In-Class Activity 1: Ideation Board

Theme: A Week in the Life of a Graduate Student Facing Financial Hardship

This ideation board explores the challenges faced by graduate students at Ontario universities dealing with affordability issues in Canadian cities. Using a structured sticky-note approach, we brainstormed themes, characters, data sources, chart types, and storytelling formats.

The board is organized by color-coded categories:

• Themes: Financial stress, housing crisis, work-life imbalance, mental health
• Characters: The grad student, roommates, supervisor, family, landlord
• Data: Rent costs, stipend amounts, inflation rates, time budgets
• Charts: Bar charts, timelines, maps, Sankey diagrams
• Format: Scrollytelling, infographic, video, dashboard

Zoom and pan to explore the clusters and connections between ideas.