Communicating Discipline Research Through Video Podcasts (Vodcasts)
Students in Prof. Sehoya Cotner's Zoology course (BIOL 2012 (CBS)) produced vodcasts communicating recent research in the Zoology field.
Student Examples:
Yucatan Anthropods (Produced by Gretchen Rick, Rob Kulhanek, Peter Williams, Jade Kinard, and Haley Krenzke)
Bald Eagles (Produced by Kaylyn McDaniel, Jason Lee, Se Hee Cho and Amy Luell)
Unfortunately, the vodcasts from this class that were hosted on the web platform Posterous are no longer available. Please check out the fall semester, 2013 student Zoology vodcasts instead.
Some of the videos from the 2012 Zoology course (and others) are available via this YouTube Playlist.
Learning Objectives
1) realize the dynamic and ongoing nature of zoology research,
2) participate meaningfully in the communication of science,
3) appreciate how our understanding of animals has been, and is being, constructed; and
4) engage your peers in the process of science, as it relates to zoology.
Demonstrated Learning Benefits
Interview Coming Soon
Subject Knowledge Acquired
Critical zoological research study analysis
Communicating scientifically results concisely and engaging to a non-biologist audience
Applied practice (some reproduced the study in the lab)
Scholarly research (Info. Lit.)
Peer learning (groups posted study questions with their vodcasts on Posterous, later included on exams)
Soft Skill Set Acquired
Video production-editing skill sets
Audio/visual mixed media composition
Voice over (scripting)
Media Literacy (media arts approach: video production)
Project management
Group work
Challenges
Interview Coming Soon
Course Assignment and Grading Rubric
Assignment and Grading Rubric .pdf
Assignment Schedule .pdf
Successful projects will involve thoughtful planning and a process that includes:
1) Choosing which critters (by animal taxon) you will be exploring, signing up for your topic and date
2) Reviewing some contemporary (within the last ten years) work relating to your critters, either on your own or using some of my suggestions
3) Selecting a paper that reports on primary (original) scientific work that is
a. understandable
b. informative
c. describable
4) Deciding how your group will present this work in a way that is
o Informative
o Engaging
o Accessible
o Relevant
5) Working with Joe Kleinschmidt (Zoology TA), Scott Spicer (media outreach librarian) or me during numbers 2, 3 and 4, above
6) Creating your video podcast!
7) Giving a Global Premiere of your vodcast during a class session (as described in the Class Schedule)
8) Allowing the vodcast to be shared on the course blog
9) Creating, along with your video, 5-7 questions to guide your peers’ understanding of the work and its relevance or significance
Grading Criteria:
Vodcasts are worth 100 points, or 10% of your overall grade in Zoology, and will be evaluated for
clarity of information presented
creativity in engaging your audience
technical considerations, such as audio clarity, legibility of text, etc.
making a clear connection to zoology (animal evolution, physiology, ecology, etc.)
ability to convey something beyond what was done by the researchers…who cares?
why does this work matter? if the findings are hugely significant, why is that so?
quality of accompanying questions
your group members’ evaluations of your contribution to the project
External Campus Support Resources
Sehoya previously participated in the OIT Fellows program designed to encourage integration of technology to enhance teaching and learning. Scott met with Sehoya earlier in the semester to develop the assignment timeline and further refine the assignment to align with learning objectives and campus production support capacity. Scott later made a class visit with a custom presentation highlighting the production process, considerations for producing a quality a vodcast, demonstrations of other similar student videos, and campus production support resources available.
Media Production Support Guide for BIOL 2012 vodcasts.
Post project debrief with Sehoya, Scott, Christopher Brooks (OIT) and Linda Eells (BIOL subject Librarian)
Custom Media Production Assignment Calculator (*may be used in next course)
*Sehoya, Joseph Kleinschmidt (TA) and Christopher Brooks (OIT) are working to research this pedagogical use of vodcasts, with Scott also participating from a production support needs perspective.
Student Production Support from the SMART Learning Commons
Reserve Production Equipment
Schedule Video Production Project Support