Did you have a favorite local shop that you often visited during your student days?
Local shops unique to the area are often known only to locals, and they rarely gain recognition on the internet.
However, in 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Shops that could not communicate online have struggled with attracting customers.
At Okayama Prefectural Kurashiki Washu Senior High School, after the school reopened in June 2020, we investigated the situation of local businesses, retail stores, restaurants, and facilities during the pandemic as a project.
From this, we began to see the current state of the community and thought about what high school students could do during the pandemic, leading to the decision in the Kojima Mirai Gaku class to "promote our beloved local shops through web media!" and the planning commenced.
Thus, the "Fight!! with Corona! - What We Can Do - Kojima Tocotoco Project" began.
Remarkably, some of the articles created by high school students in class will actually be published on Kurashiki Tocotoco!
I, as a regional coordinator, observed the classroom scenes of the "Kojima Tocotoco Project," and I would like to introduce them.
Please read on with the feeling of attending an open class.
Comprehensive Inquiry Time "Kojima Mirai Gaku" What is the Kojima Tocotoco Project?
At Okayama Prefectural Kurashiki Washu Senior High School, we aim to cultivate the "ability to live connected with the community" and have named our comprehensive inquiry time "Kojima Mirai Gaku."
One of the features is that "regional coordinators," mainly consisting of Kurashiki City community revitalization cooperation team members, facilitate planning and coordination of activities between the school and the community.
In addition, to solve local issues, we aim to propose solutions based on "new values" that are not bound by conventional thinking, inviting innovative practitioners to provide diverse perspectives.
The "Kojima Tocotoco Project" was initiated to teach high school students how to create articles through Kurashiki Tocotoco, with the goal of nurturing the following abilities in students through promoting the charm of Kojima:
- The ability to write easily understandable texts useful for essays
- The ability to research on the internet and conduct interviews
- The ability to identify strengths and communicate them attractively in preparation for job hunting
Furthermore, by promoting the local charm from a high school student's perspective, we believe it will contribute to the revitalization of the local Kojima, and thus the project started.
Will the plan for high school students to disseminate information through web media succeed...!
Now, I will report on the actual classroom scenes and presentation venues that I covered.
Discussing the charms of Kojima in groups and creating articles
In groups of 2 to 4, students share their opinions and discuss what charming shops and places in Kojima they want many people to know about.
"I love that shop!"
"That shop is great too!"
While struggling to decide on a spot to introduce, the group settled on one recommended spot.
Then, during the winter break, they actually visit the spot and summarize its charm and points they want to introduce.
There were male students passionately discussing the charm of the soup at their favorite ramen shop, and female students showing pictures of food from a stylish café, each passionately sharing the charm with their group members.
Through discussion, they realized that they shared the same favorite aspects of the shop with their friends, or conversely, learned about the charm of spots they had not previously recognized.
Next, while summarizing the opinions shared, they begin to write about the charm of the shops they felt.
Some students are thinking of catchy phrases that will grab attention.
What kind of spot is it, and what will they introduce? It’s very intriguing.
Not only their own perspectives but also considering the opinions of their teachers! Here are students listening to their teacher.
Everyone was discussing various opinions to convey the charm of the spot.
While it is important to think of a text that conveys their feelings and the charm of the shop, choosing photos that make it easy for readers to visualize is also crucial.
The choice of colorful photos reflects the high school students' character.
Once the structure is decided, they will work on drafting the article.
From everyone's serious expressions, I felt their overflowing passion for their local Kojima.
Not only photos but also some students are drawing cute illustrations.
The articles they wrote with their thoughts are gradually taking shape.
A male student, feeling a bit tired, is taking a break while looking outside.
Taking breaks is also important for generating ideas!
Watching the students, I was reminded of my own high school days.
We're almost at the completion of the article.
While experimenting and refining, they are working towards finishing it.
Some groups are even completing their articles using Word before class time.
I am looking forward to seeing what kind of articles they will produce.
Finally, the "Kojima Tocotoco" school presentation
On February 3 and February 10, 2021, the presentation of articles took place.
Some groups were a little nervous for their first unveiling of the articles they had created themselves.
There was a lot of detailed information that only high school students who attend the school regularly could understand, and it was filled with rare information that is not usually heard, which was also a learning experience for the author.
It was impressive to see everyone focused on listening to the presentations, absorbing real information that could not be found just by searching on the internet.
Not only the students presenting but also those listening were able to learn about recommended products from shops they had not known before, and beautiful places, making it a time to once again feel the charm of Kojima.
The articles that will actually be published on Kurashiki Tocotoco are those from the group that received the most votes in the class.
All the groups produced wonderful articles, so I am really looking forward to it.
Conclusion
The "Kojima Tocotoco Project," which has been ongoing for about six months, has come to an end.
It was a time to reaffirm the charm of the shops they regularly visit and to fall in love with Kojima even more.
Moreover, for the high school students, this was their first publicly available work on the internet.
Through carefully crafted writing, catchy phrases, and design, they pondered, "How can we convey the charm of Kojima...," and from their articles, one can feel their love for Kojima.
Some of the articles created by the students of Okayama Prefectural Kurashiki Washu Senior High School have been published on Kurashiki Tocotoco.
Please be sure to read the articles created by the high school students.
