- Dear Sean,
I hope this message finds you well!! My name is Kyra Williams, I am writing this introduction on behalf of our CODES research team. My group is Myself, Jaidyn, Jay, and Sophie. We are currently undertaking an implementation plan to hopefully better the community’s knowledge of the extractive practices that the Garden and botany in general has had in the past. Our main research question that we formulated our first semester was “How does colonial extractive practices affect the Garden”. Based on This research question we wanted to come up with an implementation plan to build up the Garden. We believe that your expertise and support could significantly enhance the impact and success of our overall implementation and goal.
Our product is an educational course-based video, designed to engage audiences of all ages with the history of colonialism and extractive practices at the Missouri Botanical Gardens. We aim to create an experience similar to platforms like iReady, Crash Course, and Khan Academy, with the added feature of integrating our content into ‘My Guide to the Garden.’ Users will navigate a series of modules, each presented by a member of our team, exploring different aspects of our research. Two versions will be available: a purely online, educational version, and an interactive version featuring a scavenger hunt that leads users through the garden. Participants will follow clues embedded in the videos, guiding them from one location to the next, with the option to play solo or in teams. This interactive and educational experience will allow both younger audiences and adults to engage with the material in a fun and meaningful way.
Here’s a list comprised of possible components we would need for our product
- Video recording & Audio Equipment: High-quality video cameras, microphones, tripods, and lighting equipment for recording the educational modules.
- Themed Attire: Depending on the visual theme of the videos, specific clothing to enhance engagement, making the content visually appealing.
- Access to “My Guide to the Garden” Platform: Collaboration with the team managing “My Guide to the Garden” to embed the videos and interactive features into the existing platform.
- Programmer/Developer: A skilled programmer to integrate the video content, design a progress-tracking system, set up an account system.
- QR Codes: Printed QR codes placed around the garden for users to scan, linking them to the next set of videos or clues.
- Feedback Resources: An advisory group to provide feedback on the product’s usability and content quality.
To successfully integrate our implementation plan, there are various things that need to be done in order to get our implementation plan all together. The work will need to be coming from us students and you all as an establishment. Now as far as us as students we have a lot of ideas and it would be beneficial to have some connections. We do not have all the names of all the people we are hoping to work with but we want to talk to someone in the media department, talk to someone who does educational programs, talk to robbie and or Ashley.
To successfully implement our plan, several steps need to be taken to bring everything together. This will require collaboration between us as students and your organization. While we have many ideas as a research team, establishing connections will be crucial. We don’t have all the contacts yet, but we aim to engage with someone from the media department, someone involved in educational programs, and speak with Robbie, Jennifer and Ashley.
I think the audience for our project is the people who choose to take tours of the garden. As they are most likely to want to learn about and participate in anything, we decide to bring them to the garden. Also, people on field trips, as they are going to be traversing through the garden so they will likely interact with a scavenger hunt. But there is not a way to make people go on the hunts. So, I would say the way to make it stand out to our audience is that we are going to need to make it entertaining. Possibly have an end of hunt reward like a sticker or button, as a way to possibly bring the number of people who actually participate.
Ethics is an extremely important factor we must take into consideration. To effectively avoid ethical violations, we can identify possible ones from the start. A large concern that has popped up throughout our partnership has been accessibility. Pertaining to our project, apprehensions we have are accessibility to technology and to the MOBOT itself. Although our program would ideally be typical for people on tours or field trips, our hope is to make it accessible in some form to anyone interested. Credit for everyone who takes part in this project in another ethic we would like to touch on. Our research focus deals with practices that involve stealing from other cultures and using it to benefit colonization. This is a sensitive topic that should be dealt with as such, meaning the work that is going to have to be done to achieve our goal is not going to be easy. It is only fair and ethical that all people who take part in creating this program are given the proper credit and recognition.
Given our current position, the garden offers significant potential benefits. Specifically, it would be highly appreciated by our team to have mentors who can guide us through the implementation process, as this is our first experience undertaking such an initiative. Their expertise and support would be very valuable in ensuring a successful execution.
– Sincerely CODES