |
Also, we may need to zero in on a more specific topic. I know (we) all would have many questions on a range of subjects, but I feel like if we ask High Schoolers to get ‘information on the culture’, we would receive some blank stares. What specific aspects of the cultures there do we want to study, and how can it be compared to the students’ culture at home in the US. For example, May was National Teen Pregnancy Awareness month. My students entered a graphic design competition which required some research on teen pregnancy rates in the United States. This sparked questions and discussion with the students who were not raised in the US – was this more common in other nations? more accepted? expected? etc.
I think if we find a specific idea (and better yet, find a way teens can relate their own lives to this data) they will enjoy the process and get quality information as well.
Wednesday, July 7th 2010 at 5:21 pm |
I completely agree about needing to zero in on a more specific topic. Now, the question is, do we have the focus on a few specific cultural examples or just one and go really in depth? I think the teen pregnancy issue would actually be really interesting for kids to research. I also think religion plays a big part in many cultures, so that would be an interesting topic. We could even pick something lighter, like the way people dress or music..I definitely think you make a great point, and that the kids will enjoy the process much more if they’re studying a part of the culture that interests them.
The question about the students having access to the video equipment is a good one! That’s definitely important. I believe Frank said he would be checking email and the video blogs periodically..
Wednesday, July 7th 2010 at 5:42 pm |
ok, what i’m hearing is that what is needed is the methodology and framework of the art of research, generative dialogue, synthesis of information, and reporting.
meaning: helping the students understand how to ask the right questions, how to connect dots, how to write compelling and exciting posts, how to then spread those posts around the web to generate excitement, and how to build a larger community and engagement around the culture and issues of these people.
if that is correct, then what they need is to be shown a couple different examples of communicating via posts, how to tag properly so it’s searchable, and a method for updating the various social media outlets.
josephine, is that more on track?
- v
Friday, July 9th 2010 at 7:33 am |
Agreed, first priority would probably be zero-ing in on a specific topic. Frank cited examples like clean water issues, pollution, and more. Since those are some of the more pressing issues in the Batey, I’d look into them first. Then, yes, focus on the methodology and framework of the art of research, generative dialogue, synthesis of information, and reporting, etc.
For now, since Frank doesn’t always have internet access while in the Dominican Republic, but does have a Blackberry so can check email more regularly, the easiest way for him to communicate is via email.
The students do not usually have access to video equipment while down there. On occasion, they have taken disposable cameras down there and have documented images in that way. One thing to think about, if you want to integrate something like this, is creating different scenarios and/or low cost alternatives, i.e., creating curricula that involves the students using, say, Flip cams vs disposable cams and how to leverage either of those tools.
Sunday, July 11th 2010 at 6:32 pm |
Hi Everyone, hope you are all having a great weekend:
So, as an update, we are still waiting to hear from Sofia and Venessa on the Clean Water Topic that Carolyn has suggested. Are you girls on board with this idea? If so, we can move forward on research.
My emails have begun to pile up and I’ve also noticed that they all have the same subject line so it has been getting more difficult to go back through them looking for information. What do you think about a Group 2 Wiki where we can store all our thoughts, links, and format the lesson plans there, together. ? I think this may be the easiest way for us all to collaborate on the documents/videos/etc that we need to develop.
I went ahead and started a new page and basic outline that you are all welcome to adjust as you see fit. The link is below. It’s also posted on the Class Projects Wiki Page that Josephine has created.
http://networkedcollab.org/index.php?title=VLEs_SU10_Project_2
Let me know what you think, Thanks! Jenn
Sunday, July 11th 2010 at 7:52 pm |
Hi Jenn!
I think the Wiki looks awesome! Thanks for doing it. It will definitely be helpful to have one place where we can gather all of our information.
Thanks again!
Erin
Saturday, July 17th 2010 at 4:25 pm |
Hi Group 2!
I just wanted to forward on this link I found. It’s for something called “The Water Project.” I felt it was relevant to the topic we’re doing and felt the students might find it helpful. It has helpful information and seems like a great cause! Basically, they ask that people recognize the clean water issue and then donate whatever you can. They take those donations and find a water project to put that money towards. They do projects in all different countries, and are involved in various different projects, depending on the place and what it needs. For example, they will fund sanitation and hygiene training or build new wells. They’ll do well repairs, dams, filtration, etc. If you donate, they will keep you informed and show you how you’ve helped.
They are on Facebook, Twitter, etc. It seems that many schools, churches and other groups participate in this by raising money and donating so that they can make a difference.
Anyway, the link is below. Check it out! Perhaps our students can take part in it as part of their learning process. If anything, they can use the site for research.
http://thewaterproject.org/community/directory/India/
Talk soon!
Erin
Sunday, July 18th 2010 at 9:17 pm |
Hi everyone,
Does anyone have any ideas on how we can go about developing the lesson plans? For example, perhaps we could each propose an idea for a lesson plan (centering around the water issue), and then narrow down to a couple of lesson plans. Perhaps Josephine or Frank would have an idea of how many lesson plans are appropriate. Another route may be that we each develop our own lesson plan, share them, and edit accordingly. But that may be too many less plans with overlap perhaps? We have about 3 weeks of class left I think, so it would probably be best to get these rolling soon! An example of one lesson plan: someway finding a way to have the students work with the Water Project in some way…..
Another idea: having students interview members of the community about their experiences with water throughout the years….reflecting on improvements that have been made or that need to be made, asking what the community members ideal clean water situation and what their basic needs are. Looking forward to everyone’s thoughts.
Tuesday, July 20th 2010 at 11:49 am |
Hi Everyone…
So I agree that we need to really start forming lesson plans for our project and I really like the last idea Sofia mentioned. I’m not sure if this is exactly what we are supposed to do but I like the idea of taking interviews from local members of the community about the water issue and the effect is has had on their lives. Then the students taking these stories and extracting from them the common issues with the water problem throughout the specific community. This will give them a first hand vision of the difficulty clean water presents. (we can also utilize the working with stories website to help them better analyze their interviews).
With their findings the students can create blog posts about the specific interviews they gathered and then also relate this to research about the water issue by using some of the websites we listed. This story can be posted to the blog and then to facebook.
As a follow up, the students could then take these posts and stories and propose possible initiatives to making the clean water issue better. This too can be combined with research from these websites.
Let me know if I’m completely off base with that idea or what direction other people want to take this…
Thanks!
-Carolyn
Thursday, July 22nd 2010 at 3:39 pm |
Hi Group 2! I hope all is well!
Sofia & Carolyn – I really like the idea of the students interviewing the members of the community and feel that our students would learn a lot from that interaction. The residents of the Batey know the issues and experience them firsthand, so I’m assuming they’re the best people to ask about the issue. They probably have a lot of strong opinions, and it may feel good for them to share them. I also think if our students could take a photo with each person they interview, it would be great. They could use a disposable camera or a flip cam as Josephine suggested. Whatever works will do fine, and it would be nice for people to put a face to a name. I think it humanizes the issue. It says this is real, and these are the real people that it affects. It may inspire people to volunteer and be a part of social change.
I was thinking about something that I also think would be a great part of our lesson plan. I thought it might be good if our students went into the Batey schools and spoke with the students there. Whether they’re elementary or middle school age, it would be interesting to hear what their knowledge of the issue is. They may not know much, especially if they’re very young, but then again, they could know more than we think. They have probably been affected by the issue, and may not even have running water in their homes.
I know that education is also an issue in the Batey, and their schools are quite different from our schools here. They are lacking the supplies and space that we so easily take advantage of. But they are young, impressionable kids, and I think they could learn a lot from our students and vice versa. Our students could interview them and then could also give them a little lesson based on their research. They could teach them about saving water. An example would be teaching the children about turning off the faucet when they’re brushing their teeth, etc. The children may be inspired to do some fundraising for their community or to volunteer.
I also thought it might be nice if our students asked the Batey children to draw a picture or do a painting of their take on the issue. If they don’t know what to do with that, they could just draw a picture of what they love about water. For example, they can draw a picture of kids swimming or even of a child just drinking a glass of water. Then, our students could bring their artwork home with them, scan them and put them up on Facebook with pictures of them with the students and their accounts of the experiences they had there.
I think this would be a really positive experience for our students and the students of the Batey. It would be educational and fun for all involved!
Talk soon!
Erin
Friday, July 23rd 2010 at 5:04 pm |
Hi All,
Apologizes. I’ve been out of touch due to family vacation and visiting with elderly parents that monopolized my attention/time. I’m currently taking a NJ Alternate Route to Teaching certification course this summer. Writing lesson plans is a major part focus. I’ll try to form a lesson or two around researching/interviewing people re: water use and post up this weekend on the project wiki page.