![[This image is of a first person view of a desk with an opened lined notebook on the left, a laptop open in the center, a person's left hand is holding a cup of coffee, and the right hand is holding a phone opened with the Facebook login screen.]](https://blogs.iu.edu/sciu/files/2020/11/notebook-614213_1920.jpg)
Science communication on social media largely happens through Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter (you can find the ScIU blog on all three platforms), but in reality, it extends beyond these three primary sites into platforms such as TikTok, Reddit, YouTube, and more. On any one of these platforms, people from around the world are able to form digital communities where they can talk, educate, learn, advocate, and make new friends. I have been the Social Media Chair for ScIU for over a year now, and in that time, I have learned quite a lot about science communication from social media.
Tag: science communication
Against “the study”
![[An image of gloved hands working with test tubes. The image has a large red X over it.]](https://blogs.iu.edu/sciu/files/2020/09/Study_X.jpg)
Science journalists are always announcing the results of the latest study. The more bizarre and controversial, the better. A recent study is, almost by definition, cutting-edge research — what better way to tap into the pulse of science? Except, the latest and greatest research is just as often wrong.
Media literacy in the modern age
This post was written by ScIU Social Media Intern Jack Reasner, an undergraduate at IU’s Media School. The Center for Media Literacy defines media literacy as “a 21st-century approach to education. It provides a framework to access, analyze, evaluate, create and participate with messages in a variety of forms — from print to video to… Read more »
Are you sure you should eat that?
Amid this pandemic, you may be having conversations with family members similar to my own. I was talking to my brother about going to the grocery store and buying some eggs for baking when I was pretty strictly told that “no, you shouldn’t because the virus can be transmitted through food.” As a scientist myself, this was intriguing advice. So, I asked him to show me where he had read it. Sadly, nowadays when we are bombarded with news at every corner we turn, we were unable to backtrack his source…
Science, Eugenics, and Twitter
![[Picture of a flat-faced dog (a pug) sitting gracelessly and panting]](https://blogs.iu.edu/sciu/files/2020/02/fawn-pug-resting-on-floor-1289557.jpg)
On Saturday, February 16th, biologist and noted public intellectual Richard Dawkins tweeted about eugenics. Dawkins provided no context. No ongoing dispute he was inserting himself into. No obvious interlocutor. And certainly not anything as convenient as a few previous tweets to set the stage for this surprising announcement. As someone interested in science communication, genetics, and ethics, I find it worth exploring how he screwed up, how he didn’t screw up, and what any of this means for science…
My journey with science – What role do opportunities play in STEM?
As an international woman of color in STEM who didn’t grow up attending science fairs, it was quite a shock to my family (and myself) when I declared science as my field of study. As a teenager in India who was forced to decide my career at the age of 16, it was quite a… Read more »
Meet the SciComm Symposium Speakers
ScIU ‘s annual Science Communication Symposium is tomorrow, November 8th! We’ve asked some of our panelists to answer some questions to learn about their journey with science communication. Dr. Janet Carpenter, our keynote speaker, is a Distinguished Professor and Associate Dean of Research for the School of Nursing at IUPUI What is your current science… Read more »
Creating a Science Communication Collective at IU
As you might know, here at ScIU, we like to publish weekly blog posts about science happening on campus — especially science that might not be reaching other news outlets — because a lot of the work happening here at IU is amazing, and we believe that broader audiences should have access to it. Another… Read more »
Graduating ScIU Writers 2019
Our blog would be nothing without our writers. Unfortunately they can’t stay here forever; they must go on to their next great adventures in life. So we wanted to take a moment to recognize a few of our authors who have recently left or are preparing to leave soon. We wish you all the very… Read more »
Telling Science Stories: Lessons from Last Year’s SciComm Symposium
Many of us here at ScIU have recognized that there is a shortage of classes to teach science communication at IU and in science programs in general. While not every scientist does outreach everyday, we sometimes forget that the simple act of explaining your science to a grant committee or your neighbor who likes to… Read more »