This time, I would like to introduce the online activity of the Sports Day of HIKIBUNE Elementary School that the SD Committee conducted.
This activity was introduced by the “Tokyo Shimbun” in the article, “Sumida Ward Elementary School and University Collaborate on ICT”!
For more details, please click here.
What’s the SD Committee?
There are various committees at the U of I College of Information Management and Innovation, such as the iU Fest Executive Committee, which plans and manages the school festival, and the Peer Support Committee, which provides students with opportunities to interact with each other, but there is also a group that does various volunteer activities in cooperation with public institutions.
That is the SD (Social Design) Committee.
Activity Summary
In this activity, we wanted the students and teachers to enjoy themselves with a sense of unity even though many students could not gather in the schoolyard even for the field day due to the spread of COVID-19.
advance preparation
The preparations for this support activity started several months ago.
Since the event was to be delivered via Zoom, we had to go through a trial and error process to figure out how to make it look as powerful as if we were actually watching it.
It was a very difficult time for everyone.
Before we actually visited the elementary school to set up, we had a meeting with the SD Committee and the teachers of HIKIBUNE Elementary School.
At this meeting, in addition to matters related to filming, such as the type of performance and how the students would enter the school, we also discussed in detail whether it would be possible to set up a tent to create shadows since the filming equipment is sensitive to heat. During the discussions, the schoolyard of the elementary school was illustrated, and from there the placement of the cameras and the shooting range were decided.
Here is the actual camera layout plan for the race.
First up are the first and second graders.
From S (start) to G (goal), it is well thought out which camera should be used to deliver the message to make it more visible.
Next are the 3rd and 4th graders.
This time, instead of running in a straight line, they represented which camera they would use and how they would use it before running straight and then turning halfway around and coming back to camera (1). At this time, they were also discussing when to switch the images.
Finally, the 5th and 6th graders.
It may look the same as the 3rd and 4th graders, but this time the course goes around a circle. This will require a lot of camera switching, so the timing of the switching will be important.
Preparation for the day before
To avoid any mistakes on the day of the event, we actually visited HIKIBUNE Elementary School the day before. They carried in the equipment to be used on the day, selected the shooting location, confirmed the camera work, and checked the details of the running scenes and how to change the performance display.
Here are the images of the different disciplines used in the actual distribution. The frames that can be displayed are very small, so the images are simple and well designed for easy viewing. In addition, each grade had its own color, so the background color was matched to that.
One of the most impressive parts of the preparations the day before was that the iU students were actually running to practice for the shoot. They were exhausted from running as fast as they could for the first time in a long time.
The day of
On the day of the field day, the members in charge went to HIKIBUNE Elementary School early in the morning and started preparations before the field day started, carefully checking the distribution environment, the way things would work on the day of the event, and switching cameras again before the actual event.
When the time came for the field day to start and the opening speech was given, the members of the activity seemed to be nervous.
At first, they were very careful with each task, trying not to make any mistakes, but as they got used to it, their nervousness gradually disappeared and they started to look happy as they worked on the delivery.
The field day consisted of a “running race” for each grade and an “expression presentation” with dances, etc. The running race seemed to be particularly difficult to film because the elementary school students moved very quickly. On the other hand, the presentation was not so fast, but there were so many students coming out at once that some students were wondering where they should be photographed.
After the end
The Sports Day ended successfully and the students were relieved. We received words of appreciation from many teachers and the principal asked us to do it again next year, which shows the effort and success of the students.
After Word
This was an introduction to the support activities of the SD Committee.
The SD Committee continues to carry out activities that help people in the community, such as this volunteer activity at HIKIBUNE Elementary School. We can’t wait to see what they do in the future!