September 29, 2014

Academic develops national science film festival

The winner of a national film festival that encourages university students to communicate complex science theories in a fun and simple way will be announced tonight (Monday 29 September) at the Australian Conference on Science and Mathematics Education in Sydney.

The Digital Explanations Science Film Festival is the brainchild of UOW science educator Associate Professor Garry Hoban, who became the first UOW academic to receive a prestigious Office of Learning and Teaching National Senior Teaching Fellowship in 2013.

Professor Hoban, from UOW's School of Education, was awarded $250,000 to lead science academics and science teacher educators across Australia in implementing assignments incorporating student-created digital media to explain science concepts.

The National Science Film Festival is just one element of his 12-month endeavour.

“The goal is to engage students in learning, explaining and communicating science by having them design and make digital media, which they commonly do for social media such as Facebook, but instead to channel their creativity into making digital science explanations,” Professor Hoban said.

Professor Hoban has developed an array of tools to help students create narrated animations (slowmations), videos, digital stories, podcasts, or screencasts to explain science as well as a new form called blended media that he and his team have recently developed.

He hopes the Film Festival will help inspire students to communicate science to others in a fun and engaging way.  

The finalists’ films cover a variety of science topics, including an explanation of why we need vitamin D to survive, the life cycle of the Tasmania devil and the impact of wild camels on Australian native flora and fauna.