Zines¶

Learning paths

Path	Target	Duration	Skills
Evaluation	18 to 25 ++	1h40 (20mins a day)	Creative Evaulation

Introduction and context¶

Abstract

Zines are handmade journals for participants to reflect on their experience in a creative way. Reflections are guided by daily prompts defined by the facilitators. A prompt consists of a single word, a short phrase, a complete paragraph or even a picture or drawing that focuses on a topic and highlights ideas

Intro

Zines were used to stimulate reflection about the techniques they were learning, the context in which they were developed and their purpose. They were also a tool for the organizers to investigate the interest, motivation and objectives of participants. Prompts were given at the beginning of the day (written on a board) and about 15 minutes were given at the end of the day to creatively elaborate the prompt on a page of the zine.

Objectives

To self-reflect about the activity
To wrap-up the daily activities and the bootcamp
To express expectations and objectives
To express failures or issues
To document the activity
To relax and share
To evaluate the interest, motivation and objectives of participants

Target audience and context of use

Zines were used in the context of a 5 days bootcamp about fashion and new technologies.with 2nd year art & design University students from 18 to 25 years old with 2nd year Fashion University students

Preparation and materials¶

Prepare a list of prompts relevant to the activity that you are developing. A presentation to explain what a zine is and why we are using it as a self-reflection tool:

A zine is a self-published small magazin (text and images)
Collage, images and text
Stickers, tape, paper, photos,...
Your experience, your creativity, it’s all yours !
Be creative and be honest !

To - To reflect on the activities - To express your objectives and - expectations - To express your frustration - To remember - To relax - To share

Presentation here

Every day: - A table with material - A board with the daily prompt

Equipment, Tools and Materials

Tools & Materials

A4 thick colored paper
Scissors
Glue
Colored pencils
Pens
Markers
Rulers
Magazines and journals
Decorations (glitter, feathers, stickers, …)

Step by Step Instructions¶

STEP BY STEP overview

step 1: Explanation

Explain what a zine is. A zine is a short, self-published book of text, images and collage.
Explain why we are using zines and the objectives. Zines allow us to:
find meaning in our experiences.
provide opportunity to establish an individual understanding and a group understanding
relieve tension and provide a new perspective on our experiences.
creates a sense of accomplishment, and can help plan for the future.
Show examples of zines. You can create your zine using stickers, magazine clippings, photos, books, tapes, and paper. A zine is your creation, you can write in the form of a story, a comic, poem, draw pictures. Be as creative, quirky, and honest as you like.
Explain at what time the prompt will be communicated and when they will have time to work on the zine

step 2: Prepare the zine

Distribute paper and scissors to make the zines lay-out
Give access to markers, magazines, glue, etc to decorate the cover of the zine.

step 3: Reflection

In the morning write on a board the daily prompt
Explain that they have 1 page of the zine to elaborate the daily prompt. Students can write, draw, make a collage, etc.
Make sure to give students 15-20 minutes at the end of the day before leaving to work on zines

step 4: Conclusion

The last page shall be a reflection about the whole activity *Expose the zines on a table to facilitate sharing and acknowledge the work of the students

step 5: Evaluation

Examining zines can be done on a number of levels.
Depth of reflection
Scope of reflection
Method of reflection
Communication style

We focused on the depth and scope of reflection. We assigned points to each zine based on the grid below elaborated by Science Gallery Dublin / Trinity College.

Exemple:

Step 3: Reflection - Prompts for the week:

Day	a.m.	p.m.
Monday	Your expectations for the week	Why did you choose this group?
Wednesday	Women and textile	Gender and textile
Thursday	Technology and you	The future of textile
Friday	Textile and sustainability	What I learned

Step 5: Evaluation

Safety rules & Tips

N/A

Tips to facilitate the activity in context (to-do / not do)¶

To do: - Clearly explain the purpose of the activity - Prepare a table full of magazines, markers and decoration to encourage creativity - Let the students express themselves for at least 15 minutes

Estimated cost
Always consider to find local providers- BOM of materials (for a group of 26 students)

Item	Quantity	Cost (€)	Link to vendor
Colored paper	50	5	Local store
Scissors	13	50	Local store
Glue	13	38	Local store
Pencils	13 packages	50	Local store
Markers	13 packages	50	Local store
Decorations		15	Local store
Magazines	50	50

References¶

Links to photos and recorded materials

Licence and credits¶

Attribution — ShareAlike CC BY-SA This activity has been described by Cristina Olivotto from Onl’fait for shemakes.eu. It is based on the methodology developed by Science Gallery Dublin/Trinity College in the context of System-2020 and the Open Science Hub EC funded projects.

Related and supporting activities/modules
It can be combined with the other topics of Topic/skills, part of ...

Last update: September 15, 2022