Syllabus for 2014 video training class

The SciFund video class will require less equipment than this. And will hopefully have a fewer explosions than a Michael Bay film.

The first SciFund Challenge video training class starts next week and we are excited! Here’s our syllabus.

SciFund Challenge Class: Video Outreach 101 for Scientists

Course instructors: Elliot Lowndes, Jai Ranganathan, Anthony Salvagno
Course dates: November 2-December 13, 2014 (six weeks, with one week off for Thanksgiving)

This short course is intended for researchers that are new to science outreach through video, but are interested in getting started with it. The philosophy of this class is that three factors tend to keep scientists from doing video outreach: a lack of knowledge, a lack of experience, and a lack of a community that supports outreach. The purpose of this class is to do something about all three of these things.

In this class, we will be putting a focus on communication and community-building between class participants, emphasizing face to face communication (using tools like group video conferencing with Google Hangouts).

Twitter Chat Storify

If you’ve never experienced a Twitter chat, it can be quite overwhelming. There are so many conversations happening simultaneously and it quickly becomes difficult to keep track of them all. Luckily there are tools that help organize those tweets and preserve them. One such tool is Storify which I use to catalog today’s Scifund Twitter chat. If you had issues keeping up, missed the chat, had to leave early, or would just like to re-experience it then you are in luck…

2014 Outreach Class: Week Five

Going strong through the finish line, SciFund-style.

Welcome to week five of the SciFund Challenge outreach training class for scientists. This is our last week, sadly! But the fun doesn’t stop here, as there are lots of SciFund classes coming, as well as other ways to keep participating. Apply for our free video class, which starts next month!

This week, we’ll be working on our elevator pitches, as well as planning for our science outreach futures. The workload this week is lower than usual, as many are still working on their Ignite talks from last week. If you want more to do though, not to worry! We have a special optional exercise for you. So, here’s the game plan:

New FREE outreach training class for scientists: intro to video

The SciFund Challenge video class: your ticket to fame and fortune Spielberg-style.

UPDATE: We maxed out on applications for the video class, so registration is closed early. Not to fret though, as we’ll be doing this class again. If you would like to be the first to know about our new classes, sign up for our e-mail list.


SciFund Challenge is offering yet another outreach training class for scientists! This one is all about learning to make short videos!

Scientists, do you want to learn how to tell the public about your science through video? Do you want to have the skills to put together short videos that are compelling to general audiences?

But how do you get started with video? Join the SciFund Challenge community for our free online course aimed at helping scientists get started with video. Over 5 weeks, we’ll demystify the business of communicating science through video and equip you with the tools and confidence you need to get started. Plus, at the end of the class, you’ll have completed a short video about your research (perfect for your website or YouTube). 

Outreach Class 2014: Week Three

SciFund blogging: even more hearts and smiley faces than usual!

Welcome to week 3 of the SciFund Challenge outreach training class for scientists! Last week we focused on crafting our message. This week we’ll develop skills to deliver that message through blogging. This week’s exercise has five parts: A) take a look at a few science blogs, B) write a blog post, C) comment on others’ posts, D) talk about the blogging exercise in a hangout, and E) keep going with Twitter. As a small note, for those of you with your own blog, please do the blog exercise as we suggest and not on your own blog.