Science Blogging at Ashland University

Time for some science stories

2012-01-25T21:32:00.000-05:00

Over the next week I would like you to write a new post for your blog that presents something scientific for a non-science audience. Use this assignment to practice some of the techniques we talked about in class today, as well as advice from Randy Olson's book, pages 81-118. This chapter covers storytelling. You can choose any science related topic you like, and your post should be approximately 500 words in length.

At the bottom of your post include a paragraph reflecting on how you incorporated the ideas we have talked about or you have read about for presenting science.

There are two more things I would like you to do for next week:

Add some science blogs to your Google Reader account, including the new course blogs. You can find Google Reader under the "More" tab on any Google page.
Add at least one comment to a post from one of the three course blogs. Feel free to also leave comments on any science blog posts you read over the week. This will leave a hyperlink back to your own blog, and will generate some traffic.

Let the blogging begin

2012-01-18T11:07:00.000-05:00

www.flickr.com/photos/martincanchola/3101647834/

Now that you have set up your blogs it's time to add some content. Before you practice the art of communicating science to the public I would like you to do some exploring on the science blogosphere. Your assignment for next week is to identify the two best science blogs that you find during the week and add a post to your own blog with links to these sites and descriptions of what you liked about them. How does each blog handle the tension between accuracy and style that we discussed in class today?

How do you find science blogs? You can start with the blogroll on the right of this page, and then use the links on successive blogs to find even more. Be sure that at least one of the blogs you use in your post is not currently on the blogroll to the right. This is an individual assignment, so each of you should add your own post to your group blogs.

Now for the technical stuff:

Here is a YouTube video on posting to Blogger.
Be sure to proof your posts. There is no reason for typos.
Use hyperlinks to link directly to other webpages. The video above will show you how.
Got questions? Leave them as a comment below to this post and I will answer them here. Be sure to check back for the answers.

We will be looking over your posts in next week's class and discussing the following readings:

Don't Be Such a Scientist pages 49-80
Pages 26-30 in Deborah Blum's A Field Guide for Science Writers (this was the handout you received in class today)
A recent post on science writing by prominent science writer Carl Zimmer

Good luck and contact me if you are having technical issues.

Welcome to Senior Seminar

2012-01-11T10:24:00.000-05:00

"Why are you here?", you might ask. Hopefully today will answer all of your burning questions about Bio 495.

Of course the easy answer is this class is required. But it is required for a reason (we hope). One purpose for this course is to discuss and practice a vital skill not just for biologists, but really for any professional field - the ability to communicate. To get us started read the following for next week:

pages 1-47 in Don't Be Such a Scientist
this article from the Chronicle on Science Communication

Please also take this Zoomerang survey by the end of this week. And add at least two items to our Google Docs list of what we think every biologist should know.

And lastly, check out this short video made by Randy Olson, whose book we will be reading this semester:

Wrapping up the semester

2011-04-13T22:55:00.000-04:00

With less than three weeks left in the semester I wanted to sum up the projects left for our class:

Video Projects
We will have popcorn and movies for our last class on Wednesday, April 27th. You will need to submit your video to me before that class, or bring it on a thumb drive that morning. Because of the size of video files, do not depend on emailing it to yourself. Next week we will spend some time in class dealing with any technical issues you may be having with your video.

Powerpoint slides
Your individual Powerpoint slides will be due on Friday, April 29th. You should have 3-5 slides that tell some story about a topic covered in our assessment test that you want to learn more about. Your slides should be useable for a 5-minute presentation on that topic. Use this project to practice some of the Powerpoint slide design techniques you have read about or that we have talked about in class. And remember the story telling tips we have covered in class this semester.

In addition to your slides, you should add a final blog post that describes what you would say if giving a presentation using these slides. You can use your slides as images in your blog post, or deposit your slides as a Powerpoint file on our course Angel page.

As always, let me know if you have questions. I can't wait to see your videos.

Start drawing those storyboards

2011-04-08T22:34:00.000-04:00

Here is a quick reminder of your assignments for next week's class:

Develop the concept for your group video project and be ready to pitch it to the class
Start working on your storyboards, which will diagram the shots for your video
Read appendix 2 in Randy Olson's book
Decide on a topic for your powerpoint slides
Read over these "Top Ten Slide Tips"
Be sure to read and comment on each other's posts. And listen to those audio projects

See you Wednesday

Presentations and videos

2011-03-26T22:42:00.000-04:00

We have two primary projects left this semester - your group videos and individual powerpoint presentations. We will not meet in class this coming Wednesday because of the student research and scholarship symposium going on all day that day, but I would like you to do some preparation for both of these projects prior to our next class on April 6th:

Write one blog post on some topic that challenged you on the assessment test. Use this as an opportunity to learn more about a topic in Biology that you think you should know better. This post is due on April 1st.
Check out the science communication page on our AU wiki, and watch the Talking Science video by April 6th. There are also lots of other good resources on this page for designing powerpoint and poster presentations.
Take notes on two presentations from the CAS symposium on March 30th indicating what you thought was done well and what could be done better. The talks you critique can be from any discipline - they do not have to be science talks. Be ready to discuss your observations when we are back in class on April 6th. You can find the schedule for symposium talks here.
Work with your video project to decide on a topic for your project and discuss initial plans. Be prepared to discuss this on April 6th.

See you at the Symposium.

Get busy recording

2011-03-02T22:01:00.001-05:00

Here is a quick reminder of your upcoming assignments:

Email me a current script/outline/plan for your audio recording by this Friday
Fill in a title for your project on the google doc sign up page
Sign up for a time when you need a recorder as well

Audio projects are now due on Wednesday, March 23rd. You should have all of your needed audio by March 16th and have tried some editing so that we can discuss any technical issues.

Good luck and have a great break. Check back with the blog over the next week or so as I may throw some reading/listening at you.

Let's start recording some audio

2011-02-27T12:06:00.000-05:00

In this week's class we will be touching base briefly about your audio projects and then spending most of our time learning how to tell stories with video. Tim McCarty from the Journalism/Digital Media Department will be joining us again to conduct a workshop on camera technique.

You should come to class with a script for your audio project. And when you are ready to record some audio use this link to reserve a time with one of our TEAC recorders. I will post a short video soon showing how to record and download your video to a computer. You'll find that the TEAC's are very easy to use.

Our assessment test will be available on Angel for you to take soon. This will include 75 multiple choice questions and you will need to complete it by midnight on Tuesday, March 15th.

Story structure analysis, planning audio projects

2011-02-19T20:36:00.000-05:00

Script from Office Hours

In this week's class we will take some time to talk more about story structure and plan for your audio projects. To prepare for class:

Choose one of the class blog posts from the past week that you think did a good job of following the three act story telling structure we talked about in class (do not pick your post). Take notes on how that specific post followed this story structure and be ready to share this information with the class on Wednesday. Your notes should explain how each act is reflected in that post. I will not collect these in class, but be sure they are detailed enough for you to walk the class through the post you are analyzing.
Work with your audio project partner to come up with your project idea, or at least develop a short list of ideas. Be ready to share this in Wednesday's class.
If you have not emailed me with the name of your audio project partner, add this information to the audio project sign-up google document using the link that I emailed to you.

I would like to push the final audio project due date to after spring break - March 16th. We will talk more about the technical aspects of doing this project in this week's class.

Blogs by AU biology grads

2011-02-15T21:44:00.001-05:00

A handful of our biology alums have made a valiant effort to maintain their science blogs or start new blogs after graduating from AU. Here are a couple to check out and encourage:

And while you are at it you may want to add AU's new environmental science blog to your Google Reader accounts.

New posts and planning your audio projects

2011-02-09T23:34:00.000-05:00

Storyboard panel by Jay Hosler
for Office Hours.

I hope that today's discussion with Jay Hosler and Tim McCarty provided some background for thinking about story structure in your writing. As I mentioned in class, we will not be meeting next week since a number of us will be in Columbus presenting research posters at the Statehouse. But I have some assignments for you nonetheless:

Add a new post to your blog that uses the three act structure we talked about today, and that Randy Olson describes in chapter 3 of his book. As you think about this classic story-telling structure, see if your first post used it, and whether the science blogs you read utilize this structure. Your new post should be between 300 and 500 words and once again convey something in science.
Identify the person you will collaborate with on your audio project. Ideally you will be working in pairs, but if needed you can work in groups of three. Four is too many. Email me if you need help identifying a partner/partners.
Once you have an audio project collaborator, think about potential topics for a one-minute audio segment. What ideas/information do you want to convey? How will you do it? What will be the structure of your segment? What is the story? Perhaps you could use our list of what biologists should know to find a general area of interest, but then you will need to focus in on specific content? Is there an interview you could line up? A faculty member on campus, or a scientist somewhere else? Phone interview? Your goal for this week is to develop ideas for potential projects. Next week we will focus on fine-tuning those ideas into something more concrete. Your audio segment will be due March 2nd.
As always keep on eye on your Google Reader account and this blog. You may find some good project ideas by keeping tuned into the science blogosphere. And keep commenting on each other's posts (and posts from blogs in the real world if you dare).

Want to hear how your audio compares?

2011-02-08T23:10:00.000-05:00

Here is a sample of the re-mix submissions I received. As you listen to them think about how the edits change the story being told. For the next few weeks one of our topics of discussion will be story structure.

Science blogs as a communication tool

2011-02-08T22:55:00.000-05:00

Kevin Zelnio has a great editorial on his Deep-Sea News blog on the value of blogs and other social media for engaging non-scientists with science. His comments tie directly into the ideas we have discussed in class and are worth reading.

Seriously though . . .

2011-02-06T22:38:00.000-05:00

if you are heading off to graduate school next year or thinking about it for the future you should check out a free guide from the journal Science about career steps from undergraduate degree through post-doctoral positions.

You will need to sign up for Science's free career service when you request the booklet.

Thinking about graduate school?

2011-02-04T21:32:00.000-05:00

Preparing for audio and video projects

2011-02-02T23:22:00.001-05:00

I have been very impressed with your first round of posts. They have been entertaining, informative and engaging.

For this next week I would like you to do some preparation for a guest speaker coming to class. Dr. Jay Hosler, a Professor of Biology from Juniata College in Pennsylvania, will be coming to Ashland to give a talk on his new Evolution graphic novel Tuesday, February 8th at 4pm in Kettering 112. The next day Dr. Hosler will come to our class with AU journalism professor Tim McCarty to talk about storyboarding, science communication, and video design. Over the following weeks you will use these discussions and your new-found audio editing skills in your team audio and video projects.

Here are some resources for next week:

Check out Dr. Hosler's own blog
and a website on his new book
Read this story on Dr. Hosler's involvement in a web video series called Office Hours, and watch some episodes (all if you like. Episode 2 below is my favorite)
Read the next chapter of Randy Olson's book (pages 81-118)

And to get you thinking about how a science audio project might sound, check out some science stories from NPR.

And lastly, your group will need a platform for discussing and planning your projects. Now that you all have Google accounts have someone on your team start a google documents page that you can all add to. After starting the page you will need to share it with the other members of your group.

Networking in science

2011-01-30T23:00:00.000-05:00

Three students over the past week have asked me - "What is Linkedin?" They had each heard about it from one source or another, so I had the chance to give them a quick run down. Have you heard of Linkedin, the "professional Facebook"? If not, you might want to sign up for a free account, and then check out our Ashland University Science Network. Here you can get career information from a growing number of AU science graduates and science program friends. This social media platform also allows you to leverage the network between your connections as your own career develops.

We will talk a bit more about Linked In later in the semester, and the importance of networking in general.

Science writing and audio editing

2011-01-26T22:37:00.000-05:00

Now that your blogs are set up and you've done some reading around the science blogosphere it is time to take these things out for a spin. I would like you to use this week's blog post as a way to incorporate some of the science writing tips you read about over the last week. Write a post for your blog (300-500 words) about any science related topic. At the end of that post add one more paragraph explaining how you attempted to incorporate the writing tips we mentioned in class today. Here is the blog post I mentioned today on

There are a few other things to do in addition to writing your post:

Sign up for a Google Reader account and add all of our course blogs and any other blogs you like so that you can follow new posts
Leave at least one comment on one of the course blogs
Use Audacity to play with the audio file that I email to you. Produce a re-mix of that audio file that changes the order of the dialog. All AU campus computers should have Audacity on them, or you can download it to your computer for free. Email the final product of your editing to me as an mp3 file.
We will take a break from reading the Olson book this week.

Feel free to email me or Mike Randolph with any technical questions about Audacity.

And one quick blogging tech tip - instead of showing the actual URL for a website in your blog, make it a hyperlink from the name of the website or online resource, as I have done in the post above. To do that simply click and drag to highlight the text in your post that will be the link and click on this button:

Have fun.

Looking for some career resources?

2011-01-25T14:47:00.001-05:00

One request in your recent class survey was for information on careers in science. You are probably not aware of the many things you can do with a degree in Biology, and maybe could use some advice on how to get there. Hopefully these links will help:

An excellent resource from the American Institute of Biological Sciences on Careers in the Biological Sciences
Bureau of Labor Statistics information and data on professional occupations. This list may suggest some careers that you had not thought of.
A good list of career resources from Emporia State University
An American Medical Association site on health care careers
The journal Science's career resource page
Our AU wiki page on graduate school in the sciences
And our AU wiki page on different health professional schools

Some reading and blogging for next week

2011-01-19T22:30:00.000-05:00

I hope you are all having fun tinkering with the look of your blogs. Having technical issues? Hopefully I can help you with some resources below.

But first, here is some reading to get you ready for next week when we will spend some time talking about the qualities of good science writing. We will also be visited by Michael Randolph, journalism professor and advisor for AU's WRDL radio station.

Don't Be Such a Scientist pages 49-80
Pages 26-30 in Deborah Blum's A Field Guide for Science Writers (this was the handout you received in class today)
A recent post on science writing by prominent science writer Carl Zimmer

And I have your first blogging assignment. Start surfing some science blogs and pick your two favorites. How do you find science blogs? You can start by clicking on the links to blogs listed on the right side of this page. Those blogs will themselves have links, and so on, and so on. This way you will be moving through a vast network of blogs, and can discover some very popular sites and some hidden gems. You can also check out the high-profile blogs mentioned in the article from The Scientist that you read this past week.

Once you have selected your two favorite blogs, your assignment is to write a short post to your own blog (with the awesome name that you came up with today) naming them and explaining what it is that you like about them. The purpose for this assignment is to get you checking out the science blogosphere and to get some technical practice with using Blogger as a platform. And try to make your post entertaining (something will talk more about next week). This is an individual assignment, so each of you should add your own post to your group blog.

Now for the technical stuff:

Here is a YouTube video on posting to Blogger.
Be sure to proof your posts. There is no reason for typos.
Use hyperlinks to link directly to other webpages. The video above will show you how.
Got questions? Leave them as a comment below to this post and I will answer them here. Be sure to check back for the answers.

Good luck, and ask before you get too frustrated with anything. People's grandmothers are blogging. You can too.

An introduction to your senior seminar

2011-01-11T22:27:00.000-05:00

Welcome to our senior seminar course. You may be asking why you are here? The short answer is that if you weren't we would not let you graduate. But now for the long answer . . .

This blog will be the central location for the media and online discussion used in this course. For example, let's start with a little video:

Hopefully by the end of today you will have some sense of what I would like us to accomplish this semester. Are you looking forward to it? If so, bonus points for me. If not, hang in there.

Here is some reading for next week's class:

Pages 1-47 in Don't Be Such a Scientist
This Chronicle article on science communication
An article from The Scientist on Science Blogging

Also:

Take this Zoomerang survey, and
Add at least two items to our Google list of what we should all know as biologists

Using the active voice in writing and your careers

2010-04-09T12:52:00.000-04:00

Nature magazine has a great career section at the back of each issue. I thought you would like this recent article on the importance of young scientists communicating their work, to both the public and to possible collaborators. Even if you do not do research, the ability to communicate what it is you do and your accomplishments is an important part of the vital networking that is needed in all careers.

The author makes a nice connection between the active voice in writing, science communication and in ones career.

End of the year project roundup

2010-04-09T12:45:00.000-04:00

Here is a summary of upcoming deadlines for course projects:

Presentations will be given April 14th and 21st. You can find your presentation day here.

Videos need to be finished and ready to view by April 21st. Please email me to let me know when you need a video camera. One group has already finished their shooting.

Long form blog posts are due on your blogs by April 28th. We mentioned five guidelines for these posts, and that you could use Not Exactly Rocket Science as a model. You can also check out posts at Research Blogging:

They should cover one or two articles from the primary literature
They should be written in a way that a non-scientist would understand
They should be entertaining - use the readings and discussion from this semester, and your blogging experience
Shoot for around 800-1000 words
Try to give a feel for the hypothesis of the study, if there was one, and how the study was done. How was science used to answer a question in this paper? You don't need to go into detail about methods, unless you can make it entertaining (see point 3 above)
Use hyperlinks when appropriate, and cite your paper at the end. Use the doi number for your paper if it has one.

And of course email questions to me if you have them.

Your most popular blog posts

2010-03-23T22:20:00.001-04:00

Thanks to the many of you who sent in your nominations for favorite blog post so far this semester. Without further ado, here they are roughly in the order received:

That's a lot of fine science blogging.

Assessment test review

2010-03-19T22:52:00.000-04:00

OK, putting the word "assessment" in a post title is probably not the best way to attract readers. But since this is an assignment post, you don't really have a choice anyway.

Here are your assignments for next week's class:

Review your answers to the assessment exam and identify at least three questions that you would like to discuss in class this coming week. Look into the material relevant to the question before class.
Identify a topic that you would like to cover in your 5-minute power point presentations. This should be a topic that you discovered that you could know better after taking the assessment exam. You will get additional guidelines for this presentation in class.
I have emailed to you a link to a Google documents page with the start of a "What Every Biologist Should Know" list. I have added the first two items. Based on your review of the assessment test or your own experience, add at least three items to this list. These should be topics/concepts/specifics that you think anyone graduating with a bachelors degree in biology should know.
Determine who your partners will be for your 60-second science video. It would also be great if you can start discussing topics for that video. I believe that two groups have already identified potential topics.
And lastly, be thinking about a topic for your long-form blog post, due later this semester. As I mentioned in an earlier post, this project should be similar to the News and Views review articles found in the journal Nature, or the long form posts on Not Exactly Rocket Science, which are typically around 1000 words and explain the findings of one to three primary literature articles. You can focus on a topic that you know well and that interests you, or use this opportunity to learn more about a new area. We will discuss this project more in class this week.

And of course keep watching this and each other's blogs for new posts.

What else are you going to do over spring break?

2010-03-07T22:29:00.000-05:00

I hope you are all enjoying some down time this week. This post is meant to give you a heads up on the course projects left this semester, and a couple of things to do before our next meeting (at the end of the list).

Keep thinking about potential ideas for your 60 second videos. We will do some planning at our next meeting.
Do you already realize that there is some area of biology that you should know better? That could make a great topic for your presentation later this semester.
You can be scouting out a topic for your long-form blog post on some article from the primary literature. For some ideas on what this writing can be like, check out the posts at Not Exactly Rocket Science, an outstanding science blog by Ed Yong. Or you can model your post after the review articles found in journals like Nature. Check out this recent review from Nature's News and Views section on how mosquitos smell their human hosts (can be viewed on the AU network).
Read chapter 4 in Don't Be Such a Scientist and be ready to discuss it in class when we get back.
Look over the posts written so far by your colleagues for this class this semester, and take note of what you think are the best two. Leave a comment to this post naming what you think are the best two posts, or if you prefer, email your nominations to me. And don't forget to keep commenting on each other's posts.

How to add a StatCounter to your blog

2010-02-21T23:34:00.004-05:00

I will let the video speak for itself

Accuracy or boredom - your comments please

2010-02-20T14:04:00.000-05:00

In Chapter 3 of Don't Be Such a Scientist Randy Olson describes the trap that we can fall into when communicating science. Scientists are trained to prize accuracy above all else, and should constantly be skeptical of the things they read. But striving for complete accuracy and completeness in stories about science can make them, well, boring. Randy's advice, keep your story concise and interesting, even if you must sacrifice some detail. As an example he compares the effects of two documentaries on public thinking about global climate change: Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth, and another that I never heard of.

Check out some recent examples from the science blogosphere that express the frustration of some scientists with the approach that Randy advocates. On the lighter side, Christie at Observations of a Nerd pointed out a biological inaccuracy in the latest episode of Psych, which really ruined her enjoyment of the episode (as well as that of many of her commenters).

On the more serious side, read over the beginning of this post from the DrugMonkey blog. A little bit of background - Matt Nisbet is a professor of communications who posts at Framing Science, and advocates an approach similar to what Randy is writing about in his book. Check out how this approach of "framing" your science message to your audience, in effect sacrificing some detail or nuance to get your point across, is described on DrugMonkey.

So what do you think? Which of these two approaches do you believe is more appropriate? Have these been issues for you as you write your posts?

Please leave your comments below.

Assignments for the week

2010-02-17T22:48:00.000-05:00

During our next two meeting times you will be taking the assessment test. All you need to bring to class with you is a pencil (OK, I will be bringing some too if you forget).

But there is some blogging and online discussion to do before then.

Write one blog post on anything scientific that interests you. Practice using some of the communication strategies we have been discussing. Your goal is to inform a non-scientist about something scientific that you find interesting. When you are done, test out your post by getting some non-science friends to read it.
Write one short blog post that links to some piece of science video out on the web. Many of you said that you thought video was an excellent way to communicate science, and if you look you will find a growing number of bloggers and science sites using video. Find one that you like and either link to it or embed it in your blog. If you don't find one that you like, write a short post linking to something else that you like.
Think about possible topics for your own 60 second videos. One possibility - a video on research being done by faculty and students in Kettering.
Look for a new list of student blogs on the right and feel free to post comments there.
Read or Re-read Randy Olson's chapter 3 - Don't Be Such a Bad Storyteller and look for a discussion question about it on this blog in the next couple of days.

Advice for new science bloggers

2010-02-15T22:47:00.000-05:00

Wonderful comments on communicating science with different media. And I am really enjoying the posts coming in on denialism. Keep up the great work.

Your blogs have been part of quite an extensive discussion in the science blogosphere over this past weekend. A very prominent science blogger named Coturnix (the online editor at the open access journal PLoS - and not his real name) posted about student science bloggers, and highlighted our class. A pretty extensive comment thread on the post, as well as on Facebook, got people discussing why students and early career (young) scientists blog, and why many do not stick with it. I followed up this discussion with two posts on my own personal blog (post one and two).

The result is that three Biology alums are now fired up to continue the blogs they started in this class last year (Science Haggis and Plague-erism), and a number of other young science bloggers are getting encouragement from the science blogging establishment.

On Sunday Coturnix added another post with great advice for young bloggers, along with links to your current blogs. I'd like you to read this post for this week's class. Pay particular attention to what he considers the most effective way to communicate science, and see how you think it relates to the discussion we had with Tom Hayden.

Keep up the good work, and I look forward to some face-to-face discussion. In the meantime, I'd encourage you to check out some of the student blogs linked here and on the linked posts. You can always leave a comment on those blogs if you are inspired.

Anti-science and denialism

2010-02-10T22:06:00.000-05:00

With our class today sunk under a few inches of snow (and slippery roads) I thought I would throw out a slightly new topic for discussion for next week's class. I would also like to try some online discussions over this next week via this blog. So here is your assignment for the week:

During one of our first discussions we talked briefly about an anti-science movement, and the importance of science putting a good face forward to explain its relevance to the public. Some have termed the refusal to listen to scientific findings "denialism", whether it is the movements against vaccines (thank you Jenny McCarthy), evolution, or the scientific evidence for global warming. This week I would like you to do some investigating on this topic:

Listen to this radio interview from NPR's Science Friday with Michael Specter on his new book "Denialism".
Read this article from Nature about new research into how science on controversial subjects should be communicated.
Use your newly found blog and online science sources to see what you can find out there about denialism and the anti-science movement. And then use this material as a source to write a new post for your blog on this topic.

And lastly, for now. Leave a comment to this post in the next couple of days addressing the following question:

What medium have you found can best communicate science - text, audio, video? Something else? What have you found to be effective in your travels on the web this semester, and why?

Don't be too shy to get the comments started, and check back every day for new comments. I will post another question for you on Friday.

We've got quite the blogroll going

2010-02-05T23:13:00.000-05:00

I have added almost all of the blogs that you recommended two weeks ago and I am very impressed with the diversity of stuff that you found out there. And I believe that the vast majority of these blogs are written by fellow scientists. Be sure to check out these blogs when you can, and add them to your google reader accounts if you like them.

Professional science writing

2010-02-05T22:14:00.000-05:00

Spending an hour with Tom has inspired me to want to talk about good sources of professional science journalism. Tom mentioned that with a large number of journalists being laid off in recent years, especially many on the science beat, the science journalism scene has become highly fragmented. You have found some great blogs out there, many written by scientists themselves. But what are the good sources for professional writing. This will be a topic for this week's class.

So here is your assignment for Wednesday:

Be ready to discuss what you liked and/or did not like about Tom Hayden's articles. Did you prefer the straight textual pieces, or the multimedia pieces?
Try to find sources for professional science stories on the web, in whatever media type you like. Text, videos, audio, whatever. Be ready to talk about what you did and did not like in class. Where to start? How about major newspapers, news weeklies, National Public Radio, the BBC, etc.
Read chapter 3 in Randy Olson's book - Don't Be Such a Poor Storyteller.
Write at least one more post for your blog. Any topic you want related to science. If you have not done so already, check out the other posts from class and think about what you think works well, and what does not. And keep Randy and Tom's suggestions in mind.
And lastly, leave at least one comment on a post from one of the class blogs.

Big thanks to Tom Hayden!

2010-02-04T23:00:00.000-05:00

for spending an hour with our class.

I hope you enjoyed hearing about communicating science from a professional, and about a possible alternate career path as a science journalist. And I think Tom offered to provide some critiques of your posts later in the semester.
I would be curious to know what you thought. If you are comfortable commenting in public, please leave a comment to this post. That would be a good place to leave any additional questions or comments for Tom as well.

Writing your first blog posts

2010-01-28T17:36:00.001-05:00

Congratulations on setting up your new science blogs, perhaps your first blog ever. I'd like you to try some writing before next week's class. Go ahead and do the following:

Have someone in your group email to me the URL for your blog so that I can link it to the central course blog.
Coordinate with the others in your group to add a post that introduces your blog. Explain to your readers what your blog is for, what you plan to cover, maybe even how you chose your name. These are just suggestions. It is your blog, so your introduction is up to you.
Then I would like each member of your group to add one post prior to next week's class. This can be on anything sciency that you like, but try to use the discussions we have had on good science writing when crafting your post. I would prefer that you do not all wait until midnight on Tuesday to post. Please give me some reading throughout the week.
Check out a new You Tube video I posted today that runs through some tips on using Blogger to write posts.
And of course be sure to read the selection of Tom's writing from my last post.

Lastly, feel free to tinker with the settings on your new blog. The person in your group who set up your blog will need to go to the "permissions" tab under "settings" and make you an administrator for the blog.

Leave any questions you have as comments to this post and I will get back to you with answers. Have fun.

Background for our video visit with Tom Hayden

2010-01-28T14:38:00.003-05:00

Our guest in next week's class will be the freelance science journalist Tom Hayden (not to be confused with the 60's era political activist and former husband to Jane Fonda). I met Tom in 1993 as a grad student in the marine biology program at USC. Sometime around year three of our program Tom got a summer internship as a science writer for Newsweek magazine in New York City and never turned back. In addition to being a staff writer at Newsweek, he has worked at U.S. News & World Report and has written freelance for Wired, Nature, The Washington Post and National Geographic (among others). He is also the author of two books, including the recent Sex and War.

Next week's class is a great opportunity for us to learn first hand about science communication from someone who does it professionally. To get ready, I would like you to read some of Tom's work, and take notes on questions that you might like to ask about these specific articles and science writing/communication in general. I hope that we can get a good discussions going.

Read the following before next week's class:

Recently Tom has been working on more multimedia pieces that involved collaborations with four to eight other writers and editors:

Some online background on Randy Olson

2010-01-26T15:54:00.000-05:00

The second chapter of Don't Be Such a Scientist mentions Randy's work on the Shifting Baselines project. If you have not googled it yet, check out their webpage.

Want to see Randy talk about his book? Does he communicate well? You can also see what reviewers at Science and Nature thought about the book.

And I just discovered that Randy has a Wikipedia page? Do you think he wrote it?

Almost time to start a blog

2010-01-19T16:31:00.001-05:00

Next week in class you will be starting up your own blogs. In the meantime I would like you to read a bit about science writing and check out the science blogs that are already out there. Here is your assignment for our next class:

Read chapter 2 in the Olson book.
Read chapter 4 from Deborah Blum's Field Guide for Science Writers and be ready to discuss it next week in class.
Read the 25 tips from the science writer at the Guardian.
Read the single page on naming a blog.
Start reading through some science blogs to find ones that you like, and ones that you don't like.
Use Google Reader to start following your favorite blogs. This RSS reader will be important as you follow each other's blogs and when looking for post ideas. Add this blog to your Reader account, and be sure to check it often.
Leave a comment to this post with the name of the best blog you find during the week and what it is about it that you like.

Welcome to our central blog

2010-01-11T21:54:00.001-05:00

This will be our central collaborative space for Bio 495 this semester. Feel free to look through material on this blog from past courses. We will start talking about how to blog, and why to blog about science, soon.

Starting your blog

2009-09-17T11:35:00.004-04:00

As we talked about today, here is some stuff to keep you busy:

Sign up for a google account and start a blog at bloggger.com that you can use for your posting this semester. Send me the link to your blog when it is up and running, and be sure to pick a great name.
Write an introductory post for your blog. What is its purpose, what will you use it for, who is your audience, etc.
Look into the work that Randy Olson has done in science communication. He has his own web site, videos on You Tube, and various writing about science communication spread across the web.
Set up a Google Reader account and start subscribing to blogs that interest you. This is a great way to scout out some ideas for your own posts.

That will be good for now. I will be looking out for your progress and will comment along the way.

Amy's second assignment

2009-09-04T10:07:00.002-04:00

Here is the library link to the Science in Public book we read for this week if you would like to check it out.

And here are your assignments for this week:

Start reading science blogs and leave a comment to this post naming your favorite and explaining why. Here is a good post on how to find science blogs.
Also look at some blogs or websites on science communication and leave a comment about that here as well.
Check out the COPUS website.

And here is some reading for next week on effective science writing. Both of these books are in the AU library:

Read Chapter 4 in Blum's A Field Guide for Science Writers
Read Chapter 7 in Lars Lindberg's Hands on Guide for Science Communicators

Leave any comments or questions you have in the comments section of this post. I will be checking it each day (no pressure).

Some interview tips

2009-04-18T15:48:00.002-04:00

Thought you might find these of interest: How to nail an interview.

Some interesting career news

2009-04-14T16:01:00.002-04:00

An informative post on how careers are changing in the U.S. I think it supports our discussions about the important of communication skills, and the need to be a life-long learner.

The data do not break out medical and science fields in particular. I think if they did, the job outlook for the biology graduate would look even better.

Forgotten Plan B

2009-04-10T07:05:00.003-04:00

I forgot to mention that you can choose to produce a short (2-3 minute) video as a joint project instead of doing an individual Powerpoint presentation. The Southern Fried Scientist had his Invert Zoology students make videos based on science papers.

Videos are an excellent way to convey science. Want to learn about barnacles?:

The power of Powerpoint

2009-04-09T21:54:00.002-04:00

We have spent much of the semester practicing how to present science in writing through your blog posts. For your last assignment of the semester you will work on another vehicle for conveying science - through voice and slides. Powerpoint has become ubiquitous and often parodied, but we can't escape the reality that it is a dominant medium for conveying information. Even if you do not go into a career that requires the standard science Powerpoint presentation, Powerpoint skills will likely be important in your future career.

So your assignment is to develop and deliver a 5-minute Powerpoint presentation on any topic you would like in Biology. This can be something that you know well and want to teach other people about. Or it can be something that you don't know well, but want to know more about.

5-minutes is short - perhaps time for about 5 slides. But this is enough time to give a basic introduction and then push the envelope a bit. Don't just present the basics - give some deeper information as well. And of course, it should be interesting.

As I mentioned on Wednesday, write a post to your blog with a brief description of what you plan to present by next week's class. First come first served on the topics. And think about whether you would like to present on April 22nd or 29th. We will split the class between those two days.

The blogging drought is broken

2009-03-20T21:52:00.003-04:00

Yes it has been a month, but there was spring break and all of that assessment testing going on. This coming week we will finish going over the assessment test and talking about our list of what all biologists should know. Your assignments prior to our next meeting are to:

Look over the rest of the assessment test in preparation for our discussion next week.
Write one blog post on a topic from which you missed a question on the assessment test. The point of this post is to learn a bit more about this topic and produce a post that will help your colleagues learn more as well. As always, your post should be interesting, informative and entertaining.
Edit the google docs list of what every biologist should know based on our discussions this past week or your review of your test.

Blog highlights

2009-02-18T20:44:00.005-05:00

You have been posting some great content on your blogs over the past few weeks. Here are some notable posts and comment threads that you shouldn't miss.

There is lots of other great content, so mention your favorites as a comment. And I have not read posts from the last two days yet. Look for some of those in a future highlight post.

UPDATE: I have been reminded that Dr. Isis visited another post as well.

Blogging and plagiarism

2009-02-15T14:14:00.003-05:00

Blogging by its very nature is a mashup. Many posts combine ideas from other sources and add their own angle on the topic. So what are the guidelines for properly attributing original sources? Perhaps a good approach to this question is to look at how it should not be done.

Check out this example before coming to class on Wednesday.

Another week, another post(s)

2009-02-12T19:41:00.002-05:00

Great start on your blogs and nice discussion of science writing this past Wednesday. I am especially impressed with luring Dr. Isis to leave comments on two of your posts, and your continuing debate on chiropracty.

In addition to some catch up for some of you on your posting and commenting, here are your assignments for this coming week:

Write one more post this week (added to your blog). This should be a longer post (still less than 800 words). But not just a short reference to something. You can develop one of the ideas you shared in class this past week, or do something different. Try to incorporate the science writing ideas we talked about this past week.
Leave comments on at least two posts from the other course blogs.
Next week we will start assembling a list of what every well-educated biologist should know. Before next week's class make note of at least 10 items that you think should go on that list.
Check back in a day or so for a reading assignment for next week.

And Happy Darwin Day!

Some blog tech tips

2009-02-09T20:02:00.011-05:00

Good job on the great posts so far. I thought I would point out a couple of details about the blogger platform that would add to the look of your posts:

Use hyperlinks when referring to a webpage. Highlight the text that you want to use as the hyperlink, and then click on this button in the Blogger "Compose" panel: . Now you paste the web address of the webpage into the window that pops up. You should always use this method to reference other webpages if you refer to them or use their information.
If you quote from a webpage, use this button to start an indented quote section: . This is a standard practice in the blogosphere.
Want to make a fancy bulleted or numbered list? Use one of these buttons:
And as some of you have already realized, using images in your posts is a great idea. Not always necessary, and try not to be gratuitous, but they can really jazz things up. This button will allow you to upload a picture from your computer, or use a picture directly from another webpage:
This last tip is not about tech. Be sure to proof your posts as I am noticing a few typos and grammatical errors creeping in. A good rule is to wait 15 minutes after writing something to proof it, or have a friend look it over for you.

The blogs are live

2009-02-04T22:16:00.005-05:00

Congrats on getting your blogs up and going. I think their names alone will draw some interest.

Here are the links to your blogs:

Add them to your Google Reader accounts so that you can keep up with the latest posts. They are also part of the blogroll on this blog.

As a reminder, here are your assignments for the coming week:

Add the two posts that you wrote in the past week to your new blog. Trickle them in during the week as you planned in class today.
If you have not done so already, email me the URL for your blog, or leave it as a comment to this post.
Leave comments on at least two posts from the course blogs. Try to add something to the post - don't just say "hey, nice post."
Come to class next week with two new post ideas. In class I asked you to write a new post - BUT INSTEAD, I would like you to think of two ideas for future posts that you can share with the class. YOU DO NOT NEED to write the posts themselves.
Read the new handout on science writing. Try using the advice you have been reading when thinking about blog ideas or how you might write your next post.

And lastly, one Blogger tip - if you want to cut and paste your writing into the "post writing" window in Blogger, you have to use the "Edit Html" tab. Notice that at the top of the window where you write your posts there are two tabs - "Compose" and "Edit Html". The "Compose tab lets you change fonts, add hyperlinks, etc. But to cut and paste in any text you need to use the "Edit Html" tab, and then switch back to "Compose" for the other features.

Have fun and leave comments if you are having any technical, or other, issues. I will leave some additional posts this week on some of the settings you can tweak with Blogger.

Your first posts

2009-01-28T10:00:00.000-05:00

Due to the snow day we are not able to set up blogs for this week. But I would like you to start working on your first posts. Last week we briefly discussed what topics each of you would cover on your blog (toxicology/pharmacology; environmental science/ecology; medical/health; general cell/molecular; a hybrid blog for the 2 pm class). You probably know which of these five groups you fall into. So now it is time to write your first posts. Here are your assignments for the week:

Drop by my office and pick up another handout on good science writing. I will place these in a box outside my office door by noon on Thursday.
Write a post critiquing another science blog post anywhere in the blogosphere. Use your reading about good science writing to evaluate someone's writing. You can pick a very well written post and explain why it is so good. Or pick one that could be better, but explain why. Be specific. Cite specific examples and specific ideas from your reading on science writing (are you catching a specificity theme here?). TicTacJoe pointed out a particularly good blog post that he likes. I have one on limpets and global warming that I like (but then I am a little biased). You can critique these or any others that you find. Next week you will use your critique as your first posted blog entry, including a link to the original post. Be aware that people can trace back to posts that link to theirs. So you might want to avoid critiquing a post that you would need to trash.
Write your own post on something that interests you. You have been reading (hopefully) lots of science blog posts over the last week. Now it is time to try your own. Practice the techniques that you have been reading about, but don't get too caught up in making it perfect. But you should proofread and make sure there are no typos or grammatical mistakes. There is no excuse for that.
Keep adding blogs that you like to your Google Reader account.
Check out this informative article on blogging from Slate.

For now, write your two posts in Word or some other word processing app. You will add them to your real blog next week.

Post any questions, comments or problems about this assignment in the content feed of this post. And have fun!

Snow falls, classes canceled

2009-01-28T09:39:00.002-05:00

As you probably already know, classes are canceled today. This means we will wait until next week to organize and set up our blogs. However, your assignment to comment on your favorite blog for the week is still due today. I notice that some of you have not completed this assignment. You should also have set up a google reader account and started loading blogs into it.

The following post will give you some assignments for next week.

Blog carnivals and competitions

2009-01-24T13:34:00.002-05:00

I thought of a couple of other approaches for finding great science blogs:

Blog carnivals are collections of blog posts on specific topics. Authors can submit their own posts, which are then hosted by a different blog on a rotating basis. For example, Carnival of the Blue is a marine themed carnival.
Best of competitions - these are judged events to select the best blog posts. The Open Laboratory is one of the better known examples from science. If you write something great this semester think about submitting it for the 2009 competition later this year.

Finding good science blogs

2009-01-22T22:16:00.002-05:00

While a relatively small fraction of the million of blogs on the web are science blogs, there are still a lot to look through. Here are a few ideas for finding them:

Use a blog search engine like Blogsearch or Technorati.
Check out some science blog aggregators like the Nature Blog Network, Blog for Darwin, and of course ScienceBlogs. The first two are sites that you can register with that will show your blog posts, essentially advertising your blog for you. The third is an invite only site that, I think, pays its bloggers.
Click on links in the blogrolls of the blogs that you read. These are lists that run along the right or left side of a blog that link to other blogs. You can quickly surf your way through dense networks of blogs, and you may notice the web cliques that people belong too.

I look forward to seeing what you find. Be sure to add the good ones to your google reader account.

So let's think about blogging

2009-01-21T11:00:00.005-05:00

Read the chapter from Deborah Blum's Field Guide for Science Writers and be ready to discuss it next week in class.
Start reading through some science blogs to find ones that you like, and ones that you don't like. I'll post soon with ideas on how to find blogs to read.
Use Google Reader to start following your favorite blogs. This RSS reader will be important as you follow each other's blogs and when looking for post ideas.
Leave a comment to this post with the name of the best blog you find during the week and what it is about it that you like.

How does the public view science?

2009-01-19T12:52:00.004-05:00

On Wednesday we will talk about whether and how scientists should communicate their work to the public. But what do we know about how the public views science? Seed Magazine recently had a series of articles on the State of Science, with a couple pages devoted to this question.

Also check out the slideshow on Science Cafes. The third slide is of our local Cafe in Cleveland at the Great Lakes Brewing Company.

How do you get into grad school?

2009-01-15T21:30:00.003-05:00

Brittni asked that we talk about what to do if one does not get into grad school. Maybe a better starting point is to talk about how to get into grad school. Here is an interesting post, guest written by an eminent cardiovascular physiologist, on how to impress a University professor when interviewing to become a part of their lab.

Notice the somewhat typical snarky mood of this blog. Humor is a good way to keep people reading, but is not always necessary. Brad asked about anonymity in blogging - well Dr. Isis does blog anonymously. And she blogs about shoes.

Welcome to our central blog

2009-01-14T13:26:00.000-05:00

This will be a place where I can post information about class, links to online content and eventually links to your blogs. It was great to hear about your diverse interests today and I am looking forward to good discussions with all of you.

Remember to bring your completed survey with you next week and be prepared to discuss the reading from Science in Public.

I thought I would give you a couple of links to get you started poking around the science blogosphere:

ScienceBlogs is a collection of science bloggers (duh) organized by the Seed Media Group, a publishing house that produces the great science magazine Seed
And in a bout of shameless self-promotion, here is the link to my blog, A Fish Eye View

Remember to check back to this space, as I hope to post every couple of days.