Updated: October 22nd, 2025

Authors: Alexis Moore, Julia Snidanko, Hailey Godfroid

We are creating this project to help pre-teens feel more comfortable and confident when making their own food choices. Our team includes Julia Snidanko, Alexis Moore, and Hailey Godfroid. We chose this topic because we all believe that healthy eating is essential for both the body and brain. It’s especially important to educate children as they begin to take more responsibility for their health, so they can build long-lasting positive habits. The goal of this project is to provide clear and engaging information.

Our Final Video’s

The Explainer – Balanced Plate (Julia)

Scenario – How Eating Affects your Wellbeing (Hailey)

How-to – Healthy Eating 101 (Alexis):

THE PROCESS

Understand (Discover, Interpret, Specify)

DESCRIBE THE CHALLENGE:

As children get older and start to cook for themselves, they need to learn proper nutrition to create a healthy diet with variety

CONTEXT AND AUDIENCE:

Audience

Pre-teens and older children who are beginning to make their own food choices and learning to cook. In extreme cases, this audience may be extended to older individuals who need support in their foundation of dietary knowledge.

Needs

Pre-teen students partaking in this activity will need to watch the videos and demonstrate their understanding of how to make healthy food choices based on different food groups. For students, captions could be added to ensure accessibility. For students who have visual impairments, the teacher can provide a detailed verbal explanation of the foods being shown. For students with learning challenges, the task can be broken down into smaller sections, making it easier to digest.

Goals

Our goal of this activity is for students to learn how to make balanced and informed food choices. We want them to consciously choose the healthier option to support their health and well-being. By the end of the lesson, students should be able to identify foods from each food group, understand the importance of healthy eating, and acknowledge how healthy eating makes someone feel. This activity helps students build confidence in making healthy choices at school and after school.

Motivation

The motivation for engaging with video content on proper nutrition and balanced eating stems from a desire among older children and pre-teens to become more independent in their food choices. As they begin cooking for themselves, they may feel uncertain about where to start or how to make balanced meals. Educational videos that present nutrition in a fun, accessible way can spark curiosity and make learning about healthy eating more engaging. Children who already have some exposure to nutrition education may be more motivated, as they understand how healthy eating fuels their energy and well-being. For those with less exposure, motivation may start lower, but engaging videos can implicitly boost their interest and encourage healthier eating habits.

POV STATEMENT:

A preteen who is starting to cook independently needs to learn how to create healthy, balanced meals so that they can confidently make informed decisions on how to fuel their body.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

Primary objectives:

Older children and preteens will be able to identify what is considered a healthy and nutritional food choice by examining nutrition facts and understanding the benefits certain food groups have.
The audience will be able to apply this knowledge when planning and preparing their own meals, demonstrating an understanding of variety and balance on their plates

Secret objectives:

Encourage the audience to gain an interest in cooking and eating a balanced diet to promote healthy lifestyles and good eating habits in their future.
Develop confidence and independence to make informed food decisions on their own.

Plan (Ideate, Sketch, Elaborate)

The Explainer Video Storyboard – Julia

Opening scene

Visual: animated character in a home kitchen
Character narration: Have you ever wondered how you can create a balanced and healthy meal? Let’s break down what a healthy plate looks like!

Scene 1

Visual: a close-up of a plate divided, showing a division line of half of your plate
Character narration: First, imagine your plate is split in half. Half of your plate should be fruits and vegetables. These give your body vitamins, minerals, and energy to keep you going throughout the day.

Scene 2

Visual: the plate fills with a variety of fruits and veggies
Character narration: They can be fresh, canned or frozen. Some examples of these could be apples, yams, or frozen berries.

Scene 3

Visual: the other half of the plate shows a divided line to create two quarters
Character narration: Now, let’s look at the other half of your plate. One quarter should be whole-grain foods. Things such as whole-grain pasta, brown rice or quinoa are all examples of whole-grain foods that will provide you with long-lasting energy

Scene 4

Visual: Whole-grain food example fills quarter of plate
Character narration: The last quarter is for proteins. These help your body grow strong. Some examples of these are fish, lean meats, eggs or nuts.

Scene 5

Visual: examples of protein fill the last quarter of the plate

Scene 6

Character narration: and don’t forget to try to choose water to go with your meals instead of other sugary options. And that’s the recipe for a balanced plate!

Visual: zoom back out onto the character holding a glass of water

Scenario Video Storyboard – Hailey

Scene 1: Derek is packing lunch for school and has to decide what to bring. They decide to bring a bag of chips, a chocolate bar, and a piece of pizza.

Scene 2: Derek goes to school and eats their lunch in the cafeteria, afterwards feeling sick and unfulfilled. This makes his PE class a lot more challenging throughout the day. They discuss with their friends how they’re feeling, and their friends suggest that tomorrow they pack a more substantial lunch with healthier choices.

Scene 3: Derek, the next day, chooses to bring an apple, a homemade veggie and deli sandwich, and some fresh-cut veggies and hummus.

Scene 4: Derek eats his lunch at school and feels much better than the previous day, and is able to function better during his later classes.

How To Video Storyboard – Alexis

Scene 1 – Wash your hands – Always wash your hands before preparing or eating food. This keeps germs away and your food safe!

Scene 2 – Choose your plate – Pick the right plate size. A medium plate helps you control portion sizes and fit all food groups.

Scene 3 – Add fruit – Fill one quarter of your plate with fruits. They give you vitamins and natural energy!

Scene 4 – Add vegetables – Fill another quarter of your plate with colorful veggies. They’re full of fiber and nutrients!

Scene 5 – Continued …….

Create and Share the Prototype

The Explainer Video Prototype – Julia

Scenario Video Prototype – Hailey

How To Video Prototype – Alexis

Peer Feedback Discussion

Julia’s Feedback:

The first peer feedback I received was from Sai. He began by highlighting the clarity in my explanation of the concepts of a balanced plate. He noted that the narration style and visuals I planned to use complemented each other well, and that the progression of steps effectively applied the Segmenting Principle, allowing viewers to gradually understand the concept of a balanced plate. Sai identified one area for improvement: incorporating Signaling by using labels such as “fruits and vegetables,” “proteins,” and “grains” to guide learners’ attention and strengthen the multimedia design. He also suggested applying the Modality Principle by keeping the narration concise and allowing visuals to convey more of the information, which would help reduce cognitive load.

The second feedback I received was from Kate. She also commented on the clarity of my prototype and elaborated on the effective scaffolding within my storyboard. Kate noted that the use of visuals was engaging for the intended audience and supported comprehension. She suggested that the final product could be enhanced by adding interactive or reflective elements, such as a short question at the end, or by experimenting with different backgrounds and sound cues to improve transitions and maintain viewer engagement.

Hailey’s Feedback:

When looking over the feedback provided by my peers, various points were brought to my attention regarding both strengths and weaknesses within my prototype. Strengths my peers highlighted were overall thoughts on the topic, adherence to multimedia learning principles, and construction of the storyboard. On the other hand, some weaknesses addressed regarded the verbal information provided, and constructive thoughts on learning insights.

In terms of the strengths of my prototype, it was highlighted that the overall subject and setting would help encourage the audience by being more personalized and motivational: the implication of how healthy eating affects your overall performance for both recreational and educational activities. In addition, it was mentioned that the prototype makes strong use of Mayer’s Segmenting Principle in how the scenes are separated out into digestible chunks.

When viewing the weaknesses that were underlined, the prototype could have included deeper verbal cues and information. More specifically, the inclusion of audio/narrative cues would help to strengthen my overall prototype. Furthermore, providing deeper insight into how the scenario-style video could help enable certain learning outcomes.

Alexis’s Feedback:

The peer feedback I received focused on improving the smoothness and engagement of my video transitions. Another suggestion was to include a short recap at the end of the video to summarize the key takeaways from my how-to tutorial. The reviewer also commented that the captions were effective, the visuals were engaging, and the simple narration aligned well with the Coherence Principle. Based on this feedback, I ensured that the transitions were engaging and added a recap section at the end of the video. I only received one peer feedback review, so I focused on implementing the suggestions provided.

Shared themes:

Julia was encouraged to add more signalling to her final product, such as adding labels. Alexis had this in her prototype, and her peer reviewer commented on the strength of this. Both peer reviews highlighted themes of increased engagement. In Julia’s examples, engagement was suggested through visuals such as adding more background elements. Alexis’s suggestion was to increase engagement through a more verbal process of adding a recap. Hailey utilized Alexis and Julia’s feedback for her own work and decided to improve engagement by adding dynamic transitions and scene composition. Additionally, Hailey and Julia’s peer reviews highlighted scene segmentation as an overall strength to viewer engagement. The overarching theme was to find elements that could maintain viewer attention for our targeted audience.

Reflect and Refine

Team Reflection:

Our topic choice worked well. We selected a subject that we all felt comfortable with and genuinely interested in, which made the ideation phase much easier and more engaging. The topic was also broad enough to appeal to a wide demographic, allowing us to create content that could reach a variety of learners. This shared interest helped us develop creative ideas throughout the different phases of the project.

One aspect we would change is our team communication. Although we feel that our project turned out well, we encountered a few challenges that slowed down our progress. This issue mainly arose from limited communication during the early ideation phases. While we collaborated effectively when developing our context, audience analysis, POV statement, and learning objectives, our communication fell short when it came to creating the storyboards. Both Alexis and Julia independently created storyboards with overlapping ideas, resulting in two videos that were initially very similar. Once we recognized this, we met as a pair to brainstorm solutions. We decided that Alexis could adjust her video to include more diverse elements, such as grocery shopping tips, which aligned well with the “how-to” theme and minimized repetition across our videos.

This adjustment became the most significant revision to our prototype. Beyond that, each of us implemented peer feedback individually when refining our final videos, as described in our personal reflections in the following section. The feedback helped us identify areas for improvement in clarity and visual engagement, which ultimately strengthened our final products.

A key strength of this multimedia format is its alignment with Mayer’s Segmenting Principle, which emphasizes breaking information into smaller, manageable units to enhance understanding (Mayer, 2009). Our videos followed a step-by-step structure, allowing learners to process content gradually and build comprehension more effectively. Additionally, Dual Coding Theory (Paivio, 1990) supports this medium, as learners engaging in our videos process information through both verbal and visual channels, improving retention through complementary modes of representation. Furthermore, video format supports social cues relating to Mayer’s Theory: Videos directly relate to each of the Personalization, Voice, and Imaging Principles, making for a more relatable and convincing piece of media.

However, one limitation of this type of multimedia learning is the issue of learner control. While viewers can pause or adjust playback speed, in classroom contexts or group settings, they may not have the same flexibility, which could impact learning efficiency. Another potential limitation is accessibility. If learners lack the necessary technology or if the environment restricts audio use, the video format may not be practical in comparison to other forms of media. In addition, accessibility limitations extend further for individuals who may be auditorially or visually impaired.

INDIVIDUAL REFLECTIONS:

Peer review reflections and team member contributions

Julia’s reflection:

In receiving my peer feedback, I was able to incorporate several different suggestions into my final video. One of the suggestions about using signalling to reduce cognitive load was especially helpful. I directly applied this feedback by adding labels to the different food groups discussed throughout the video. Another suggestion was to include more engaging elements. To address this, I added transitions to the labels for each food group, included subtle movements for the food visuals, and chose a colourful kitchen background to create a more dynamic scene. I made sure to incorporate these engaging features in a way that enhanced the learning experience without becoming distracting.

While creating this video, I felt very happy with how I was able to navigate PowToon, the video editor I used. I had not used this program before, but I was able to apply many of the lessons I learned from creating the comic project. Having successfully designed a comic using a new form of media earlier, I felt more confident in my ability to adapt to another unfamiliar platform. In terms of team collaboration, as previously mentioned, our group initially struggled in our prototype phase, which led to a significant redirection in our work. After that, Alexis and I placed a strong emphasis on maintaining clear communication, and we worked closely together over the final few days to produce a project we were both proud of. Since we decided that Alexis’s video would undergo edits, I contributed heavily to the ideation process to help balance the workload. Our group reflection was also completed collaboratively, allowing us to brainstorm and refine ideas together, which improved the overall flow and consistency of our writing. From this experience, I learned the importance of maintaining strong communication throughout all phases of a group project, as it plays a crucial role in project success.

Hailey’s reflection:

My finalized video was an example of a scenario-style educational video. After receiving feedback from my peers, I was able to correct, revise and expand upon multiple points within my final product. I took various suggestions to implement when finalizing my video. I added more in-depth information and audio cues. I tried to build on my strengths of visuals and narrative, as well as addressing Mayer’s Theory, to create an overall more convincing and easy-to-follow result. With the time limitation of the video, as well as the scenario format, I personally found it very limiting to properly balance the scenario itself with educational information. I struggled to elaborate on the learning outcome and create a more informative video.

The process of this project proved to be a challenge for me, with some communication and production conflicts. During the ideation and creation phase, I fell very ill and fell behind in my coursework, which made communication within my group quite difficult as I was in a different place than my peers. Thankfully, both Julia and Alexis were very understanding and willing to work with the awkward timing. Due to these unforeseen circumstances, I realized how effective communication earlier in the process could have been for our group. When creating my video, I found Powtoon to be a highly powerful video creation tool. I had originally intended to create my own visuals and use a video editing software; however, while viewing what tools my peers had utilized, I settled on using Powtoon as well. The navigation of Powtoon was very simplified and easy, and I found it easy to break down in technique. In terms of the final result, I overall felt satisfied with what came of my video, and how each of our videos could work together as a series.

Alexis’s reflection:

In receiving my peer feedback, I was able to make several improvements to my final video. The feedback focused on improving the smoothness and engagement of my transitions and suggested including a short recap at the end of the video to summarize the key takeaways. The peer reviewer also commented that the captions were effective, the visuals were engaging, and the simple narration aligned well with the Coherence Principle. Based on this feedback, I ensured that the transitions were engaging and included a recap section at the end of the video to reinforce the main learning points. When creating my video, I ensured that the transitions were engaging and there was a recap at the end. I liked the recap idea, as that is an aspect of the video I was already debating putting in, so it encouraged me to include it in my prototype. I reflected and realized that when watching similar how-to videos, the end recap makes me much more engaged, so I knew I wanted to include it.

Creating this educational video challenged me in more ways than one. To start, it forced me to figure out a new video platform that I was unfamiliar with. I first started with Canva, which I was more comfortable using, and created a rough draft of the video. However, I was unsatisfied with the final result; it felt too robotic and was very choppy. After hearing that my group member, Julia, was having success using PowToon, I decided to restart my project there. At first, the platform was confusing, and it took me several attempts to find the right combination of backgrounds and characters that fit the tone I wanted. After about five attempts, I finally created one that I was satisfied with. Once I became familiar with PowToon, I enjoyed its flexibility; it was easy to edit, customize, and add voiceovers, which made the storytelling process more engaging to the viewer. Due to a lack of early group communication, Julia and I realized that our videos ended up being very similar. We decided one needed to change, and I volunteered to revise mine by adding a grocery shopping aspect to differentiate it. While the process was frustrating at first, it taught me the importance of collaboration and communication in group projects. It also reminded me that feedback, even when it leads to more work, can lead to better results overall. The edition of the grocery scene adds variety to the video. This project connects to Mayer’s multimedia learning principles, particularly the coherence and redundancy principles. I learned that too much text or unnecessary visuals distracted from my main message, while carefully pairing visuals with narration helped maintain viewer engagement. Reflecting on my first draft versus my final video, I can see clear growth in both my creative process and technical skills. I have learned how to plan to apply these lessons by planning more carefully before starting a digital project and checking in regularly with group members to ensure alignment. Overall, I’m proud of how I adapted to challenges and developed stronger skills in educational design and storytelling.

References

Mayer, R. E. (2009). Multimedia learning (2nd ed.). Cambridge University Press.
Paivio, A. (1990). Mental representations: A dual coding approach. Oxford University Press.

Challenge B – Healthy and Balanced Eating