Our Learning Games Lab team presented two sessions at the 2023 Consumer Food Safety Education Conference, March 1–3 in Arlington, VA. In collaboration with our food safety partners and content experts Kirsten Gibson (University of Arkansas), Jennifer Quinlan (Drexel University), and Britanny Saunier (Partnership for Food Safety Education), we addressed the use of digital media to communicate effective and inclusive food safety messages.
The conference focused on the importance of delivering food safety information for all generations, focusing on how and where the next generation of food handlers will get this information.
In the round table “Choosing the Right Media for the Message,” our team discussed the process of defining the most effective media for a given food safety material. This process includes defining learning outcomes and considering accessibility and budget. We shared best practices for determining when to use what kind of media, and how to use research to inform that decision. The team also reviewed some of our current projects on food safety education – a game for vendors at farmers’ markets, a set of interactives for workers, and two educational social media campaigns – giving examples of the choices made, and making recommendations for future projects (such as VR and app use).
In a second session, our team presented “Don’t Wash your Chicken!”, a series of animations and social media campaigns to educate consumers about the risks of washing raw poultry and reasons why they shouldn't. Using this project as an example, the team discussed how to identify key stakeholders and end users and how their input in the development of materials can result in more thoughtful and effective materials.
“Don’t Wash Your Chicken!” Project. https://www.fightbac.org/poultry/
Our team has collaborated over many years on a variety of projects to create engaging and effective educational media for different audiences and topics, including food safety. All our materials are research-based and follow a specific design process, to understand the audience's needs, articulate learning changes, and create effective and inclusive media.
Written by Matheus Cezarotto, PhD, visiting assistant professor, Department of Innovative Media, Research and Extension.
To learn more about our products and collaborations:
Barbara Chamberlin, PhD
Interim Department Head
Extension Educational Media Specialist
Department of Innovative Media, Research and Extension
bchamber@nmsu.edu
575-646-2848