Through Zoom and Google Docs, Alisha Daga and her international team of Big Picture Learning students are kicking it into high gear with a health and wellness initiative that spans time zones and interests. We recently connected with the team to gather 5 tips for schools on how to get started.
CREATE YOUR TEAM
Drawn together from India to Kenya to Idaho, our team is a diverse international group of students and health enthusiasts trying to spread the word for it's awareness. Our team consists of Big Picture Learners from all over the world. We met through an online weekly conference called ZOT (Zooming Opportunities Together). While attending ZOT, group members realised that we all shared a common liking for physical and mental wellbeing. We vibed very well with each other and instantly ideas were being shared, contacts were being exchanged and plans were being made to take action for this project!
COLLECT IDEAS
We use jamboards and google documents to organize and collect ideas from our discussions and to communicate we connect via Gmail and Zoom meetings. To get inspired for the Podcast we went through several podcast websites, health websites and apps like Audacity, Anchor and Spotify. We always try to research about other people's work and try to incorporate things that we like into ours- we believe in constant improvement and learning from others (so that we hopefully don't make those same mistakes!)
Tips to get started? Well, firstly, bond together as a team.
If there is friction between teammates then the team won't be able to complete any work as they will constantly bicker and fight! But if a team bonds well, completing work is just a piece of cake for them. Second, you need to communicate with your team efficiently so there are no needless misunderstandings and delays. These aspects are very important for a team to function but we still think that dedication and hard work tops it all, without which these things are null and void.
DREAM IT AND TRY IT
We have been planning all the important things needed for the podcast and have been organizing the thoughts on some topics to talk about. What we have ended up with is the idea - "This happened to me" podcast, with some kind of a story and a mascot leading the way, so that people are interested to hear more about it.
Overall it is a podcast on mental and physical health to raise awareness and go deep into some important aspects of our lives that often are largely undiscussed- things that trouble us; things that we worry and fear of (whether seen from outside or our own personal struggles) and an insight into steps that we are unable to take. We plan to keep it relatable, funny and inspiring.
As of now, we have divided ourselves into teams to research behind podcast ideas, to get inspired and another team that brainstorms for interesting topics for the podcast. We have also filmed an intro and outro via zoom.
MAKING HEADLINES
Reaching out and spreading the word is an important part of our goal, we want to ensure that our family, peers and even teachers can benefit from this so with 20 odd ideas (and more on the way) we have started working on our podcast the first awareness building tool that we will be publishing.
Some other highlights that you can expect to see in the future include Vibrant posters about and around the measures, art contests to get our peers involved and excited, buzzfeed style quizzes to help them figure their best suited diets and exercises, anonymous support groups and much much more!
Our aim with any of the ideas is to raise awareness and lead people onto a healthier lifestyle in thought provoking and fun ways to benefit maximum people.
MAKE IT PERSONAL
Here's some advice from the ZOT team:
"I have always been very particular about my healthy living and I am very excited to learn more about these six measures so that I can also live a healthy lifestyle."
"I always have been particular about my health. Let it be physical or mental. This program gave me a better idea on how I can take care of myself in a better way. Nowadays, I'm giving all the six measures more priority in my life and wow it has helped me a lot. This is how I'm gradually trying to evoke these practices into my life.”
“The program is an eye-opener for me on how important the little, everyday habits are for our overall health. I feel I have become more conscious of what I eat and how I handle stress since I started working on this."
"These are some things I follow:
Move: exercise daily even if it's small.
Nutrition: Cut down on oil and sugar
Recharge: get an afternoon nap if you sleep late
Caution: know what you are having and what it's consequences are
Social: Make sure to call up your friends every two weeks
Chill: Give yourself a break and some ME time!”
Overall, we all have been very particular about our health. Physical or even mental. This program has made everyone realise how important it is to keep making sure that we are healthy or even reminding ourselves about the six measures and how we could use them on a day to day basis. The six measures have also made us fully aware of how much sleep we are getting, what all healthy food are we eating, do we have good relationships with each other, are we staying away from risky substances and are we getting enough sleep or to even relax.
What are you doing around the 6 Measures? Share your ideas, tips, and projects with the Big Picture Learning Community. Email Isary Vargas-Guerra at isary@bigpicturelearning.org to be highlighted on the website and on social media.
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