120 - Applying Digital Photovoice with Social Media Techniques in Needs-based Evaluators’ Professional Training Program

Abstract Information: Photovoice is commonly used for community development and needs assessment through participants' photos/visual images and stories. Social media, an internet-based form of communication, is a growing means for recruiting participants and collecting research/evaluation data, especially for participatory research/evaluation, since it provides opportunities for enhancing engagement among participants. This research applied a storytelling method combining photovoice and social media with online blog support in a need assessment project for educational quality management. The techniques were utilized to explore students' needs for professional training and internship activities, enable their realization of the program problems, and nurture their evaluation skills. Twelve students participated in the research in one semester. Data were collected via their photos in the Padlet application and two interviews. The researchers and students analyzed data,  which three themes related to internship activities emerged: (1) Equity among internship work, (2) Needs for Professional Development Training, and (3) Needs for clear orientation for future work. The issues and solutions were stored on the blog and shared with all other stakeholders via Artstep. After finishing the project, the participants' feedback results confirm the advantages of using online platforms to support photovoice techniques in evaluating programs.
 
 
Relevance Statement: This presentation focuses on how to use digital photovoice with social media techniques to engage participants in sharing their insights regarding a needs-based evaluators' training program in a university. The project highly aligns with the theme of Evaluation 2023,  the Power of Story in Evaluation, by using photos to tell stories and to fuel evaluation. Photovoice is a qualitative research method that uses photography to help participants express their perspectives and experiences. It could gather information more effectively than using written or verbal descriptions alone. Initially, the technique was used to reflect the life of rural women through drawing picture booklets and then telling stories. Nowadays, photovoice has been widely used in various fields such as education, society, and health, especially for those who may not have received adequate attention and support. Through photovoice, those susceptible people are empowered to express their views and needs so that their voices can be heard and valued. Moreover, it could improve their self-esteem and self-efficacy and build tight connections with the community. In the era of digital technology applications, young people are known as digital natives who have grown up with various technologies, such as the internet and digital tools. Digital photovoice with social media has become powerful, flexible, and interactive means of engaging participants. Online meetings, exhibitions, and discussions in virtual space become common forms to communicate and interact with people via applications such as Zoom and Instagram. These apps make digital photovoice combined with social media particularly suitable for data collection in participatory evaluation, especially when working with younger participants. Our project is an example where photovoice with digital social media techniques were used to understand participants' needs in a program. The participants were undergraduates joining interns of an evaluator's professional training program. They were asked to take photos of what they observed in their internship settings. A template was created for them to upload photos with captions directly. Then, Padlet, a website that can display photos with stories on a large online wall, was utilized, where instructors and students can provide comments for each picture or post questions to clarify information. These technologies work well to attract students' interest in sharing photos and telling stories. We conducted two group discussions. The first discussion focused on generating themes from the visual and textual information on the Padlet. The second one aimed to identify needs and to propose solutions for improvement. Data analysis training was also provided during the discussion. For the final exhibition show, we used Artstep to create a 3D virtual space to display the selected photos as well as their stories, comments, and responses. The stakeholders were also invited to view the online exhibition and provide comments. To sum up, these technology applications have user-friendly interfaces for digital photovoice projects. Such techniques can effectively encourage participants to share stories, thereby fostering greater engagement with the program. This can be beneficial for capturing participants' concerns and identifying their needs.