Using Screencasts for Training in the Research Environment

For my final presentation, I chose to focus on the use of screencasts for training researchers. This is a relatively new concept for the research community, at least where I work. I'm hoping that the presentation I have created will help ease my colleagues into the 21st century to begin using screencasting software, esepecially since I have learned that there are FREE options! This has always been a great limitation especially in the past couple years, but now that I have this knowledge I hope to share it with others to enhance the training sessions for the presenter as well as the end user.

ResearchGate as a Web 2.0 Networking Tool

http://www.researchgate.net/

Networking/Social Tool


ResearchGate is a professional social networking site for scientists. The site focuses on connecting with colleagues, discovering new methods and collaborating. Once you register (for free) as a member, the site prompts you to create a profile for networking with colleagues in the science field. You can add information such as your field of work, your interests, and personal information like photos, and work history. You can also join groups that relate to your interests in order to chat with others on topics of interest. I also found the job search function to be of interest. There are hundreds of jobs posted, however, most are related to academia not industry. The site was easy to navigate and if I were looking for methods for specific projects it may be a good place to start looking and asking around for advice.


I think ResearchGate could be a useful tool, but I’m not sure I would use it. I’ve been working in the science industry for nearly 8 years and I’ve never heard of it. I think that could be their downfall because in order for a social network to really work you have to have the people to support it. I also noticed that many of the articles on the site were not up-to-date. With science being a dynamic field, research articles older than 5 years become out-of-date. Knowing how scientists think and work I’m not sure many of my colleagues would be willing to try ResearchGate out. However, I think the scientific community could benefit from a social network in order to collaborate so they don’t have to keep inventing the wheel but scientists aren’t likely to share novel ideas due to the possibility of publication.


Skills
Basic internet navigation skills are needed to use this tool.

Resources
None

How do you use this tool?
1. Go to http://www.researchgate.net/
2. Sign up for a free account
3. Now you are free to browse the content on the site.

Look for other researchers to join your network

Browse literature

Join a group and discuss topics

Look for jobs

Update your profile and add colleagues to your network

Using this tool in a teaching environment
While I’m not completely sold on using ResearchGate, I do see some usefulness in it as a networking tool. This could be especially important for college science students who are looking for direction for a career path or for employment. I’m a fan of social networking sites and feel ResearchGate could be helpful in putting students in touch with content experts from a field of their choice, especially if they were looking at going to graduate school in the future.

If I were teaching college-level science I would encourage my students to join groups and post discussions relevant to activities from class such as laboratory exercises. I didn’t see college groups on the site, but I’m sure if a discussion board was created students could communicate with each other from their own school as well as other schools.

Since ResearchGate appears to be geared toward academic research, it could also serve as a networking place for instructors. I’ve been a college instructor before and know that I didn’t have much support or anywhere to go for advice. This site could serve as a meeting place for instructors to share ideas and to prepare incoming instructors for what to expect. By collaborating instructors could gain knowledge and new methods that could be very helpful to their students. Teaching college science courses often involves a teacher-centered environment and focuses on a pushing on knowledge, but if instructors have a place to share what has and hasn’t worked in their classrooms a shift maybe possible. Students have great demands and expect their classes to be interactive and informative whether taking the course in-person or online. Teaching methods sometimes sound great in theory, but can fall flat when applied. If teachers share these experiences, it could not only help them, but also improve the quality of instruction.

I really feel that ResearchGate is best suited for academic researchers and it appears that is their focus (based on job postings). I’ve worked in research long enough to appreciate the sharing of ideas instead of dozens of researchers working on the same exact projects, but I think this is considered industry standard, especially in the biomedical/pharmaceutical industry that I currently research. Everyone is looking for the cure to something and want to keep it to themselves as long as they can for greater profit in the end. But eventually, everyone has to reach out for help or advice on occasion and I think ResearchGate could fill that gap when the need does arise as long as the information is kept up-to-date and relevant.

Advantages
Lots of references to get started on a research paper/project

Disadvantages
Not the most current information
Comments made by other scientists may not be 100% fact and could be confusing for students
Really more for networking or finding information on advanced experiments

Web 2.0 Tools for Collaboration

This week's assignment was quite different than the previous ones. It involved working in groups to produce a final VoiceThread presentation (http://voicethread.com/). The two questions my group sought to answer were:

1. What special needs does an online learner have?

2. What specific skills does a teacher need in an online environment to meet the special needs of students?

My group consisted of 4 people including myself. When working with a group, challenges always arise, however, I felt my group was able to communicate well and collaborate effectively to produce our final product.

This was my first time using VoiceThread and I thought it was extremely easy to use. I first watched some of the presentations on the website to get a better idea of what to expect and was thoroughly entertained. This gave me the confidence that I too could contribute to a voicethread presentation with ease. I registered on the website which allowed me to upload a picture of myself for others to see who was talking. I'm not overly comfortable with creating videos (actually with seeing me on video) so I chose to comment on the presentation with audio only. You can also comment with text boxes or bubbles that appear when you click on the images of people around the edges of the presentation.

Overall, I enjoyed this assignment. Allowing each person to go into the presentation in their own time to add their comments was the greatest benefit. It was easy to add comments and you didn't have to wait on anybody before you added your two cents.

Here's our final product. Enjoy!