Telling Stories in Land and Food Systems
Andrew RisemanKathryn GretsingerCyprien LomasDuncan McHugh
University of British ColumbiaVancouver, BC, Canada
OpenEd 2009August 14th, 2009
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 2.5 Canada License
･ How did this course come to be? ･ How did we do it? ･ What were challenges? ･ What were results? ･ How did openness benefit
this course?
Special Topics in Agriculture
･ Very passionate about their research ･ Somewhat isolated ･ Many have a lack
of awareness as to how to tell a story
LFS students
･ Engaging their research in a new way ･ Improving their
communication skills ･ Expressing
themselves using digital tools ･ Spreading their
message to a broader audience
LFS students
･ Mostly re-purposing lectures ･ Useful, not very dynamic
Academic podcasting
･ Cross-campus collaboration
The PEPI Group
･ Cross-campus collaboration ･ Putting the technology into students’ hands ･ Sought to create an open source, ‘academic iTunes’ ･ Evolved into a partnership between LFS & SoJ
The PEPI Group
･ 4th year seminar in issues related to the UBC Farm ･ Traditionally assignments were essays ･ UBC Farm is the only working farm in Vancouver ･ UBC Farm is threatened by development ･ Two-part assignment
AGRO 461 & UBC Farm
･ Sought to use journalism skills to teach to six LFS students to create engaging and rigorous audio documentaries ･ Four-member teaching
team: ･ Agriculture prof ･ Journalism prof ･ Tech instructor ･ Big thinker
This year’s course
･ Students didn't have a framework for this type of work
･ four rules of journalism ･ storytelling, not just
feeling ･ crafting a narrative out of an interview
This year’s course
･ Students were taught the difference between advocacy and journalism ･ As newspapers and other media
suffer cutbacks, room for citizen journalists to have a voice
What is citizen journalism?
･ Streeter: students were sent out to ask strangers a question ･ Voicer: simple story piece that
combines basic audio editing, sound recording, interviewing and narration
Early results
･ New skills for students to pick up “･ Copyright awareness” “･ How to get good recording” “･ The use of audio recorders” “･ Basic audio editing”
Technology workshops
･ Sakai ･ Audacity
Tools
･ Audio piece, ~10mins in length ･ Workshopped extensively ･ Sense of accountability to students
and the work ･ CBC competition ･ CC licensed
Final project
“･ The Soil Beneath Your Feet” “･ Dandelion” “･ The Farmhouse” “･ Where Are We
Growing” “･ Agricultural
Inspirations” “･ The Chicken Man”
Final project
･ new technology ･ lack of time ･ the need to change
culture ･ scarcity of resources
[pilot]
Challenges
Student Reflections
･ formalised course, restricted elective ･ 15 students cap ･ new assignments
Next year
･ One way to tell 50 stories ･ Better breed of podcasts
･ Student satisfaction ･ raised the bar and they stepped up ･ tangible product to share with those outside of the university ･ giving students the tools they need to be heard ･ epiphanies can't be planned
Conclusion
Questions?
Thanks!Andrew Riseman
Kathryn Gretsinger [email protected]
Cyprien Lomas [email protected]
Duncan [email protected]
Faculty of Land and Food SystemsThe University of British Columbia
www.landfood.ubc.ca/learningcentre
