Science Engagement

Science Engagement

Moderator Vacancies: November 2020

We’re looking for online moderators to work with us on our November 2020 activities.

I’m a Scientist, Get me out of here and I’m an Engineer, Get me out of here are online STEM enrichment activities for school students in the UK and Ireland, where students of all abilities aged 8-18 can ask scientists their questions in text-based live chats, and get to know what real scientists are like. Continue reading →

Posted on September 29, 2020 by in Science Engagement | Tagged | Comments Off on Moderator Vacancies: November 2020

Moderator Vacancy: June 2019

We’re looking for a moderator to work with us on our June 2019 events.

I’m a Scientist and I’m an Engineer will run from the 10th to the 21st June 2019.

First rule of moderator club… This is a paid, 10 day job.
If you aren’t free from 8:30—4:30pm on all 10 days, please don’t apply. Continue reading →

Posted on May 13, 2019 by modemily in Event News, Science Engagement | Tagged | Comments Off on Moderator Vacancy: June 2019

Moderator Vacancy: March 2019

We’re looking for moderators to work with us on our March 2019 events.

I’m a Scientist UK, I’m an Engineer UK and I’m an Engineer Ireland will run from the 4th to the 15th March 2019.

First rule of moderator club… This is a paid, 10 day job.
If you aren’t free from 8:30—4:30pm on all 10 days, please don’t apply.

Your key responsibilities will be:

  • Checking and approving questions
  • Adding appropriate keywords
  • Logging and keeping track of questions, comments and dialogue
  • Checking the site for inappropriate content
  • Moderating live chats
  • Helping to run the site

It’s actually a lot of fun as the students (and experts) are quick and funny and full of energy. And hey, promoting STEM engagement is a good thing, am I right?! Continue reading →

Posted on January 29, 2019 by in Event News, Science Engagement | Tagged | Comments Off on Moderator Vacancy: March 2019

Moderator vacancy: November 2018

We’re looking for moderators to work with us on our November 2018 events.

I’m a Scientist UK, I’m an Engineer UK and I’m a Scientist Ireland will run from the 5th to the 16th November 2018. It’s a lot of fun as the students (and experts) are quick and funny and full of energy. And hey, promoting STEM engagement is a good thing, am I right?! Continue reading →

Posted on October 3, 2018 by in Event News, Science Engagement | Tagged | Comments Off on Moderator vacancy: November 2018

Engaging disengaged students with I’m a Scientist

Some students don’t like science lessons. Maybe they don’t see the point, maybe they don’t think they’re good at science, maybe they used to love science but have been put off by the stress and pressure of exams. Whatever the reason these students don’t engage, here are 3 ways I’m a Scientist can help.

Continue reading →

Posted on May 25, 2018 by in School, Science Engagement, Teachers | Tagged , | Comments Off on Engaging disengaged students with I’m a Scientist

Moderator Vacancy: November 2017

We’re looking for two moderators to work with us on our November 2017 events! The events will run from the 6th to the 17th November 2017; I’m a Scientist UK and Ireland, I’m an Engineer UK and I’m a Medic. First rule of moderator club… This is a paid, 10 day job. If you aren’t free from 8:30 – 4:30pm on all 10 days, please don’t apply. Your key responsibilities will be: Checking and approving questions Adding appropriate keywords Logging and keeping track of questions, comments and dialogue Checking the site for errors and inappropriate content and usernames Moderating live chats Helping to run the site It’s actually a lot of fun as the students (and scientists) are quick and funny and full of energy. And hey, promoting science engagement is a good thing, am I right?! What we’d like from you.. You should be bright, thoughtful, pick stuff up easily, ideally with an interest … Continue reading →

Posted on October 9, 2017 by in Event News, Science Engagement | Tagged | Comments Off on Moderator Vacancy: November 2017

“I’m a Scientist is great, but wouldn’t it be better if students could see and hear the scientists too?”

This is a question we get asked from time to time. Here we explain why we’re confident that text interaction remains the best format for effective, inclusive, online engagement because it makes students and scientists more comfortable, levels the playing field between adults and children, makes the events accessible to a wider audience. Students are more familiar with text-based chats. There is growing evidence¹ that young people communicate most via text and less and less through phone or video and we’re hearing that anecdotally too. Feedback from teachers has pointed out that students are not only more familiar with a text format but also more comfortable with it. All parties feel more confident about not being visible. As an ex-teacher myself, the thought of making a class visible online to an unknown person via a webcam makes me uncomfortable. I’d also be concerned about scientists inadvertently displaying confidential or inappropriate material … Continue reading →

Posted on August 4, 2017 by modemily in Evaluation, IAS Event, Science Engagement | Tagged | Comments Off on “I’m a Scientist is great, but wouldn’t it be better if students could see and hear the scientists too?”

Moderator Vacancy March 2017

We’re looking for a moderator to work with us on our March 2017 events! I’m a Scientist and I’m an Engineer are award-winning online events allowing students (from 9 – 18) to interact with real live scientists and engineers. The events will run from the 6th to the 17th March 2017; I’m a Scientist UK and I’m an Engineer UK and Ireland. First rule of moderator club… This is a paid, 10 day job. If you aren’t free from 8:30 – 4:30pm on all 10 days, please don’t apply. Your key responsibilities will be: Checking and approving questions Adding appropriate keywords and tags Logging and keeping track of questions, comments and dialogue Checking the site for errors and inappropriate content and usernames Moderating live chats Helping to run the site It’s actually a lot of fun as the students (and scientists) are quick and funny and full of energy. And hey, promoting science … Continue reading →

Posted on February 8, 2017 by in Event News, Science Engagement | Tagged | Comments Off on Moderator Vacancy March 2017

Super Mod: Job opportunity

Title: Super Mod Location: Our office in Bath Dates: 7 weeks from 13th February – 31st March (Monday – Friday) Hours: 37.5/week, 9:30 – 17:30 Pay: £10/hr We’re looking for someone to help us run our I’m a Scientist and I’m an Engineer events this March, on a temporary basis from our office in central Bath. We need general support across all parts of the event, including administration, moderation and evaluation. You’ll be doing lots of different things, including: Blog posts and tweets Keeping track of live chat bookings Assistance with evaluation after the event Compiling addresses and printing letters and certificates Helping to run the site, making sure everything is running smoothly Between 6th – 17th March you’ll also be moderating, which is a lot of fun, as the students (and scientists) are quick, funny and full of energy. Key responsibilities include: Checking and approving questions Adding appropriate keywords … Continue reading →

Posted on January 12, 2017 by in Event News, Science Engagement | Tagged | Comments Off on Super Mod: Job opportunity

Moderator Vacancies November 2016

Hello! We’re looking for some moderators for our November 2016 events! I’m a Scientist and I’m an Engineer are award-winning online events allowing students (from 9 – 18) to interact with real live scientists and engineers. We’re looking for 4 moderators to work on the next event which will run from the 7th to the 18th November 2016. We will also be running I’m a Scientist Ireland. First rule of moderator club… This is a paid, 10 day job. If you aren’t free from 8:30 – 4pm on all 10 days, please don’t apply. Your key responsibilities will be: Checking and approving questions Adding appropriate keywords and tags Logging and keeping track of questions, comments and dialogue Checking the site for errors and inappropriate content and usernames Moderating live chats Helping to run the site It’s actually a lot of fun as the students (and scientists) are quick and funny … Continue reading →

Posted on October 10, 2016 by in Event News, Science Engagement | Tagged | Comments Off on Moderator Vacancies November 2016

Moderator Vacancies June 2016

Hello! It’s that time again! We’re looking for a couple of moderators for our June 2016 events! I’m a Scientist and I’m an Engineer are award-winning online events allowing students (from 9 – 18) to interact with real live scientists and engineers. We’re looking for 2 moderators to work on the next event which will run from the 13th to the 24th June 2016. First rule of moderator club… This is a paid, 10 day job, if you can’t do the 10 days, please don’t apply. Your key responsibilities will be: Checking and approving questions Adding appropriate keywords and tags Logging and keeping track of questions, comments and dialogue Checking the site for errors and inappropriate content and usernames Moderating live chats Helping to run the site It’s actually a lot of fun as the students (and scientists) are quick and funny and full of energy. And hey, promoting science engagement is a good thing, am … Continue reading →

Posted on May 3, 2016 by in Event News, Science Engagement | Tagged | Comments Off on Moderator Vacancies June 2016

Moderator Vacancies: March 2016

Hi again! It’s us again! It’s that time again! We’re looking for a couple of moderators for our March 2016 events! I’m a Scientist and I’m an Engineer are award-winning online events allowing students (from 9 – 18) to interact with real live scientists and engineers. We’re looking for 2 moderators to work on the next event which will run from the 7th to the 18th March 2016. We will also be running I’m an Engineer Ireland and I’m an Astronaut (which is very cool). First rule of moderator club.. This is a paid, 10 day job, if you can’t do the 10 days, please don’t apply. Your key responsibilities will be: checking and approving questions adding appropriate keywords and tags logging and keeping track of questions, comments and dialogue checking the site for errors and inappropriate content and usernames moderating live chats helping to run the site It’s actually a lot of … Continue reading →

Posted on February 2, 2016 by modemily in Event News, Science Engagement | Tagged | Comments Off on Moderator Vacancies: March 2016

Moderator Vacancies: November 2015

Hello! It’s us! We’re looking for moderators for our November 2015 events! I’m a Scientist and I’m an Engineer are award-winning online events allowing students (from 9 – 18) to interact with real live scientists and engineers. We’re looking for 2 moderators to work on the next event which will run from the 9th to the 20th November 2015. We will also be running I’m a Scientist and I’m an Engineer in Ireland. Your key responsibilities will be: checking and approving questions adding appropriate keywords and tags logging and keeping track of questions, comments and dialogue checking the site for errors and inappropriate content and usernames moderating live chats helping to run the site It’s actually a lot of fun as the students (and scientists) are quick and funny and full of energy. And hey, promoting science engagement is a good thing, am I right?! What we’d like from you.. You should be … Continue reading →

Posted on October 7, 2015 by modemily in Event News, Science Engagement | Tagged | Comments Off on Moderator Vacancies: November 2015

Research vs Evaluation

Science Learning+ is a significant funding scheme provided jointly between the Wellcome Trust and the National Science Foundation. Learning can happen anywhere and at any time. Science Learning+ is an international initiative that aims to understand the power of informal learning experiences inside and outside of school. The second aim of the scheme is to “bridge the practice and research gap” At a seminar in July aimed at providing an update on the Phase I project an interesting conversation developed about that gap between Science Communication practitioners and researchers. I heard one speaker talk about practitioners wanting to know if a hypothetical red headline would give a 3% uplift in visitors. I responded on twitter: Disagree that practitioners want efficacy. I use eval. for that. I want research to tell me if the activity provides good outcomes #slplus — Shane McCracken (@ShaneMcC) July 27, 2015 Not all practioners agreed with … Continue reading →

Posted on August 27, 2015 by ModShane in Evaluation, Science Engagement | Comments Off on Research vs Evaluation

March 2014 Moderator Job Vacancies

I’m a Scientist, Get me out of here is an award-winning online event allowing students (from 9 – 18) to interact with real live scientists. We’re looking for 3 moderators to work on the next event which will run from the 10th March to the 21st March 2014. We will also be running a zone in I’m an Engineer at the same time, which will also need moderating. Your key responsibilities will be: checking and approving questions adding appropriate keywords and tags logging and keeping track of questions, comments and dialogue checking the site for errors and inappropriate content and usernames moderating live chats helping to run the site It’s actually a lot of fun as the students (and scientists) are quick and funny and full of energy. And hey, promoting science engagement is a good thing, am I right?! What we’d like from you.. You should be bright, thoughtful, … Continue reading →

Posted on February 6, 2014 by modemily in Event News, IAS Event, Science Engagement | Comments Off on March 2014 Moderator Job Vacancies

I’m a Scientist acts as a public engagement booster for scientists

Anecdotally, we’ve heard of how I’m a Scientist can be a good starting point for science communication activities. This was the case of Suzi Gage, Tom Crick or Suze Kundu, who took part in I’m a Scientist in June 2011 and are now putting a great emphasis on the communication side of their scientific careers or even fully devoting to it. However, we were still curious to know to what extent we could extrapolate this to the wider community of scientists that have participated in the event during the last years. How could we know if I’m a Scientist had encouraged them to do more science outreach? Well, we decided to ask them. We sent a survey to all the scientists that had participated in I’m a Scientist until 2012, leaving a gap of at least one year since they took part in the event. Approximately a quarter of the … Continue reading →

Posted on January 8, 2014 by modangela in Evaluation, Event News, Science Engagement, Scientist Benefits | Tagged , | Comments Off on I’m a Scientist acts as a public engagement booster for scientists

How does I’m a Scientist change students’ perceptions of science?

We’ve just run I’m a Scientist in Ireland and are curious to know how our event actually affects students’ attitudes towards science. In order to do this, we included a short and compulsory pre-event survey in the form students used to register. We then asked students to fill in the exact same survey on their profile page after the event. When we matched the data from the two surveys, 92 students (7% of 1,247 students that participated in I’m a Scientist) had filled in both surveys. Importantly, data from the total number of students that filled in the pre-event survey very closely correlates with the pre-event data of this 92 student sample. We were very happy to find out that students’ interest in science and science related careers is clearly increased after taking part in I’m a Scientist. This is what we have learnt: The amount of students that say they love science doubled after taking part in … Continue reading →

Posted on December 19, 2013 by modangela in Evaluation, Event News, IAS Event, Science Education, Science Engagement, Teachers | Tagged , | Comments Off on How does I’m a Scientist change students’ perceptions of science?

Organising schools visits from IAS scientists – a teacher’s view

Something we’d like to encourage is more scientists visiting schools after taking part in I’m a Scientist. After every event we add the participating scientists and schools to this map – about.imascientist.org.uk/about/teacher-and-scientist-map – sharing the scientists’ contact details with teachers.  One teacher who’s made the most of the scientists nearby is Tom Holloway, from Westfield Primary School in Surrey. 4 scientists have visited the school, and he tells us more about what they got up to… “Westfield Primary School has taken part in I’m A Scientist Get Me Out Of Here for two years running now. It has been an amazing learning experience for our pupils who have been motivated and engaged by the event. One of the best outcomes for our school has been the number of visits to us that it has generated. Impressed by our pupils enthusiasm for and love of science, lots of scientists who have taken part in IMAS have … Continue reading →

Posted on June 26, 2013 by in IAS Event, School, Science Education, Science Engagement | Comments Off on Organising schools visits from IAS scientists – a teacher’s view

June 2013 Moderator Job Vacancies

I’m a Scientist, Get me out of here is an award-winning online event allowing teenagers to interact with real live scientists. We’re looking for 6 moderators to work on the next event which will run from the 17th to the 28th of June 2013. We will also be running 2 zones in I’m an Engineer at the same time, which will also need moderating. Your key responsibilities will be will be: hosting/moderating live chats approving questions looking after your zones logging and keeping track of great questions, comments and dialogue checking the site for errors and inappropriate content helping to run the site It’s actually a lot of fun as the students (and scientists) are quick and funny and full of energy. And hey, promoting science engagement is a good thing. What we’d like from you.. You should be bright, thoughtful, pick stuff up easily, ideally with an interest in … Continue reading →

Posted on May 13, 2013 by in Event News, IAS Event, Science Engagement | Comments Off on June 2013 Moderator Job Vacancies

Who are you Twitter?

We’re always evaluating the online STEM enrichment activity, I’m a Scientist, to explore its impact and how it can be improved. Check out latest evaluation posts. As we prepped for our Science Communication Conference 2013 session on how we evaluate I’m a Scientist, the occasional sidetrack leads to interesting stuff. A while back we used Tony Hirst‘s scripts and know how to download our twitter followers network. We’ve used Gephi to map out the clusters within our network which helps us work out who is following us and how diverse our network is. We were delighted to see an Australia cluster thanks to our friends in Adelaide. More about that later. Another useful benefit of downloading your followers is the ability to search their bios to find specific followers who are interested in certain subjects. This evening we identified 83 followers with “food” in their bio. We’ll be contacting some of them (excluding those … Continue reading →

Posted on April 18, 2013 by admin in Evaluation, Science Engagement | Comments Off on Who are you Twitter?

March 2013 Moderator Job Vacancies

I’m a Scientist, Get me out of here is an award-winning online event allowing teenagers to interact with real live scientists. We’re looking for 4 moderators to work on the next event which will run from the 11th to the 22nd of March 2013. We will also be running a zone in I’m an Engineer at the same time, which will also need moderating. Your key responsibilities will be will be: hosting/moderating live chats approving questions checking the site for errors and inappropriate content helping to run the site It’s actually a lot of fun as the students (and scientists) are quick and funny and full of energy. And hey, promoting science engagement is a good thing. What we’d like from you.. You should be bright, pick stuff up easily, ideally with an interest in science engagement. You’ll have great attention to detail and will enjoy being online, perhaps have … Continue reading →

Posted on February 11, 2013 by in Event News, IAS Event, Science Engagement | Comments Off on March 2013 Moderator Job Vacancies

We’re oversubscribed with teachers wanting to take part in March

We run I’m a Scientist 3 times each year – March, June & November. The March events are always busy and popular with teachers. It coincides with National Science & Engineering Week and the timing fits in well with schemes of work. Thanks to more funding we’ve added 2 more themed zones – a Digital Zone and a Food Science Zone (more on these later this week in another post). Despite these zones creating 50 extra class places we weren’t prepared for just how oversubscribed we would be this time round. 11 zones with 25 classes in each zone gives 275 class spaces up for grabs. 142 teachers asked for 374 classes between them. Making the event oversubscribed by 36%. So, how have we allocated classes? Give as many teachers as possible places, ie give fewer classes to more teachers Cap the number of classes per teacher at 5 Try … Continue reading →

Posted on January 23, 2013 by in Event News, IAS Event, Science Engagement | Comments Off on We’re oversubscribed with teachers wanting to take part in March

Space Zone winner Paul Higgins on Science Calling!

Paul Higgins from Trinity College Dublin, won the Space Zone in I’m a Scientist, Ireland this November. He was interviewed by Maria Delaney for sciencecalling.com, scroll down to have a listen.. We put this up, not just because it’s awesome, but because Paul explains perfectly the purpose and point of I’m a Scientist; the importance of outreach, that it’s not just beneficial for students, but for scientists too.. And obviously, how much fun it all is. Congratulations Paul! “I’ve always has this fear of having to talk to primary school students as I think they’re going to tear me apart or ask hard questions I don’t know and they won’t like my answers or something, so I think this is a really good way to get scientists to realise that it’s actually not that scary and they actually are interested in science. If you’re excited they’ll be excited. So it’s … Continue reading →

Posted on December 13, 2012 by in International, Project News, Science Engagement | Comments Off on Space Zone winner Paul Higgins on Science Calling!

Job Vacancies

I’m a Scientist, Get me out of here is an award-winning online event allowing teenagers to interact with real live scientists. We’re looking for 5 moderators to work on the next event which will run from the 12th to the 23rd of March. I’m an Engineer is launched at the same time and also needs moderating! Your job would be hosting/moderating live chats, approving questions, checking the site for errors and inappropriate content and helping to run the site. It’s actually a lot of fun as the young people are sparky and funny and full of energy. And hey, promoting science engagement is a good thing. You should be bright, pick stuff up easily, ideally with an interest in science engagement. You’ll have great attention to detail and will enjoy being online. The site is all built on WordPress, so if you’ve used that the techy stuff will be pretty … Continue reading →

Posted on February 27, 2012 by in IAS Event, Science Engagement | Comments Off on Job Vacancies

Evaluating the Impacts of engagement

How can we evaluate the impact on students taking part in I’m a Scientist? Can we measure if they’re more likely to take a STEM subject at A Level? If they’re more likely to study science at University? How should we use the large amounts of data generated by online projects? How can we share our evaluation in a more useful way? These are just some of the questions we’re trying to answer about evaluating I’m a Scientist and other Gallomanor run projects. Judging from the first in a series of seminars looking at Evaluating Impacts of Public Engagement and Non-Formal Learning, last Friday 4th November, others are thinking along the same lines. The Core Issues & Debates seminar kicked off the series at the Dana Centre in London, and bought together a range of researchers, evaluators and learning and communication practitioners. Future seminars focus on areas such as how … Continue reading →

Posted on November 9, 2011 by in Evaluation, IAS Event, Science Engagement | Comments Off on Evaluating the Impacts of engagement

Science Communication Conference: call for proposals

The British Science Association have asked us for a guest blog spot to promote their conference. The theme is ‘online science engagement’ and we rule at that:-) (Don’t believe me? Check what happens if you google online science engagement. Four of the top links are about IAS. Yes, you’re right, I do deserve a raise, don’t I?) Naturally the I’m a Scientist team will be proposing a session on what we’ve learnt about online engagement by running this event. Hopefully we’ll see you there! The Wellcome Trust and the Science in Society team at the British Science Association are working in partnership to organise the 2011 Science Communication Conference taking place on Wednesday 25 and Thursday 26 May 2011 at Kings Place, London. The Conference addresses the key issues facing science communicators in the UK. Each year brings together people who are involved in public engagement – a diverse group … Continue reading →

Posted on November 22, 2010 by in Science Engagement | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Science Communication Conference: call for proposals

The arguments for young people's involvement in decisions about science funding

The following is a version of an article I wrote for the British Science Association’s magazine in May 2009. It puts forward some arguments for why I think young people should be involved in decisions about science funding. I’m posting it now because it’s relevant to conversations we were having on twitter yesterday. There are further arguments, not covered here, which are that having to explain their work and its implications to teenagers helps scientists think them through. And that kids are good bullshit detectors. I might get round to writing a post on those aspects one day. “Interesting but badly paid work on offer” said the email. As an out-of-work TV researcher, paid work sounded good and interesting was even better. I signed up for two weeks as an online moderator for a youth engagement project called I’m a Councillor, Get me out of Here! The event got young … Continue reading →

Posted on October 28, 2010 by in Science Engagement | Comments Off on The arguments for young people's involvement in decisions about science funding

Beyond Blogging event teaser

Do you think science is perfect, or is there something about it you want to change? And can the internet help you do it? Is the peer review system broken? Why do we still publish research papers? What are the problems with the system? What’s the proper relationship between government and scientific advisors? Are there barriers (that we could change) to women excelling in science, or are they just not as good at it? What about ethnic minorities and people from different socioeconomic groups? How can scientists explain the value of their work (and funding it)? Are scientists answering (or asking) the questions that really matter? Are there ways that scientists could gain by communicating better with others in their field? With scientists in other fields? With people outside science? Fold.it and Galaxy Zoo are great. Are there other areas where people could get involved in actually taking part in … Continue reading →

Posted on October 1, 2010 by in Project News, Science Education, Science Engagement | Comments Off on Beyond Blogging event teaser

Beyond Blogging: Science engagement online can do more!

I’m making this very quick post as twitter is awash today with people protesting about Vince Cable’s remarks on proposed science budget cuts. Back in July Shane and I went to Alice Bell’s excellent talkfest on science blogging. Shane then wrote this typically provocative post about how the bloggers weren’t being ambitious enough – why did nobody want to change the world? Blogs are fantastic, not to diss blogs at all, but there’s a lot more that can be done online than writing blog posts. We decided that instead of just whinging, we should put our money where our mouth is, and do something to help! We are now planning a workshop/get-together called Beyond Blogging. This would bring together people from the worlds of science, science communication and engagement, with some of the hackers and doers involved in civil society online engagement, to see what interesting ideas and projects could … Continue reading →

Posted on September 8, 2010 by in Science Engagement | Comments Off on Beyond Blogging: Science engagement online can do more!

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