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Attend a Class on How to Create Science Videos With Your Smartphone

SciFund Challenge and the Long Term Ecological Research Network are teaming up to offer another outreach training class for scientists! This one is all about learning to make short videos!

Do you want to learn how to tell the public about your science through video? Do you want to have the skills to put together compelling short videos?

But how do you get started with video? Join the SciFund community for their online course aimed at helping scientists get started with video. Over 5 weeks from September 29 to November 2, 2019, they’ll demystify the business of communicating science through video. They’ll equip you with the tools and confidence you need to get started. Plus, at the end of the class, you’ll have completed a short video about your research (perfect for your website or YouTube).

The course is a little different than many online courses. This class, like all SciFund Challenge classes, is highly focused on collaboration between class participants. This connection by scientists across the globe and across disciplines makes classes extremely engaging and allows participants to make rapid progress. It also makes classes fun!

Best of all, no prior experience with outreach or video production is expected for class participants. Beginners are encouraged to jump in.

To make videos, you’ll obviously need a video camera. To minimize costs for class participants, the video camera that participants will be using is a smartphone (as many people already own them and they are capable of capturing great video, under the right conditions). There are other things that course participants should know and will need (see below).

Cost

50 US dollars (but if cost is an issue, give us a buzz – e-mail at the bottom). The course fee is nonrefundable, with one exception. In the event that your course application is not accepted, your course fee will be refunded.

Syllabus

Here is the self-guided version of this class. They will cover much of the same material here, but in a more effective way (since interaction is an essential part of learning how to create effective videos).

When

September 29 – November 2, 2019. This is a five week class.

Deadline for completing course application

September 28, 2019. Please note that courses tend to max out early, so don’t wait to apply if you are interested. Decisions on applications will be done on a rolling basis.

Course instructors

Jai Ranganathan, Ph.D., SciFund Challenge.
Kristen Weiss, Ph.D., Long Term Ecological Research Network.

Where

The Internet! This is an online course, but unlike many online courses, there is a strong focus on engaging with other class participants. Why? Learning outreach methods (like video creation) is in many ways like learning a foreign language. Learning a language is most effective when you have people with whom to practice and so is learning outreach techniques. The engagement in this class will take place mostly via a SciFund Challenge community forum and via video conferencing (Google Meet).

Who

Active scientists in any country in any discipline at any level (from graduate student to emeritus professor to government scientist to NGO scientist). This course is intended for scientists who are new to using video for outreach, but are interested in getting started with it.

How the class works

Each week, participants will be given new material to learn and a new assignment that has three parts: 1) a task to complete alone, 2) a task involving others in the class, and 3) participation in a small-group TA session that will take place via video conference call. The class will take place mostly on a private forum on SciFund Challenge, that only class participants can see. In short, this class is highly collaborative! Other the TA sessions (which occur at specific times), the timing of class activities each week is highly flexible.

Multiple 1-hour TA sessions will be scheduled each week and participants are expected to participate in one each week (a participant does not need to pick the same time slot each week). The TA sessions are tentatively scheduled for the following times each week, with all times listed in Pacific Time (GMT-7). The final scheduling of TA sessions will depend upon class enrollment.

  • Wednesday: 3-4 PM, 6-7 PM
  • Thursday: 9-10 AM, 4-5 PM
  • Friday: 8-9 AM, 10-11 AM, 2-3 PM, 5-6 PM
  • Saturday: 9-10 AM, 4-5 PM

More Information & Application

Link to class website




Developing STEM Education, Outreach, and Engagement Activities