Outreach creation ideas

I find that when thinking of good affective outreach programs and ideas there are some key things to keep in mind. I think it is extremely important to make sure that the audience we target is very broad, finding ways to target more than just one age group or groups with only one specific area of interest. I can see this being done through video podcasts with interesting pictures, sounds, facts and more. One thing in specific I learned in a communications course (COM287) I participated in here at the university, was the idea of shock value. No matter the topic, using shocking images, sounds and factual information in a video podcast, audio podcast or even through the use of Adobe Flash where we can create animated videos. Actually, the example video podcast on Global Warming that Cecilia posted, is a perfect example of what I mean when I say "shock value" outreach ideas. It is showing something real, something that a lot of us already know but have not really taken into consideration. But when it is portrayed in a shocking animated video, almost making it seem like a joke like this particular video did, it really affects you and leaves a mark in a sense, so that days later you are still thinking about what the message was in the video and its importance to you which then leads to your desire to act.

Outreach

I don't have any ideas for my podcast yet but I would like to do one geared towards children. I think that creating a podcast for kids would be the most fun for me and it would be a good way to get the attention of children or parents with children if they saw it on the website or something. I think that a good way to get the word around about the MAS would be to attend as many events as possible. Not only will the MAS get around to everyone at the event but if they enjoy what we do or say then they are likely to visit the website and tell other people about the MAS as well. Maybe we could also make fun, colorful, interesting, etc. posters advertising science with the MAS logo and website and hang them up at schools, grocery stores, libraries, etc. in the area. Posters that stand out might get not only kids more interested but especially parents and teachers also!

Outreach Ideas

I have to admit that I'm still scatterbrained about the outreach project.  Every time we discuss a new idea I think it sounds great.  I think it would be an interesting challenge to make an audio podcast that would catch and hold people's attention.  In terms of video podcasts, I like the 'busier' ones better than the 'boring' ones...more pictures, animations, and short clips to keep the viewer interested.

Some topic ideas that I've been thinking about are wild life, marine life, and disease awareness and prevention.  I'm very open to doing anything at this point.

I think that if I end up creating a video podcast, it would be fun to poll/question students on campus to see what they know.  

Outreach ideas

I'd really like to learn how to do a podcast with some of the animation software. I think there are some good opportunities to get out into the public and bring some attention to the MAS, farmer's markets, sporting events and the Amherst Common would be good places to set something up. Getting a hold of Heath Hatch would be great for a physics podcast. I have a friend who is a master's student at Umass Lowell and he works across the hall from the lab that tests baseball bats for college baseball, it would be cool to see how that works. I think we could do a podcast that focuses on the physics behind sports(any type), sort of a spinoff of the tv-shows ''sports science'' and ''time warp''. We could possibly do a podcast on how we use ideas in science in our everyday life even though we may not be aware of it. My project for this semester will hopefully be a consensus of where we(the university, the student body, the pioneer valley, the commonwealth) are with regard to our relationship with evolutionary biology and where it is we can go from here. I'd like to interview people about their opinions and knowledge of the field and maybe offer them some topics within evolutionary theory and see where that goes, perhaps I could interview some professors as well. I think it's important for people to understand the basics of Evolution since it is the unifying component within the study of life.

Outreach...

Some outreach ideas i had was mostly around pod casting. Such as awareness in either Language/learning disability or autism. I'm a communication disorder major and I've learned a lot about these subjects and wanted to do a podcast on one of them. Or maybe do a podcast of a science experiment for kids and adding adobe animation to it. I'm interested in the whole animation and how I could use that to explain the science experiment. Another idea was a podcast of a school visit. Could be posted to the website and hopefully get people to watch it and invite us to do demonstrations.

Outreach

1. Make the video more interesting by adding some comedy. Example: One time, my friends and I had to give a presentation about the fungi kingdom. We made a parody of the Tyra Banks show, my friend acted like Tyra, I was the guest and dressed up like a mushroom. Then my other friend was the musical guest, and she played a song about the fungi kingdom (by the way she didn’t know how to play guitar nor sing, but she knew how be loud and funny). Everybody remembered our song and by the time of the test everybody sang it.
2. Put on the blog more discussion topics. Talk about something that everyone wants to talk about.
3. Get involved in campaigns (like global warming or something related with science but that the people understand)
4. More publicity around campus and other areas(ex. Flyers)
5. Spreading the word through facebook and twitter, but not only in our site, but trying to get other people with more followers to talk about us.

Assignment for Wednesday, 10/7!

Helloooooo!

For Wednesday, here is what you should do!

Post to the blog:

• 5 ideas for possible outreach creation ideas and reasons why you chose them. They could be podcast topics, putting the MAS on social media sites, learning Adobe Flash and creating animations...what do you want to work on this semester?

Read:

• Journalism 2.0, Chapter 11 (it's short, don't worry)
• Watch iMovie '08 video tutorials here. Watching them all will take about an hour and a half. If you don't have that much time, then just focus on the ones under the headers Enjoy and Rediscover your Video, Making Movies, and Advanced Techniques. I just want you to have a basic idea of how to work around iMovie because we're going to be playing around with video on Wednesday. When you click the link, you'll have to scroll down a little bit to see the full listing of iMovie tutes. Make sure the tab is clicked on iMovie '08, because that's the version we'll have in the BCRC. We do have a copy of iMovie '09 in the lab, and I also have it on my computer, so if any of you decide that your podcast would not be complete without a feature from iMovie '09, then let me know. Other then a few cool features, iMovie '08 and '09 are pretty much the same.
  

I know I said in class to post to the blog your decisions of where to focus this semester, but just have them ready to share with me in class. I'll come around with a list that you'll just sign up.

See you Wednesday!

~Sara

Stem Cell Research in Missouri.

I picked this video because of the interest I have for stem cells. I liked the intro. with picture slides and music. Also the producers of this video were able to switch between interviewing scientists to showing diagrams with explainations about stem cells and their capabilities. This is a nice video and explains both what stem cells are and the benefits for humans. The video also explains the politics behind stem cell research in missouri. I couldnt upload the video but the websites url is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sUb3dsrR8AA&feature=related
check it out

Science Podcast: Sixgill Shark

I liked this podcast because it was very professionally done. The makers are actually down in the sea up close to the sharks. The information they gave was very well presented, and the diagrams for explanation were helpful. I also liked when they showed other strange deep sea animals, which could make the viewer more interested in researching and finding out about the other animals that are not examined in this short podcast.

The video didn't upload correctly, so here's a link to it:
http://untamedscience.com/biodiversity/animals/chordates/sharks-skates-rays/primitive-sharks/cow-sharks/hexanchus/bluntnose-sixgill-shark

Global warming video

I choosed this video because I am personally interested in this topic. I think everyone should be aware of global warning, even when a lot of people don't really seem to care. This phenomenon involves a lot of complicated science,but this video explain it in a way that people would understand, and more important, that invites people to get involve.http://http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3pujlkSTqo

also this other one:http://http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bHUnzPEy-nA

Science Vodcast

This kid's vodcast is cool because he is clearly interested and keeps the audience engaged with good cinematography while also demonstrating the chemical process of fire extracting oxygen from its environment.
There is even a surprise in the climax when the plate stays stuck to the rim of the glass when he picks it up. This kid is good!

Priority Africa - Science and Technology

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lKuOlvQBAs

I find this blog to be very interesting and well developed. It includes several interviewees who appear to be credible by their title and professions. The podcast talks about the importance of science and technology in the developing world and the need for establishing science and technology universities in African countries. It also provides a social aspect on women in the continent, as their roles are undermined. One of the female interviewee made a good point that food, water and energy are all related to women, therefore they need to be a part of this developing science and technology economy. I like the topic of this podcast, it seems to be professionally done so the audio and video are of good quality. The French also put a little umph to it.

Science Podcast- National Geographics' Sea Monsters Part 3

What I really liked about this podcast was that it used video and also slides to present the information. I thought that by being able to listen to the audio and then see in a brief summary slide the information just listened to made the podcast easy to follow and also easier to remember afterwards. I also liked the music and the graphics in the podcast a lot. I thought that they fit really well together and both made the podcast interesting.

In regards to the information in the podcast, my favorite sea monster was the Hesperornis. I thought it was pretty cool that there was a bird that swim with a beak full of teeth.

Science project podcast

Bad:
This would of been better if we had some sort of introduction to what we were going to see. Maybe had voice over to hear the kids having fun doing the experiment or telling us what was being added.

Good:
Having a link as a source.

Science Podcast

I thought that this podcast was well done for several reasons. Lakes and ponds are a normal part of New England life and activity, yet it is rare for one to think about the science aspects. I like the narrator of the podcast because she is personable...I feel like she could be my next door neighbor. I thought that the podcast did a great job of making the science facts interesting with the explanations, animations, and easy language. I spend my summers on a lake, so this video had cool personal meaning to me.

Cuttlefish Video Podcast (Vodcast)

I think that this podcast does a good job for a certain type of viewer. I think that if you are already interested in science and old enough to understand it, it does a great job of giving a lot of information in a little bit of time. It also gives enough information to make you want to find out more. It was well organized and a good lenth for it's purpose. However, I feel that podcasts for this class (if they are being directed to people who we are trying to get more involved in science, that may not be very involved already)should have more exciting visuals. I also think that explanations should be in more common language than in this podcast so that they would be more friendly to those without a lot of background information.

Terrible!!!

Ben Goldacre of Bad Science talks about Sensationalised Science Reporting from Conrad on Vimeo.

Turtle Podcast

I thought that this video was a decent example of a well-structured podcast. It was short yet very informational, had more than one interviewee, and also interesting material. The use of interviewing two people rather than one almost made it more official. I also liked the use of different camera shots and effects.

Podcast: The art and physics of pitching

I chose this podcast of Bill "the spaceman" Lee. I did an the evolutionary biology search and WGBH came up as a source at the bottom and his presentation was among a lot of other really cool science topics. I really enjoyed it because Bill Lee is quite the character, he's actually a pretty smart guy with strong opinions and great baseball knowledge. Also his stories are great, anyone who is a sox fan or a baseball fan should definitely check it out. I was hoping it would have been more science or physics related, he only mentions a few aspects of pitching that involve physics and I was a bit dissapointed by that but it was entertaining and informative nonetheless.

Assignment for Monday, 10/6

Helloooo Everyone!

Here's the stuff you'll need to do by Monday!

• Read Tony Vincent's Podcasting for Teachers and Students, from start to pg. 10 (this should be pretty quick, the pages are filled up with lots of pictures)
• Read Journalism 2.0 Chapter 7, Digital Audio and Podcasting
• Be prepared to discuss the readings on Monday...I want to hear from everyone! Jot down some notes or questions to bring up during the discussion.
  
• Using iTunes or some of the other podcast hosting sites, find what you think is a good or awful example of a science podcast, and post it to the blog along with your opinion of it. (If you can't figure out how to post the video, just post the title and remind me how to show you next class!)
• Recall Peg's lecture about the different areas of focus for the semester. You are all required to complete 3 out of the 4 activities, one of which being developing and outreach tool the MAS can use. The other two you can choose out of school visits, fundraising, or professional networking (conferences). Start thinking about what you would like to focus on this semester. We'll get these set in stone on Wednesday!

Also, we are going to have a guest lecturer come in to talk about blogging on Monday. Mary Carey teaches through the UMass journalism department. Please make a list of 5 questions to bring to class on Monday to ask her about blogging. Again, I want to hear from everyone, so please come prepared!

See you all Monday, and have an AWESOME weekend!

~Sara