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Students in UBC’s Faculty of Land and Food Systems are passionate about the environment, urban farming, sustainability and food. As applied scientists, it is crucial that they learn media skills, and this session examines their use in context. Presenters will discuss how Land and Food Systems partnered with the UBC School of Journalism to teach students how to tell stories and make their research accessible to those on and off campus. Students used open source audio editing software to create Creative Commons-licensed audio documentaries that give their work a whole new audience.
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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
ariseman@interchange.ubc.ca
Kathryn Gretsinger kgretsin@interchange.ubc.ca
Cyprien Lomas cyprien.lomas@ubc.ca
Duncan McHughduncan.mchugh@ubc.ca
Faculty of Land and Food SystemsThe University of British Columbia
www.landfood.ubc.ca/learningcentre
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