Week #7: Art of Storytelling! – Blog #7 Fall 2021
Telling the Story of our Work
Story Element #1: Attention-getters – come up with FIVE possible attention-getters to set the tone.
- Create a short video/commercial similar to the large scale US anti-narcotics commercial but instead deliver the message of “This is your Saiga on clean air, This is your Saiga on polluted air.”
- Show a time lapse video of Saiga being born as a way to grab the audience’s attention and set the tone for the importance of sustainable behavior that is needed to Save Tuba!
- Show the leaderboard with the names of students changing in real-time as they compete to be the top player.
- Play testimonials of teachers speaking about how the app has helped them with delivering instruction and engaging students.
- Play a looping slideshow of pictures of the students, their families, and community engaging in the Level 4 and 5 Action Tasks.
Story Element #2: The Challenge – come up with FIVE ways to state or frame the problem as a world-level challenge.
- Animal, plant and human life are all dependent on a cleaner environment.
- Teaching is a universal responsibility for educators around the world to master.
- Every student should be afforded a high-quality learning experience.
- How can we make learning fun? Consider using a gamified app to engage students in learning and develop sustainable habits.
- Recycling does the planet good. Pass it on!
Story Element #3: The Journey – come up with a short paragraph that explains your methodology in an active, action-oriented way.
Our work on the Save Tuba app mirrors a game of baseball, where the individual team members are taking a turn at bat to get on base (create a design, collect feedback, code a game are examples of making a “hit run”). The collected effort of our batters helps the venture move along the bases to hopefully score a run. As the members continue to take an attempt at getting a hit, we sometimes score a “double”, “triple”, or even a homerun! Our coding efforts have fumbled and struck out at times, but those “players” continue to line up to bat and have been able to get hits to get them on first base. As a team, the venture is making progress and looking for the game winning grand slam!
Story Element #4: The Battle – come up with a short paragraph that describes how, with the help of your allies (partners), you have or will overcome the challenge.
Save Tuba success is connected to the collaboration with AlmaU, one of our most critical partners. We rely on their assistance for access to students and teachers that provide feedback on our design and curriculum via surveys and focus groups. AlmaU has helped overcome the challenge of access to these two very important groups. Additionally, the content for the app is created in English. The users, however, read/speak Russian or Kazakh. No one on our team is able to speak or write in Russian or Kazakh, so the Almau team has served as both translators of all our written content and interpreters during the virtual focus groups. Their command of the three languages is a critical skill that has helped us overcome the language hurdle.
Story Element #5: The Change – come up with THREE different ways to state the solution/outcome/catharsis of the story.
- Save Tuba will revolutionize teaching and learning related to sustainable curriculum!
- Almaty/Kazakhstan will help wildlife survive and see their environment reinvigorated and blossom.
- Save Tuba will help students be eager and enjoy Ecology lessons and becoming sustainable ambassadors throughout their communities.
History of the Future
What will the world look like if your project fully succeeds? What will people be doing differently? How will they feel differently?
The world (in this case, Kazakhstan) will look cleaner! The ultimate goal of Save Tuba is to improve the recycling rates in Kazakhstan from 11.5% to 40%. Success for us will be to reach (better yet, surpass) the 40% recycling rate! That change will yield a vibrant environment that supports the plant and animal life currently in jeopardy as a result of the high waste and pollution in the environment. A fully successful project will mean more people are Recycling, Reusing, and Reducing their carbon footprint. The change in human behaviors will also have a positive impact in how they feel about the environment they live in.
To our partners, specifically the Ministry of Ecology, success equates to accomplishing their national goal related to recycling! For the leadership partners from Almaty Management University, our success will be a big win for the university. They would be able to promote the success to grow their reputation and use it as a strategy to attract students.
What will the world look like if your project fails? Who will notice? Who will feel the effects?
Dark and gloomy – (literally)! The negative effects of a low recycling rate will continue to give rise to polluted air and livable conditions for plant and animal life. The beautiful Saiga, which depends on clean water streams, air, and food sources will further be at risk of being extinct.
Our partners risk damaging their brand, reputation and credibility if the project fails. The project can be defined as a high benefit/high risk venture since the pay off related to success and the repercussions connected with failure are both significant. Ultimately, whether the venture is successful or fails, our collective efforts will help make a change with sustainable behaviors.