nmc2009: telling stories in land & food systems

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

kgretsin@interchange.ubc.ca

Duncan McHughduncan.mchugh@ubc.ca

Cyprien Lomas cyprien.lomas@ubc.ca

Faculty of Land and Food SystemsThe University of British Columbiawww.landfood.ubc.ca/learningcentre