One of only 2 people in the world that actually give a damn about deep sea fungi.
Here’s to your 25th, Cheers!
Andrew (squid hat) and I (crab hat) toasting to sea shanties with blog peeps at Science Online 09. Photo by Danica.
The last session of Saturday I spent in a room with ~30 other eager individuals wishing to be imparted magical advice on how to make the leap from blogging (essentially for free for most of us) to getting paid to write articles. The session How to become a (paid) science journalist: advice for bloggers was moderated by Rebecca Skloot who blogs at Culture Dish and Tom Levenson of the Inverse Square Blog. These two individuals were the perfect moderators for the session, both being accomplished journalist but book authors as well, and of course bloggers. I won’t spend much time on this summary because it was mostly for myself, to get advice for pitching stories in the future. Here are a few of the main points:
There is probably lots of things I’m forgetting, but these are my initial notes on that session.
Bright and early Sunday morning, I hosted a session on Nature Blogging with GrrlScientist of the fantastic blog Living the Scientific Life. It was a great pleasure to work with her on this session and I want to thank her for putting most of the thought in behind it. It was well attended and well-participated in. We have developed several questions about Nature Blogging (not to be confused with naturalist blogging) involving more metaphysical, as well as practical issues.
We asked participants to write their answers to these questions on a piece of paper and hand them into us at the end of the session. We received 11 responses, out of ~30 people in the room, not too bad. GrrlScientist transcribed them and we are sharing them on each of our blogs. Our goal is that we hope this generates further discussion on each of blogs but also that our readers will cross the blog barrier and discuss with commenters on each other’s blogs. So please, let us know what you think here then head over to GrrlScientist’s post and read her point of view and that of her commenters and contribute to the discussion over there as well. We hope to be able to use our readers responses to guide our writing for future essays on the value of nature blogging.
Respondent 1: Nature blogs convey a sense of the majesty of the world around us. I almost expect to hear the sounds of the great outdoors. The sense of interconnectedness comes through more strongly than the reductionism.
Respondent 2: No idea.
Respondent 3: Blog focused on nature-related topics could overlap with science and other blogs, but emphasis on animals, outdoors, ecology and the like.
Respondent 4: Any blog celebrating the outdoors, species, or some other aspect of nature. Nature blogs are adventurous, have lots of photos. Nature blogs are less structural, less rigorous. Nature blogging is more adventurous.
Respondent 6: Nature blogs may have more observation? Science posts may have more explanation? I’d imagine Nature blogs may have more amateur (and excellent) photography.
Respondent 7: Science blogging seems like an umbrella that includes nature blogging. Nature blogging is more descriptive, but connects observations and experiences from the field with scientific knowledge.
Respondent 8: Blogs about organisms/ecosystems instead of research.
Respondent 9: Nature versus Science = Natural history, conservation ..
Respondent 10: I expect some may think a nature blog is less likely to convey the hard science and will be almost poetic (?). An appreciation for the natural environment BUT I would hope that nature blogging my attract folks who might shy away from a blog they believe is “hard science” but that once the reader is there the nature blog writer [can] convey some prnciples of ecology or some interesting fact that IS science! (versus pretty nature pics).
Respondent 2: No idea, except that it covers all of the same reasons as the other blogs.
Respondent 3: To educate, inform and inspire readers about nature.
Respondent 4: Inspire people to go outside. Enchant people with the natural world.
Respondent 5: “Nature” is so big and ranges from microscopic to grand trees and rock formations, [so] I believe there is so much to be fascinated [with]. There is something for everyone, but they may not know where to look or all the details that can be uncovered even in their own backyard. When something fascinates us, we are inspired to learn more, to discover, and with nature, an entire classroom is right outside our windows. The purpose of nature blogging is to inspire and teach.
Respondent 7: [To] convey the joy of experiencing the natural world.
Respondent 8: Whatever you want them to be.
Respondent 2: Very.
Respondent 3: Important to those who utilize carnivals, but not important to all.
Respondent 4: Not qualified to answer this question.
Respondent 5: I’m not sure how important they are, but I’ve found the tree carnival to be such a great source of fascinating posts.
Respondent 6: Carnivals help new bloggers meet the community.
Respondent 7: I haven’t messed around with blog carnivals lately.
Respondent 8: No idea.
Respondent 9: I don’t know.
Respondent 2: [I couldn't read this response, sorry!].
Respondent 3: Haven’t utilized these [al]though [I] have looked at some. I think they are useful .. but hey, there’s only so much time in a day.
Respondent 4: Not qualified to answer this question.
Respondent 7: I like them in principle, but haven’t spent much time in practice.
Respondent 8: Never used them.
Respondent 2: No idea.
Respondent 3: People interested in all nature topics [and] can pretty much find anything they might be interested in.
Respondent 4: Audience tends to be other naturalists, hikers, conservationists, scientists, kids. They are looking for other nature fans, like people who are into comics seek out other comics fans.
Respondent 5: I think anyone — all ages, all demographics can be an audience member to a nature blog — I don’t think we have to target every one in every post but I think one of the most important audience members would be younger students. Somewhere, someone may be just uncovering their lifelong passion via Google.
Respondent 7: Dunno.
Respondent 8: Naked people.
Respondent 11: Your audience includes nonspecialists who are willing to tackle some technical information in order to satisfy their sense of wonder.
Respondent 2: As much as people want.
Respondent 3: Totally up to the blogger — could be full of science or have almost no science (just pics and stories).
Respondent 4: This is up to the blogger and their writing style. Science is less crucial in nature blogging, it can be just a curious question, “What’s this mushroom I saw on the trail?”
Respondent 7: I think it should be used as an excuse for talking about science.
Respondent 8: As much as you want.
Respondent 11: Your audience includes people who are willing to learn the science that goes with the stories. In fact, this is your opportunity to help people understand the nature of science, which in these days of pseudoscience is an important role [that] a nature blogger can play.
Respondent 2: Can’t name one! how embarassing! On second thought — does an essay/article on why the Chesapeake Bay has not been cleaned up and the political (state-centric) system of focus count?
Respondent 3: Can’t think of one that stood out that much, but if there were one, it’s probably from Chet Raymo.
Respondent 4: An essay about the ecology fund in the tops of California (Really big trees). It was a new world, a unique adventure.
Respondent 6: I really enjoyed a painting (this is what comes to mind instead of an essay) by the artist, Jacqueline Dillard, entitled “Yellow.” Inspired by yellow finches in her area, she painted numerous local yellow animals together. [NOTE: If anyone finds the link to this artist or this painting, I'd appreciate the information]
Respondent 7: Dunno.
Other comments:
Respondent 1: It would have been great if we had covered:
- best nature blogs
- how nature blogs can be effective in making a political difference
- how to generate more traffic to a nature blog
- copyright/photo use permission issues
- optimal techniques for capturing and uploading nature audio/video
- clever use of nature blogs with GPS, geotagging, relationships with nature museums or clubs
Respondent 6: Fantastic session!
Respondent 9: Good site for schools/teachers, see Discover Life dot com [NOTE: if someone knows the correct URL, please let me know which site you are referring to and I'll add it here]
Respondent 10: Thanks! This was great, very thought-provoking.
PS. I am trying to encourage our scientists/researchers/engineers to blog on the agency’s site — would love to hear if you have thoughts on how I can relay the significance and impact of blogging — just starting out! [NOTE: GrrlScientist has this respondent's email address if anyone would like direct contact]
I have lots of thoughts on these questions, but would like to hear from you!
Karen, myself, Anne-Marie, Talia, Meredith from the panel. Rick and Vanessa are out of frame.
After a most wonderful lunch (thanks Science Online sponsors!), it was time for the first of two sessions I was co-moderating. This session was a fun one to plan and execute on how to post from strange places. Co-organizer Karen James of the Beagle Project did most of the moderating and talked from the perspective of someone that will blog from a strange place (like the crow’s nest of the new HMS Beagle). Vanessa Woods, Meredith Barrett, Anne-Marie Hodge, Talia Page, Rick MacPherson and myself discussed our own experiences with blogging from strange places. For myself, it is while at sea. Rick discussed being in remote parts of Papua New Guinea where cell phones fall out of grass skirts. Vanessa blogs from the Congo where she studies bonobos. Talia blogged from India where a nasty case of diarrhea cause her to spend too much time on the potty, in the meantime her notes were stolen! Anne-Marie talked about the challenges of blogging from tropical stations in Central America. Meredith followed furry primates through the surreal landscape of Madagascar.
The common hindrance to blogging was time and electricity. For most of us, being out in the field means getting a lot of work done over a small period of time. For myself, this involves 12-20 hours of work a day while at sea. It costs lots of money to be out in the remote wildernesses and this is the only chance to get the data you need. Its now or never! Sitting down to write a blog post can be a lot of effort when you are crunched for time and short of energy. For most of the jungle hippies, finding electricity and a decent internet connection were no trivial task. There were several questions, suggestions for using microblogs and audio/video podcasting options that were thrown out by audience members. I think we all learned alot from the participants about effective and efficient tools that might make blogging adventure a bit easier.
We had a pretty full room which I was very excited about. As an icebreaker, we asked the audience to write a blog post about the conference while imagining they are in a submarine at the bottom of the ocean. Karen queued up some ocean and ship noise on the computer, while I walked around with an angler fish puppet and attacked people, stole their pens, “swam” in front of their monitors and otherwise distract. The other turned the lights on and off, open and closed the doors, went around the room shaking chairs, talking loudly and then we broke into a sea shanty (of course!), where I sang the chorus of South Australia loudly and I must admit, quite stunningly. It was lots of fun and though it probably freaked out some participants, it certainly set the tone for the session. Chris Rowan from Highly Allochthonous was in attendance and actually posted his “live-blog” of experience. His post kicked off a great discussion in the comment thread about blogging from the field!
Thanks to everyone who participated and thanks to my co-panelists for sharing their fasctinating experiences!
The third session I participated in was Teaching College Science: Blogs and Beyond moderated by Brian Switek, of Laelaps and Dinosaur Tracking, and Andrea Novicki, at Duke’s Center for Instructional Technology. Brian “live blogged” the conference notes onto the session’s Science Online wiki page. The audience was split into groups of 4 where were we were tasked to come up with three ways blogs could be used in teaching. The three examples from our group was
1) Using OpenScience software and online lab notebooks/field journals. Keeping it all online enhancing sharing and prevents any one individual from falling behind because of lack of appropriate software. Even programs such as Google Docs or OpenOffice can help break the software ceiling for many struggling school systems
2) Blogs used in homeschooling, i.e. exploring school subjects through blogs. There is a wealth of information, lessons, video, mulitmedia and case studies out there for free waiting to be exploited. One group member mentioned that critical thinking can happen in the comments sections. Following the links to explore the web can facilitate students finding their interests. While kids respond more readily to online materials, web surfing presents hazards. How to keep on track during navigation. Coincidentally, John Wilkins of the Evolving Thoughts blog has been dutifully cataloging Basic Concepts posts. If you write about a basic concept in the sciences, I strongly encourage you to send it in for review and cataloging with his collection. Such posts make an excellent starting material (potentially an entire course) for further learning, whether homeschooling or not.
3) Peer-to-peer communication among students and between students and instructors. This might not necessary be done best in a blog, but perhaps a wiki, friendfeed room or twitter.
These were but only a small fraction of the ideas that went around the room. The participants were composed of a wide variety of backgrounds from educators, scientists, journalists, high school, undergraduate and graduate students, techies and “other’. I encourage to view the rough notes on the wiki. This was a great session to attend right after the high school student perspective as it dealt with many of the same issues, but expanded upon some of them.
Baker Class at Science Online '09
The second session i attended at Science Online ‘09 was a fantastic discussion of how social networking sites, blogs and other online tools and media are used in high school biology instruction. What was so great about this discussion was that the panel was composed of high school science teacher Stacy Baker and several of her students (photo on left). The students intelligence, professionalism and enthusiasm were captivating. I was stunned at how into science they were how open about they were about their experiences. Each student stood up and brought to the audience’s attention a topic of interest related to online technology. This promoted discussion of the topic among the audience and between the class and the audience. The students (mostly freshman if I recall correctly) held their own and participated fully in the session. They brought to my attention several services I had not known about such as ning, where an online community can be created for a classroom that can essentially lock out nonmembers. Several other technologies such as blogs, wikis, twitter, etc. were also discussed for use in the classroom.
Beyond the technological aspects though were the more meta-issues. I was introduced by one student to the “creepy treehouse” phenomenon. From the session notes posted on the Science Online wiki:
“Anytime other people not related to the class or subject being discussed are involved it becomes uncomfortable. The students do not want close personal relationships with their teachers. Just like it’s awkward to see a teacher outside of the school environment, it is awkward to see a teacher in an online environment that is not necessarily school related.”
Yeah, I must say that would be awkward! But it was different in college. Perhaps in part to maturity by that time, but I often never shied away from a professor when I saw him or her outside of the classroom. One teacher mentioned it was a way she could keep tabs on students after they graduated. The consensus seemed to be to add a person to Facebook or other service after graduation.
Another important discussion of this session had to do with, as Jason Robertshaw always says, managing your public information. The web exists and combinations of our the letters that make up our names exist on the web and are searchable. Students have a more difficult time understanding the connectiveness of the internet and do not realize the permanence of what you post to it. It is important to not post things that you may regret in 5 years from now. Employers google applicant’s names, as might college administrators and potential graduate/professional school advisors. What a tangled web we weave…
Note: This was liveblogged at the time, but the wifi crashed under the weight of 200 simultaneous livebloggers.
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As many readers know, we are staunch proponents of open access. Craig being an academic editor at PLoS ONE and myself writing extensively on the benefits of open access, especially to taxonomy. Open Access is not just free of copyright and licensing fees but is a philosophy based on the “business” of doing science. Bill, one of the session moderators, said “it is a return on public investment”. In fact, universities are getting double dipped by journals because researchers often have to pay to publish their work, while university libraries must pay again to provide access to the journals that their faculty publish in. In fact, he presented a graph where the price of journal of subscriptions was increasing very fast in relation to Consumer Price Index and library salaries. Bjorn Brembs commented on an experience he had recently where he was asked to submit an article to a journal that then asked him for page charges. Unfortunately, his university didn’t subscribe to that journal and wasn’t able to get access to his own published article. The absurdity doesn’t stop there either.
Bob O’Hara, whom it was great to meet and talk with, had some criticisms, as well as others, that some aspects of open access are impractical and that the scientific community is not mature enough for it yet. He felt journal rankings in particular were a useful indicator of an applicant’s research quality. I disagree because you cannot compare journal quality across fields. If Bob, a statistician, was on a hiring committee for an ecologist would his experience and expectation with statistics journals be equivalent to that similar journals in ecology? Taxonomy has only 1 or 2 journals with impact factors above 5. I am excited that my anemones will be published in a journal with an impact factor above 1. Several science librarians in the audience commented that the impact factor was originally developed to help librarians determine which journals to spend money on. It had nothing to do with scientist per se, but seems to have been hijacked by the community to assess one another. Bob discusses his impression on his Nature Network Blog
You can find out which places are open access at ROAR and follow Peter Suber’s blog Open Access News.
