The internet and social media sit at the heart of the modern communication of scientific information. But are you using the web in the best possible ways to communicate?

 

This intensive course focuses on providing you with the skills and knowledge so you can triumph when using the internet to communicate your science.

 

Topics include writing for the web, using analytics, best social media engagement, video and podcasting, mapping and infographics, Wikipedia and the frontiers of social media.

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:

On satisfying the requirements of this course, students will be able to:
1. Critically analyse the effectiveness of existing science communication on the web in terms of design, audience engagement and goal achievement.
2. Determine the most appropriate modes of web communication of science by analysing the nature of the content, the expected audience(s) and the desired outcomes.
3. In keeping with best practice principles, design and develop an effective science communication web presence using a variety of web tools.
4. Critically evaluate the successes of their web science communication activities against stated goals and metrics.
5. Provide useful and actionable feedback to others regarding web science communication activity.

Research-Led Teaching

This course draws on various research projects at CPAS, including

• Linvill, D. L., Boatwright, B. C, Grant, W. J., and Warren, P. L. 2019. "THE RUSSIANS ARE HACKING MY BRAIN!" Investigating Russia's Internet Research Agency Twitter Tactics during the 2016 United States Presidential Campaign’ Computers in Human Behaviour
• Amarasekara, Inoka and Grant, WJ. 2018. ‘Exploring the YouTube science communication gender gap: A sentiment analysis’ Public Understanding of Science http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0963662518786654?journalCode=pusa, discussed in the New York Times. 
• Linvill, D. L., Boatwright B. C., Grant, W. 2018. ‘’Back-stage’ dissent: Student Twitter use addressing instructor ideology’. Communication Education. 67(2) http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03634523.2018.1428998.
• Dustin J Welbourne and Will J Grant. 2015 ‘Science communication on YouTube: Factors that affect channel and video popularity’. Public Understanding of Science.
• Merryn C McKinnon, Lindy A Orthia, Will J Grant and Rod Lamberts. 2014. ‘Real-World Assessment as an Integral Component of an Undergraduate Science Communication Program’, International Journal of Innovation in Science and Mathematics Education 22(5).

Required Resources

Bring a laptop, smartphone and headphones if possible!

Staff Feedback

Students will be given feedback in the following forms in this course:

• Written comments
• Verbal comments
• Feedback to the whole class, to groups, to individuals, focus groups

Student Feedback

ANU is committed to the demonstration of educational excellence and regularly seeks feedback from students. Students are encouraged to offer feedback directly to their Course Convener or through their College and Course representatives (if applicable). The feedback given in these surveys is anonymous and provides the Colleges, University Education Committee and Academic Board with opportunities to recognise excellent teaching, and opportunities for improvement. The Surveys and Evaluation website provides more information on student surveys at ANU and reports on the feedback provided on ANU courses.

Class Schedule

Week/Session	Summary of Activities	Assessment
1	This course runs as a 1 week intensive in the last week in June, with assessment following in the weeks after.

Assessment Summary

Assessment task	Value	Due Date	Return of assessment	Learning Outcomes
Critique of a good web science communicator	5 %	29/06/2020	13/07/2020	1, 2
Project pitch (verbal)	5 %	03/07/2020	05/07/2020	1, 2
Project pitch (written)	10 %	06/07/2020	20/07/2020	1, 2
Peer review	10 %	23/09/2020	26/10/2020	5
Web presence report	30 %	23/09/2020	14/10/2020	4
Web presence	40 %	23/09/2020	14/10/2020	2, 3, 4

* If the Due Date and Return of Assessment date are blank, see the Assessment Tab for specific Assessment Task details

Policies

ANU has educational policies, procedures and guidelines, which are designed to ensure that staff and students are aware of the University’s academic standards, and implement them. Students are expected to have read the Academic Misconduct Rule before the commencement of their course. Other key policies and guidelines include:

• Student Assessment (Coursework) Policy and Procedure
• Special Assessment Consideration Policy and General Information
• Student Surveys and Evaluations
• Deferred Examinations
• Student Complaint Resolution Policy and Procedure

Assessment Requirements

The ANU is using Turnitin to enhance student citation and referencing techniques, and to assess assignment submissions as a component of the University's approach to managing Academic Integrity. For additional information regarding Turnitin please visit the ANU Online website Students may choose not to submit assessment items through Turnitin. In this instance you will be required to submit, alongside the assessment item itself, hard copies of all references included in the assessment item.

Moderation of Assessment

Marks that are allocated during Semester are to be considered provisional until formalised by the College examiners meeting at the end of each Semester. If appropriate, some moderation of marks might be applied prior to final results being released.

Assessment Task 1

Critique of a good web science communicator

Want to be a good web science communicator? It's worth having a look at how the some of the best do it. For this assignment, find a good web science communicator (preferably an individual or a small team, not a magazine or TV show that has gone online) and write a 200-400 word assessment of

• what they do,
• how they do it and
• why it is successful.

Pay attention to the platforms they use, how they use them and how they link them up. Screen shots are welcome. Upload your assignment on Wattle. We will discuss this assignment in class on the first day - there is no need (unless you really want to) to do this assignment in advance.

Word limit: 200-400 words

Value: 5%

Assessment Task 2

Project pitch (verbal)

Details of task:In the final class of the intensive period, everyone will pitch their idea for a science communication web presence.

Individuals

You will be expected to talk for 3 minutes (and answer questions for 3 minutes more) about

• the science or issue you want to communicate,
• a slug line to say what it is
• the audience you wish to communicate with as specifically defined as possible, and why them. A persona here could help. Please don't define your audience as people interested in your topic. 
• how and where you plan to do this – what are your big items?
• how you will deal with identity issues (will you use your real name or a pseudonym? Will you share on your personal social networks?), and
• what you envisage success to be.

Teams

You will be expected to talk as a team for ~5 minutes (and answer questions for 3 minutes more) about

• the science or issue you want to communicate,
• a slug line to say what it is
• the audience you wish to communicate with as specifically defined as possible, and why them. A persona here could help.
• how and where you plan to do this – what are your big items?
• how you will deal with identity issues, (will you use your real name or a pseudonym? Will you share on your personal social networks?), and
• what you envisage success to be.
• particular roles and responsibilities for each team member

This pitch - and the feedback you receive - will then be turned into a written report the following week.

See further details on the other components of the project in other assessment pieces.

 

Value: 5%

Assessment Task 3

Project pitch (written)

Following your verbal project pitch, you are then to elaborate and explain this pitch - taking account of any feedback received and new ideas you might have - in written project pitch.

Individuals

As with the verbal pitch, you will be expected to write ~500 words about

• the science or issue you want to communicate,
• a quick review of what else is out there doing similar work
• a slug line to say what it is
• the audience you wish to communicate with as specifically defined as possible, and why them. A persona here could help. Please don't define your audience as people interested in your topic. 
• how and where you plan to do this – what are your big items?
• how you will deal with identity issues (will you use your real name or a pseudonym? Will you share on your personal social networks?), and
• what you envisage success to be.

Teams

As with the verbal pitch, you will be expected to individually write 500 words about

• the science or issue you want to communicate,
• a quick review of what else is out there doing similar work
• a slug line to say what it is
• the audience you wish to communicate with as specifically defined as possible, and why them. A persona here could help. Please don't define your audience as people interested in your topic. 
• how and where you plan to do this – what are your big items?
• how you will deal with identity issues (will you use your real name or a pseudonym? Will you share on your personal social networks?), and
• what you envisage success to be.

Please note, though we expect teams to agree on all these points, these reports must be individually written.

This project pitch will be marked by your lecturers / tutors and also reviewed by other class members (outside of your project team if working in a team project) - please upload your pitch in Wattle and email your pitch by the due date to the other 3 members of your peer review group.

See further details on the other components of the project in other assessment pieces.

Word limit: see above

Value: 10%

Assessment Task 4

Peer review

Details of task: Following your project pitch, the major task of this course is to go out and communicate your scientific topic on the web. Towards the end of July (for undergrads) or by mid August (for postgrads) you should have a solid body of work online.

The task of this assignment is contribute to the work of others in the course (and hopefully, have them contribute to your work in return) by writing short (100-200 word) feedback critiques of each others' projects as requested in the Peer Review Discussion Forum. (Start the process, and ask for feedback on your work!)

To review the work of your peers, focus on suggesting positive and useable ways they could improve their web presence. You should pay attention to the goals they themselves set in their project pitch, as well as looking at the mechanics of the platforms they are using and the content they are creating.

Please add your critiques in the Peer Review Discussion Forum. You are welcome to incorporate feedback in your own decision making and final Report. 

Note that this is an individual assignment. If you are completing a team project you must review the work of people outside your team.

Word limit: 100-200 words per critique

Value: 2% per critique, to a maximum of 10%

Assessment Task 5

Web presence report

At the close of the semester it's time to wrap things up, writing a final 2000-3000 word report on your web presence. PLEASE TELL US WHERE WE CAN FIND YOUR PROJECT VIA A SHORTENED LINK (BIT.LY ETC). TURNITIN BREAKS HYPERLINKS

In this report you should summarise your project and goals, then explain & justify:

• how you worked with the scientific content in your project
• your creative, technical and promotional decisions
• the changes you made throughout the project 
• what you believe to be the strengths & weaknesses of the project
• what you would do differently in future
• team peer review (see below)

based on:

• previous course assessment and feedback
• your project goals (including audience definition)
• comparison to other projects
• screenshots of your content & promotion
• screenshots of quantitative and qualitative feedback or metrics
• references to the relevant scholarly and grey literature

This report - alongside the observations of your lecturers/tutors and the peer review - will be used to calculate the mark for your web presence.

Team projects

This is an individual assignment. You are welcome to share data / analytics / screenshots, but your analysis and discussion should be individual. If you are completing a team project please also provide a numeric peer review of your team colleagues. To achieve that, please include a table giving each group member - including yourself - a score reflecting the effort given to the event. For this, give 100% for an appropriate amount of effort, above 100% for an extraordinary effort, and below 100% for inadequate effort. Please make sure the total adds up to n x 100, eg if there are 3 people in your group it should add to 300 (for example, 90, 100, 110).These peer reviews will be averaged, and then modify your overall team project mark.

Word limit: 2000-3000 words

Value: 30%

Assessment Task 6

Web presence

The web presence project is the central assessment piece for this course, with all other pieces of assessment leading to it.

In this task you are go out onto the web and build a science communication web presence as described in your project pitch.

Requirements

You will be expected to use a variety of web platforms to build, deliver and promote your science communication web presence, as appropriate to the particular topic you are communicating and audience you wish to communicate with.

You are expected to build and disseminate a variety of content, both small promotional (tweets, status updates or comments) and large (videos, podcasts, infographics, blog posts), throughout the period of the course. (Cramming everything into the final days will not be looked on favourably).

We will not specify the amount of small promotional content required, but we expect a minimum of 5 pieces of 'big' content for individual projects, and in team projects 1 more for each additional team member (eg 6 pieces for teams of 2, 7 pieces for teams of 3, and so on). Both small and big content - and your dissemination of it - will be assessed. You will also be assessed on the brand / presence that you build, including how others react to you.

Assessment

You do not have to hand anything in on this page. Your mark for your web presence will be calculated via your lecturers'/tutors' observations, the peer review, and your own report. This report does have to be handed in on the final date of your course (27 Sep for SCOM6012 students).

Team projects

With discussion with the lecturer / tutor it is possible to combine to deliver team projects, but with larger completed outputs: 1 more piece for each additional team member (eg 6 pieces for teams of 2, 7 pieces for teams of 3, and so on).

A note on privacy

We recommend that all students think seriously about privacy and identity issues in this class. This includes not only dealing with the risks and rewards of publicity, but also the risks of remaining anonymous or private.

For this assignment we recommend very strongly that students craft a public web presence that is either named (ie, you might be Bob Smith, tweeting as @CoralScientistBob) or anonymous (ie, you might tweet as @CoralScientistBob, but not say explicitly that you are Bob Smith in real life). Either of these options is fine, but you should make a deliberate decision.

Should students not feel comfortable communicating in a public environment in either of these ways, we will allow a private assignment. This will have very different constraints, and as such you must speak to your tutors about this whilst delivering your project pitch.

Word limit (where applicable): N/A

Value: 40%

Academic Integrity

Academic integrity is a core part of our culture as a community of scholars. At its heart, academic integrity is about behaving ethically. This means that all members of the community commit to honest and responsible scholarly practice and to upholding these values with respect and fairness. The Australian National University commits to embedding the values of academic integrity in our teaching and learning. We ensure that all members of our community understand how to engage in academic work in ways that are consistent with, and actively support academic integrity. The ANU expects staff and students to uphold high standards of academic integrity and act ethically and honestly, to ensure the quality and value of the qualification that you will graduate with. The University has policies and procedures in place to promote academic integrity and manage academic misconduct. Visit the following Academic honesty & plagiarism website for more information about academic integrity and what the ANU considers academic misconduct. The ANU offers a number of services to assist students with their assignments, examinations, and other learning activities. The Academic Skills and Learning Centre offers a number of workshops and seminars that you may find useful for your studies.

Online Submission

The ANU uses Turnitin to enhance student citation and referencing techniques, and to assess assignment submissions as a component of the University's approach to managing Academic Integrity. While the use of Turnitin is not mandatory, the ANU highly recommends Turnitin is used by both teaching staff and students. For additional information regarding Turnitin please visit the ANU Online website.

Hardcopy Submission

For some forms of assessment (hand written assignments, art works, laboratory notes, etc.) hard copy submission is appropriate when approved by the Associate Dean (Education). Hard copy submissions must utilise the Assignment Cover Sheet. Please keep a copy of tasks completed for your records.

Late Submission

Late submission of assessment tasks without an extension are penalised at the rate of 5% of the possible marks available per working day or part thereof. Late submission of assessment tasks is not accepted after 10 working days after the due date, or on or after the date specified in the course outline for the return of the assessment item. Late submission is not accepted for take-home examinations.

Referencing Requirements

Accepted academic practice for referencing sources that you use in presentations can be found via the links on the Wattle site, under the file named “ANU and College Policies, Program Information, Student Support Services and Assessment”. Alternatively, you can seek help through the Students Learning Development website.

Returning Assignments

Assessment feedback will be returned via Wattle.

Extensions and Penalties

Extensions and late submission of assessment pieces are covered by the Student Assessment (Coursework) Policy and Procedure The Course Convener may grant extensions for assessment pieces that are not examinations or take-home examinations. If you need an extension, you must request an extension in writing on or before the due date. If you have documented and appropriate medical evidence that demonstrates you were not able to request an extension on or before the due date, you may be able to request it after the due date.

Resubmission of Assignments

Resubmission of assessment is not possible.

Privacy Notice

The ANU has made a number of third party, online, databases available for students to use. Use of each online database is conditional on student end users first agreeing to the database licensor’s terms of service and/or privacy policy. Students should read these carefully. In some cases student end users will be required to register an account with the database licensor and submit personal information, including their: first name; last name; ANU email address; and other information. In cases where student end users are asked to submit ‘content’ to a database, such as an assignment or short answers, the database licensor may only use the student’s ‘content’ in accordance with the terms of service — including any (copyright) licence the student grants to the database licensor. Any personal information or content a student submits may be stored by the licensor, potentially offshore, and will be used to process the database service in accordance with the licensors terms of service and/or privacy policy. If any student chooses not to agree to the database licensor’s terms of service or privacy policy, the student will not be able to access and use the database. In these circumstances students should contact their lecturer to enquire about alternative arrangements that are available.

Distribution of grades policy

Academic Quality Assurance Committee monitors the performance of students, including attrition, further study and employment rates and grade distribution, and College reports on quality assurance processes for assessment activities, including alignment with national and international disciplinary and interdisciplinary standards, as well as qualification type learning outcomes. Since first semester 1994, ANU uses a grading scale for all courses. This grading scale is used by all academic areas of the University.

Support for students

The University offers students support through several different services. You may contact the services listed below directly or seek advice from your Course Convener, Student Administrators, or your College and Course representatives (if applicable).

• ANU Health, safety & wellbeing for medical services, counselling, mental health and spiritual support
• ANU Diversity and inclusion for students with a disability or ongoing or chronic illness
• ANU Dean of Students for confidential, impartial advice and help to resolve problems between students and the academic or administrative areas of the University
• ANU Academic Skills and Learning Centre supports you make your own decisions about how you learn and manage your workload.
• ANU Counselling Centre promotes, supports and enhances mental health and wellbeing within the University student community.
• ANUSA supports and represents undergraduate and ANU College students
• PARSA supports and represents postgraduate and research students