This week we further concentrated our topic by reformatting our question to “What future do youth see for themselves in Regent Park?” We still hope to address this question through a podcast with visual elements. In order to make this project possible we will need the help of the FOCUS staff with the use of media equipment.
Our group had the chance to learn about the gear and technical equipment FOCUS media has available, and it was extensive. From microphones to macbooks and desktops, and video cameras, we were all very glad to know that the folks from FOCUS would be around to help us operate all this equipment. We had a much better idea of an implementation plan after learning about the gear we had available to us, like portable mics that can help us when we decide to hold interviews outdoors. One challenge we faced in this week’s session was staying focused on the task at hand, as everyone is eager to discuss their perspectives on our research question. While the spirit in our group is great, we definitely cannot neglect the operational side of things once our podcast is underway, and for us this means paying attention to how the FOCUS equipment is properly used and being on the same page when we’re conducting interviews and collecting data.
As for an implementation plan we have set different goals for the University of Toronto students and the Regent Park residents for the week of November 17. By that week, Daniel and Kaylee plan to have found and read through various academic articles related to our topic. We are also planning to format a draft of interview questions so we can. Residents are going to reach out to community members to set up interviews. We plan to reconvene during this class and discuss what interview questions we plan to keep and how we want to modify our existing questions based on who our interviewees are. Moving on to the week of November 24 we hope to be conducting interviews throughout the week prior and recording our podcast during the class time. This will leave the week of December 1 to make edits of our footage and sort out the final details of our presentation.
At this point the course is changing the way we understand what issues weigh more heavily on Regent Park residents. Bearing this in mind, not everyone is willing to dedicate their time and energy to improving Regent Park and many have the goal of finding a more suitable living space outside the neighborhood for themselves or their family. Murshida helped us to better understand this through the use of her family, extended and immediate, as an example since many of them have grown up in Regent Park This week’s session had us reflecting on the fact that our group is full of very opinionated and passionate residents, which means we’ll have to work very hard to curate our podcast discussion so that it’s clear, organized and well balanced.
Regent Park Radio Shack: Daniel, Fatiha, Miguel, Murshida, Kaylee, and Rabia