nmc2009: telling stories in land & food systems
DESCRIPTION
Students in Land and Food Systems are passionate about the environment, urban farming, sustainability and food. As applied scientists, its crucial they learn media skills. In conjunction with the UBC School of Journalism, students were taught how to find and tell stories about their discipline. Students crafted stories, interviewed experts and produced podcasts using their disciplinary content. Students wrote a biased story (advocacy), an unbiased story (citizen journalism) and created their streeter and voicer podcasts.TRANSCRIPT
Telling Stories in Land and Food
SystemsKathryn GretsingerCyprien LomasDuncan McHughUniversity of British ColumbiaVancouver, BC, Canada
NMC 2009June 11th, 2009Creative 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?
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 ‘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 “･ How to get good recording” “･ The use of audio recorders” “･ Basic audio editing” “･ Copyright awareness”
Technology workshops
･ Audacity
Tools
･ A number of audio recorders: M-Audios, Zoom H4s & Edirols
Tools
･ Audio piece, ~10mins in length ･ Workshopped extensively ･ Sense of accountability to students and the work ･ CBC competition
Final project
“･ The Soil Beneath Your Feet” “･ Dandelion” “･ The Farmhouse” “･ Where Are We Growing”
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!Kathryn Gretsinger
Duncan [email protected]
Cyprien Lomas [email protected]
Faculty of Land and Food SystemsThe University of British Columbiawww.landfood.ubc.ca/learningcentre