AGU 2013: Thursday – Poster Presentation Day!

Again, as the title suggests, today was the day of my poster presentation, my second here at AGU (read last year’s blog post here).

But first, I headed on over to “Using Video to Enhance Science Communication” session of talks. This session was a plethora of talks on using video as a communication tool for Earth science students, with examples of student projects! Although I didn’t dabble much in video, I have done Earth science projects in Google Earth, podcasts for tumblr (now moved to a PSU site) and iBooks research. Through these projects, I learned way more about Earth science than I would have through a lecture. So, I applaud teachers who are using videos and other non-traditional classroom exercises in order to provide more understanding. Perhaps if my high school physics teacher used videos I would remember physics!

Another presenter, Sarah Thompson of Skypunch Creative, talked about increased video documentation in the field and the uses for this video footage: website content, education for students, and blog post content. The mini-documentaries, interviews, time-lapse photos, motion graphics and regular photographs are all created through the observation of  scientific research.

This semester in journalism school, I learned that the most important part of scientific research, to the public, is why the public should care: so, this type of project and information can be very helpful in informing the public of the purpose of research and also give an inside look into the world of science (so they can better understand the research project).

After this mornings session, I headed over to my poster session! For those who don’t know, my poster session touched on my blog and how it changed my academic career by making me realize that I wanted to write about science/the environment. Check it out!

This year, my poster was more straight forward, as it was all about my experiences. Interestingly enough, a lot of students stopped by to talk about blogging practices and whether or not they should start a blog! I also had a few people stop by who were bloggers and needed a little help. I expected questions about my blog and how to create posts that are easy to read.

The main outcome that I took from the poster session is that there are a lot of scientists out there who are interested in sharing their research with the public, but are unsure of how to communicate their science. Most of the advice I gave them was to avoid jargon, keep it short and use pictures. I collected a lot of business cards, and can’t wait to check out the blogs!

I also got to spend the afternoon presenting to my mentor and past teacher, Dr. G. It was great to talk to people together, as she is a scientist and I am a communicator! She is going to enter the AGU Blogosphere with her educational technology blog soon!

Tomorrow, on the last day of AGU, I plan to visit a session on Western Montana, by researchers at my home institution (University of Montana), and spend the afternoon exploring the city! Thanks to all who came to my poster session today!