Team:FCB-UANL/Communication
TOOLS
VALUES
DESIGN
Accessibility
ACTIVITIES
NEEDS
ANALYSIS
SYNBIO
ENVIRONMENT
ART
DIFFUSION
REFERENCES
THE IMPORTANCE OF SCIENCE COMMUNICATION
Whether we are trying to present our project to a group of stakeholders or to
introduce
young kids to synthetic biology, we always seek to communicate effectively. By
recognizing that there is no single approach to this matter, adapting the line
of action
to a given audience is more useful than attempting to use the same tactics every
time.
Science communication is a multidisciplinary practice whose objective is to communicate scientific knowledge to different audiences via a variety of media while contextualizing the information to make it more accessible (1). Thus, developing activities while considering these principles would create interest from different audiences and allow us to inform, educate or change their behavior while raising awareness of the same issues we are trying to solve with the help of synthetic biology (2).
Science communication is a multidisciplinary practice whose objective is to communicate scientific knowledge to different audiences via a variety of media while contextualizing the information to make it more accessible (1). Thus, developing activities while considering these principles would create interest from different audiences and allow us to inform, educate or change their behavior while raising awareness of the same issues we are trying to solve with the help of synthetic biology (2).
TOOLS USED
Due to the current situation with the pandemics in Mexico, we still have not
been able
to carry out in-person activities; however, we used social media as our main
communication channel since it is one of the most used communication methods
nowadays.
It can be said that all the posts, comments, and interactions on social media
could
serve
as remote meetings since they can accomplish all the communication and
opinion-exchange
functions found, for example, at a congress, workshop, or lecture (3). For this
matter, we used as many platforms as we could, integrating the different
strategies that
will be described in the following paragraphs.
Regarding the pedagogy theory used, for our youngest public, we used game-based learning, since it has been reported to be an emergent effective tool to ensure learning (4). This can be a good strategy for digital learning, besides that the game design can be complemented with some other strategies. For this matter, we used study case strategies, as it has been described by many authors as a successful teaching strategy due to the generated engagement, allowing students to understand concepts in an innovative way, instead of just memorizing (5), also this can be efficient to develop problem-solving skills.
All these methods were used for the same goal: to achieve authentic learning. We decided to use this educational approach because it empowers students to comprehend, analyze, and construct concepts based on their relation with real-world problems and situations (6). It involves the use of the tools previously mentioned, in addition to the empirical analysis needed in experimental sciences. Authentic learning can help us strengthen in the students some of the most important features they will need in their development.
Regarding the pedagogy theory used, for our youngest public, we used game-based learning, since it has been reported to be an emergent effective tool to ensure learning (4). This can be a good strategy for digital learning, besides that the game design can be complemented with some other strategies. For this matter, we used study case strategies, as it has been described by many authors as a successful teaching strategy due to the generated engagement, allowing students to understand concepts in an innovative way, instead of just memorizing (5), also this can be efficient to develop problem-solving skills.
All these methods were used for the same goal: to achieve authentic learning. We decided to use this educational approach because it empowers students to comprehend, analyze, and construct concepts based on their relation with real-world problems and situations (6). It involves the use of the tools previously mentioned, in addition to the empirical analysis needed in experimental sciences. Authentic learning can help us strengthen in the students some of the most important features they will need in their development.
OUR VALUES
In addition to the concepts we wanted to communicate in each activity we
developed,
there are also some core values we implemented, based mainly on those considered
to be
more important by our stakeholders based on their expertise and feedback.
Some of these values are respect for each other's opinions and empathy in order to try to understand their points of view and establish a dialogue for the successful communication; interculturality to be aware of the social and cultural reasons people could think on a certain matter, and integrate those concerns on our communication strategies; and last but not least, reflexiveness not only to teach, but also to learn from everyone we met during our iGEM journey, and use these learning for both improving our project, and our personal and professional development.
Some of these values are respect for each other's opinions and empathy in order to try to understand their points of view and establish a dialogue for the successful communication; interculturality to be aware of the social and cultural reasons people could think on a certain matter, and integrate those concerns on our communication strategies; and last but not least, reflexiveness not only to teach, but also to learn from everyone we met during our iGEM journey, and use these learning for both improving our project, and our personal and professional development.
GRAPHIC DESIGN AND VISUAL IDENTITY
Communicating feelings, ideas, messages, or even an identity is a task that
becomes
easier
with the help of graphic design. We know that the colors and shapes theory
can
be used as a tool with a strong persuasive power and
emotional appeal. Consequently, applying its principles while creating
presentations and
grounding abstract ideas into
more tangible visual material is useful to science communication (7,8).
Having that in mind, we decided to use the available set of tools to present ourselves as a distinct group and to connect with a given audience more easily and in a more visually-engaging way. To achieve this, we implemented a consistent visual identity through the use of a defined but versatile color palette, an appropriate typography, a set of visual elements -such as rounded shapes, rounded edges-, and even with our pet, Dana la rana. Throughout this process we had a series of concepts in mind that we wanted to convey, including friendliness.
Having that in mind, we decided to use the available set of tools to present ourselves as a distinct group and to connect with a given audience more easily and in a more visually-engaging way. To achieve this, we implemented a consistent visual identity through the use of a defined but versatile color palette, an appropriate typography, a set of visual elements -such as rounded shapes, rounded edges-, and even with our pet, Dana la rana. Throughout this process we had a series of concepts in mind that we wanted to convey, including friendliness.
Our project Synbiofoam is a bioinspired and eco-friendly product after all, so
we
considered that generating a certain sense
of friendliness towards both the environment and the audience was
important. In
addition, presenting science-related
concepts under a more welcoming light may help us to abnegate the prevalent
ideas that
science is too difficult to understand
and only meant for a certain sector of the population, or even that it is
strictly
related to a monotonous school setting.
CONSIDERATIONS FOR DIGITAL ACCESSIBILITY AND INCLUSIVITY
Since web content is one of our main communication channels, we wanted to ensure
a
good user experience
for our created content (any part of a website, including images, texts,
multimedia,
etcetera), making sure that
everyone can equally perceive, understand, navigate, and interact with the
content we
create.
Then, we considered the Web Accessibility Initiative's recommendations, which include the usage of enough contrast, a clean typography and a good management of spacing for better legibility and readability. Although these two terms can sound highly similar, it is useful to draw a distinction between them in order to understand the importance of a good base design for accessibility , usability and inclusivity.
Then, we considered the Web Accessibility Initiative's recommendations, which include the usage of enough contrast, a clean typography and a good management of spacing for better legibility and readability. Although these two terms can sound highly similar, it is useful to draw a distinction between them in order to understand the importance of a good base design for accessibility , usability and inclusivity.
OUR ACTIVITIES
Considering the different tools and theories we can use to develop educational
and
public
engagement activities,
we defined the topics we wanted to communicate (synthetic biology and
biotechnology,
fire safety and ecology, the
importance and care of the environment, art and science, and our project), as
well as
the public we wanted to reach.
Based on that, and with the help of our advisors and stakeholders, we developed
many
activities using different strategies
to achieve our desired goals. In addition, we also made some activities
regarding women
inclusivity that are better
explained in our inclusivity
section. The rest of activities are explained in the
following paragraphs. All the material used (slides, surveys, etc.)
is available as PDF files by clicking on the text. Additionally, there are some
hyperlinks available
(since we cannot upload that material because it is not from our authorship;
however,
you do not need to access those hyperlinks,
which are intended to be complementary material, to get to know the activities
since a
brief description of each one of them is provided in this section).
UNDERSTANDING OUR COMMUNITY'S NEEDS
Analyzing things from a social perspective made us capable of recognizing that,
before
planning any educational
activity, we had to understand what our community needed and how we could
contribute to
those needs and shape our
plans to achieve our desired objectives. Regarding the current educational
situation in
our state, different groups
from our university -including us- are afraid of it, since less than half of all
people
over the age of 15 attend
school, and around 11% of our population cannot read or write (9).
That was the reason why our university's Secretariat for Scientific Research and Technological Development organized a series of Science and Technology Workshops, where we were invited to coordinate the Biotechnology topic. These workshops took place in the Colleges of Technical Professional Education of Nuevo Leon (CONALEP, for its acronym in Spanish) of a number of municipalities from our state which were carefully selected based on the high dropout rate.
That was the reason why our university's Secretariat for Scientific Research and Technological Development organized a series of Science and Technology Workshops, where we were invited to coordinate the Biotechnology topic. These workshops took place in the Colleges of Technical Professional Education of Nuevo Leon (CONALEP, for its acronym in Spanish) of a number of municipalities from our state which were carefully selected based on the high dropout rate.
During the workshop DNA: the molecule of life we gave a brief theory
class
regarding the basic molecular biology
techniques, as well as biotechnology principles and applications, including some
synthetic biology examples, with the aim of
inspiring students to pursue science and technology careers. This was followed
by a
practical session in which assistants
made a simulation of an electrophoresis using the case study pedagogy
considering that it promotes interaction/discussion,
team work, and critical thinking in students (5). Hence, students learned the
foundations of the technique and also developed
manipulation skills for micropipettes and electrophoresis chambers by analyzing
a
made-up forensic case and processing the samples
we gave them.
EDUCATION CONTINUITY ANALYSIS
It was during the workshop, while we shared some experiences working with
biotechnology
and talked with the students about
their future academic plans, that we heard some comments like "I didn't know
this
existed", "I'm not sure if I'm going to continue studying,
I have to work", "I tried to apply to college but I didn't pass the exam", and
some
others that worried and inspired us to better analyze
the situation and try to make something to improve it. .
For us to achieve that, we made a survey following iGEM's and the American Association for Public Opinion Research guidelines to do it (having a specific goal for our survey, following ethical treatment of human subjects by being very careful on not asking something that may make them feel uncomfortable, and using statistical analysis to break down the data that was collected). Our main goal was to identify which were the factors that were stopping them from studying college; the sample consisted of teenagers from ages of 15-17 years, from the rural communities aforementioned. The questions included in the survey can be found in Annex 1. .
After doing the survey, we statistically analyzed the obtained data using the statistical analysis program SPSS, which was recommended to us by our advisor PhD Heber Torres, as he has had experience using it for statistical analysis in social studies. The general results are shown in the following graphs, and the complete analysis and reflections can be found in our education section.
For us to achieve that, we made a survey following iGEM's and the American Association for Public Opinion Research guidelines to do it (having a specific goal for our survey, following ethical treatment of human subjects by being very careful on not asking something that may make them feel uncomfortable, and using statistical analysis to break down the data that was collected). Our main goal was to identify which were the factors that were stopping them from studying college; the sample consisted of teenagers from ages of 15-17 years, from the rural communities aforementioned. The questions included in the survey can be found in Annex 1. .
After doing the survey, we statistically analyzed the obtained data using the statistical analysis program SPSS, which was recommended to us by our advisor PhD Heber Torres, as he has had experience using it for statistical analysis in social studies. The general results are shown in the following graphs, and the complete analysis and reflections can be found in our education section.
The percentage of students that found it unlikely to keep studying is an
alarming number
because, according to the Secretary of Economy (10),
in 2017 there were more than 188,000 students enrolled in an institution of
higher
secondary education. Thus, displacing the data, it represents at
least 18,000 dropout students.
Nuevo Leon is one of the most expensive Mexico states to live in, and even the
city in
which we live, Monterrey, is one of the three most expensive
cities in the country; here, the basic services are more expensive than in other
cities
(11). In general, the cost of studying a professional career
follows the same standard; despite the quality of the universities in the state,
the
costs are considerably higher than in the rest of the country,
and they increase year after year (12).
Not surprisingly, more than 50% of the students considered the cost an important factor. Some of the common solutions for students is to find a part-time job , but working more than 20 hours a week can lead to school dropouts (13).
Not surprisingly, more than 50% of the students considered the cost an important factor. Some of the common solutions for students is to find a part-time job , but working more than 20 hours a week can lead to school dropouts (13).
Distance and transportation is something we also wanted to include in our study,
since
little or no analysis has been done in this matter. Although the
cost of local transportation in Nuevo Leon is the highest in the country, it is
still
very inefficient, and is even unavailable in some regions of the state
(14). Some of the comments we heard were about the necessity of using more than
one
transportation method to get to the educational facilities, which can be
seen in the graph. Conjointly, the economic factor plays again an important
role;
considering the minimum salary in Mexico (213.39 pesos/10.99 dollars)
and the cost of taking at least 10 buses per week (this number was based on the
responses of the survey), the cost of transportation (130 Mexican pesos or 6.49
dollars)
represents more than half of the salary. In addition to this, covering other
basic
necessities such as food would be very difficult for a student.
In addition to the already mentioned factors, the lack of information about
college
careers is translated to the absence of interest to continue studying because
of the ignorance of the existing opportunities. During the workshop, many
students asked
us which activities we developed in the laboratory, since they thought
"being a scientist" was something just seen in "the movies". This can be
explained by
the
little disponibility of resources to both study for the admission exam and
get to know the careers and opportunities offered in our region.
We concluded that the main reasons why these students did not want to -or could- go to college were the economic factor, the distance between their homes and school, and that they received limited access to both, the information about their career options and the study material available for the college admission exam. Another factor also worth mentioning is the family background, especially when they have to fulfill work responsibilities or face problems such as the above mentioned, as their brains may not have the adequate performance required for their education (15).
We then realized that the current efforts on education from our state may not be enough, and that we must invest more in giving students from different locations or socioeconomic backgrounds with difficulties the support they need. Hence, we came to the decision of communicating the studying opportunities by making some efforts described in the following section.
We concluded that the main reasons why these students did not want to -or could- go to college were the economic factor, the distance between their homes and school, and that they received limited access to both, the information about their career options and the study material available for the college admission exam. Another factor also worth mentioning is the family background, especially when they have to fulfill work responsibilities or face problems such as the above mentioned, as their brains may not have the adequate performance required for their education (15).
We then realized that the current efforts on education from our state may not be enough, and that we must invest more in giving students from different locations or socioeconomic backgrounds with difficulties the support they need. Hence, we came to the decision of communicating the studying opportunities by making some efforts described in the following section.
RAISING AWARENESS OF SCIENCE CAREERS AND OPPORTUNITIES
TALK: YOUR EDUCATION'S FUTURE
TALK: YOUR EDUCATION'S FUTURE
In order to get students to know more opportunities to continue studying, we
organized
the talk "Your education's future" via Facebook
live,where we had 1,500 views,where our main audience
consisted of
high school students. On it, we talked about some of
the available scholarships for university and transportation costs, as well as
the
resources for preparing themselves for the admission exams.
Also, the conference was shared by the organization CEEA, one of the most
important
preparation centers for the admission exam of our university
with more than 70,000 followers. Likewise, we shared the recording and a
brochure
with the summary of the information to the high schools
in which we carried out our education continuity analysis, to get the
information to the
students who inspired this activity. The brochure and
the list of scholarships we shared can be seen by clicking
here.
DNA EXTRACTION WORKSHOP, COLLABORATION WITH SYNBIO FOR EVERYONE AND TALENTO DE
BARRIO
With the aim of making science more accessible, we were contacted by Synbio for
everyone,
an organization whose objective is to improve
accessibility in STEM education. They highly inspire us,
since it all started with the Washington iGEM team 2019. The collaboration
consisted of
the translation
of the activity "Introduction to synthetic Biology"
and then we decided to make the activity in our region. For this means, and
following
the line of reaching students from vulnerable communities,
we collaborated with Talento de Barrio, an educational organization focused on
improving
the educational quality of the public junior high schools
in the Metropolitan area of Monterrey through workshops, activities and
innovative
education.
For the activity, our target audience were junior high students around 13
years
old We first presented our project and
synbio-related concepts, and then developed the fruit DNA extraction activity we
translated. At the end, we conducted a
survey to get to know their opinions;the comments they did are reported in our
education section.
LIVE "LET'S TALK ABOUT SYNTHETIC BIOLOGY" COLLABORATION WITH QUIERO SER BIOTEC
In our attempt to publicize the experience of studying a science career and the
opportunities in academia, industry,
entrepreneurship, and many other areas, we collaborated with the account Quiero
Ser
Biotec,
which is dedicated to science communication focused on biotechnology,
and counts with more than 9,000 followers.
Its creator,
Jannireth Guerrero, is a biotechnologist from Peru that wants to use social
media to
make people interested in the biotechnology
concepts and applications. We participated on an instagram live talking
about
synthetic biology, its applications, and even
about iGEM projects and the competition in general. The audience was people
in
general.
DANA LA RANA: AN INTRODUCTION TO SYNTHETIC BIOLOGY FOR THE
YOUNG
Among the variety of activities focused on getting the young
involved with
science and
synthetic biology,
we decided to work on a series of short videos with our pet, Dana
la Rana
(Dana
the frog) since it has been proven that
cartoons increase motivation and comprehension in children (16), in
this way
acquiring
an additional pedagogical value, since
they are effective for communicating concepts with a lower language
level.
The character was born back in 2020 by team FCB-UANL (17) with the objective of appealing to younger people and was adapted to our new visual identity for 2021. This new design proposal consisted in simplifying the original character design and updating the color palette, all with the objective of making it more visually appealing and friendly to the target audience.
Dana la Rana was a three-part series with each episode revolving around different key concepts and building on top of the ideas explained in the previous videos, encouraging respect for the environment and critical thinking. The target audience was Spanish speaking children within the age range of 8-12 , which is the reason why we decided to keep the explanations brief and engaging with the support of simple animations. We introduced topics such as the cells and DNA on the first episode, synthetic biology on the second, and fires on the third. The average viewers of the videos were 100 , and the playlist is available on YouTube, you can watch one of the episodes by clicking here.
The character was born back in 2020 by team FCB-UANL (17) with the objective of appealing to younger people and was adapted to our new visual identity for 2021. This new design proposal consisted in simplifying the original character design and updating the color palette, all with the objective of making it more visually appealing and friendly to the target audience.
Dana la Rana was a three-part series with each episode revolving around different key concepts and building on top of the ideas explained in the previous videos, encouraging respect for the environment and critical thinking. The target audience was Spanish speaking children within the age range of 8-12 , which is the reason why we decided to keep the explanations brief and engaging with the support of simple animations. We introduced topics such as the cells and DNA on the first episode, synthetic biology on the second, and fires on the third. The average viewers of the videos were 100 , and the playlist is available on YouTube, you can watch one of the episodes by clicking here.
CRASH COURSE: PRINCIPLES AND APPLICATIONS OF SYNTHETIC BIOLOGY,
COLLABORATION WITH iGEM
SYNYAKI, UTEC, AND PANAMA-UNI.
Concerned by the lack of information about synthetic biology for
high
school students
, and analyzing that this could
lead on the disinterest on studying a scientific career (according
to the
results
obtained in our education continuity analysis),
we collaborated with the teams SynYaki, UTEC, and PANAMA-UNI that
are
currently
participating on the iGEM Design League to organize
the Crash Course “Principles and applications of Synthetic Biology”.
We made
several
posts on social media to reach our target
audience to register.
The course consisted of 4 sessions via zoom each one consisting of a theoretical and a practical session, and the number of assistants attendees ranged from 40 to 50 on each session. In addition, at the end we had an experts panel, followed by a Q&A session. Detailed information is shown in the following table.
In particular, we organized the theoretical session "Introduction to molecular biology", in which we talked about DNA expression and genetic regulation, with some examples and analysis, including examples of how this knowledge is applied to academic research and the industry. Right after that, we gave the practical session "Bioinformatics 101: foundations and applications" where we included concepts regarding the use of databases, processing of FASTA sequences, and phylogenetic analysis, as well as some aspects of how this information is used when designing and building synthetic genes. The slides with the information shown are available (click here to see file).
The course consisted of 4 sessions via zoom each one consisting of a theoretical and a practical session, and the number of assistants attendees ranged from 40 to 50 on each session. In addition, at the end we had an experts panel, followed by a Q&A session. Detailed information is shown in the following table.
| Session | Topic and concepts | Speakers |
|---|---|---|
| Theory: Biomolecules Workshop: DNA extraction | Basics of biochemistry and the role and importance of biomolecules in living organisms, focusing on DNA | Cesar Huallpa |
| Theory: Introduction to molecular biologyWorkshop: Bioinformatics 101 | Gene regulation pathways and its applications on the design of synthetic genes, working with genetic sequences on gene design and other applications. | Daniela Alvarez Robledo |
| Theory: Synbio and genetic circuits foundationsWorkshop: Build your own genetic circuit | Designing regulatory networks depending on the desired application, foundations of gene design and most important aspects to take into account. | MSc Ediner Fuentes |
| Experts panel | Questions about their experience in synthetic biology and biotechnology, and discussion with the assistants to get them involved and hear their opinions. | PhD Felipe Gonzalo Tueros Farfan, Eng. Daniel Dominguez Gomez, PhD Alberto Donayre, Maria Jose Duran Gonzalez, and Mildred Jimenez Rodriguez |
In particular, we organized the theoretical session "Introduction to molecular biology", in which we talked about DNA expression and genetic regulation, with some examples and analysis, including examples of how this knowledge is applied to academic research and the industry. Right after that, we gave the practical session "Bioinformatics 101: foundations and applications" where we included concepts regarding the use of databases, processing of FASTA sequences, and phylogenetic analysis, as well as some aspects of how this information is used when designing and building synthetic genes. The slides with the information shown are available (click here to see file).
HISPANIC DISCUSSION WORKSHOP, COLLABORATION WITH iGEM BOLIVIA,
ECUADOR, AND
UAM
The Hispanic Discussion Workshop was an activity organized by the
Bolivia
iGEM team,
where we had the
opportunity to participate along with Ecuador and UAM teams (from
the iGEM
competition
and the iGEM Design
League). At this event, some of the team members of the three teams
assisted
with the
organization, while
separate groups of each team got to experience it as
participants.
This activity consisted of a series of three workshops , each given by an expert and focused on a different debating skill the participants would need for the competition. "Argumentation and Counter Argumentation" by Antonio Zarate Ramos; "Roles of Judges and Zigzag Format" by Jose Luis Feliciano Chipana and "If knowledge is Controversial, do we debate?" by MSc Gabriela Rivadeneira Caballero. All of this with the objective of encouraging the development of the thetorical and critical thinking skills necessary to analyze the same kind of controversial topics the participants debated during this event.
Concerning the tournament, a total of 8 teams had to defend their given positions regarding particular motions related to synthetic biology. Their performance was evaluated each time by a group of experienced judges which culminated in our team winning first place. The finals were conducted in zoom and transmitted via Facebook live , with the aim of getting people interested on the topic; it ended up getting a total of 2,100 views . In addition, after the contest, we were invited to participate in Episode 03 of iGEM TV (available on YouTube by clicking on this link ) to talk about our experience, with a total amount of 150 viewers.
This activity consisted of a series of three workshops , each given by an expert and focused on a different debating skill the participants would need for the competition. "Argumentation and Counter Argumentation" by Antonio Zarate Ramos; "Roles of Judges and Zigzag Format" by Jose Luis Feliciano Chipana and "If knowledge is Controversial, do we debate?" by MSc Gabriela Rivadeneira Caballero. All of this with the objective of encouraging the development of the thetorical and critical thinking skills necessary to analyze the same kind of controversial topics the participants debated during this event.
Concerning the tournament, a total of 8 teams had to defend their given positions regarding particular motions related to synthetic biology. Their performance was evaluated each time by a group of experienced judges which culminated in our team winning first place. The finals were conducted in zoom and transmitted via Facebook live , with the aim of getting people interested on the topic; it ended up getting a total of 2,100 views . In addition, after the contest, we were invited to participate in Episode 03 of iGEM TV (available on YouTube by clicking on this link ) to talk about our experience, with a total amount of 150 viewers.
PODCASTS: PRESENTING OUR PROJECT THROUGH DIFFERENT SCOPES
Podcasts are a new technique for e-learning processes, and they
are a more
efficient and
engaging alternative for traditional lectures (18). As we were
trying to use
social media
and all the available tools, we decided to take the
opportunities of
participating on
podcasts to talk about our project, iGEM, and synthetic biology.
First, we
participated in
Bioemprendiendo by Héctor Garza (click
here to listen to the episode on Spotify , or click
here to see the promotion post of our participation ),
on the episode "028 - Synbiofoam - Synthetic biology to
combat fires"
where bioentrepeneurship
was the main topic
Then, we were invited to participate in Biotechnology and other stories by CONEXBI on the episode "What is iGEM?" where we shared our experiences on the competition, a brief description of our project and some advice for people trying to develop an iGEM project. You can listen to this episode on Spotify as well by clicking here Last but not least, we collaborated with team IISER Tirupati for their podcast SynTrack, where we talked about our project.
Then, we were invited to participate in Biotechnology and other stories by CONEXBI on the episode "What is iGEM?" where we shared our experiences on the competition, a brief description of our project and some advice for people trying to develop an iGEM project. You can listen to this episode on Spotify as well by clicking here Last but not least, we collaborated with team IISER Tirupati for their podcast SynTrack, where we talked about our project.
CONFERENCE WITH MEDICINA SUSTENTABLE
Medicina Sustentable UANL is a student social responsibility
group
dedicated to
educating on environmental, social and economic issues, made up
of students of
the
Medicine College of our university. Since they also want to
raise awareness
about science
and environmentall issues and concepts,
we decided to collaborate together; we organized the conference
"Synthetic
Biology and Sustainability"
using zoom, which encompassed the topic of synthetic
biology
and its environmental applications for the members of the group.
We also
received some
feedback and questions about our project, and heard some ideas
of how synbio
could be
applied for solving other local problems. Click
here to see the slides we used
GETTING TO KNOW iGEM LATAM, COLLABORATION WITH BIOTEC LATINA
Biotec Latina is a community that aims to integrate people working
with
biotechnology
from Latin America
with the goal of breaking out the Spanish-Portuguese barrier in the
region
and develop a
network for collaborations
.
We participated in their initiative "Getting to know iGEM Latam" in
which
they
interviewed the Latin
American teams currently participating on iGEM and the iGEM Design
League.
We talked
about our project
and our experience on iGEM on an instagram live where we
had more
than 100
viewers.
FROGGY FOAM: THE VIDEO GAME
The video game industry has become more successful year after year,
and, thanks to
the
technology advances, they are also more accessible for a wider range
of ages,
genders and
socioeconomic backgrounds. Due to those facts, it has been proposed
to incorporate
video
games as educational tools considering that positive cognitive and
affective
outcomes have
been reported when using digital games in the learning process
(4).
Therefore, we decided to create Froggy Foam, a video game about forest fires with the aim of raising awareness of the causes and consequences of fire incidents on children from 8 to 12 years. T he main character is our pet Dana la rana, and through the game story she has to go all along the forest while stopping wildfires that were started for different reasons. Throughout the journey, she also meets other animals and people habiting the forest that help her make decisions (such as choosing whether to pick up a glass bottle from the soil or leave it there) that will further have positive or negative consequences, depending on the option taken by the player.
The purpose of the game is to understand -through the decision-making process- how an action could affect the environment, even if it seems to be very simple. With the villain of the game, Firefox (a fox that is starting wildfires across all the forest) we aim to represent how dangerous wildfires are for the wildlife and even for people living around.
At the end, we added some information of how the videogame represents an actual problem, and how we have to think of our decisions such as Dana did through the story, with the objective of highlight the connection between the game and the real life, as recommended on the theory (4), since sometimes this may not be obvious, especially for young students. You can download the game by clicking here.
Therefore, we decided to create Froggy Foam, a video game about forest fires with the aim of raising awareness of the causes and consequences of fire incidents on children from 8 to 12 years. T he main character is our pet Dana la rana, and through the game story she has to go all along the forest while stopping wildfires that were started for different reasons. Throughout the journey, she also meets other animals and people habiting the forest that help her make decisions (such as choosing whether to pick up a glass bottle from the soil or leave it there) that will further have positive or negative consequences, depending on the option taken by the player.
The purpose of the game is to understand -through the decision-making process- how an action could affect the environment, even if it seems to be very simple. With the villain of the game, Firefox (a fox that is starting wildfires across all the forest) we aim to represent how dangerous wildfires are for the wildlife and even for people living around.
At the end, we added some information of how the videogame represents an actual problem, and how we have to think of our decisions such as Dana did through the story, with the objective of highlight the connection between the game and the real life, as recommended on the theory (4), since sometimes this may not be obvious, especially for young students. You can download the game by clicking here.
FIRE DETECTIVE: BOARD GAME
Although we use the video game to apply the game-based learning
strategy, we are
aware
that this option
may not be accessible for everyone, so we decided to also
develop the board game
Fire
Detective.
We took inspiration from the popular board game Clue, but in
this case, instead
of
finding who committed a crime,
the players had to discover who started a wildfire, thus
including a
study-case
approach as well.
The scene of the game is Chipinque, a natural protected area in
our city that
holds a
lot of the region's biodiversity,
including endangered species. There are 6 characters, places,
and weapons that
could
have been used to start
the fire. The maximum number of players is 5 and the
recommended ages are 8+.
We organized a virtual meeting to present and play the
game using
the platform
Miro
.
You can download the file with the board game by clicking
here. At the end,
95% of our
assistants
told us they thought that wildfires were an important
problem in their
region. We had
assistants
from many different countries, such as Perú, Panamá,
Bolivia, Ecuador, and
Brazil.
ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION, COLLABORATION WITH CONJUVECyH
The National Youth Council for Science and Humanities
(CONJUVECyH) is an
organism in
charge of
the communication of science activities in Nuevo León; it seeks
to be a
space for
encouraging the social
and cultural development in our region. We collaborated with
them many times
throughout
the year to
communicate environmental and inclusivity aspects that will be
further
described.
First, we made an educational video talking about the
environment to
illustrate its
importance and the
current biodiversity loss we are facing, mentioning the impact
human
activity has had
over the last
few years. Our target audience was people in general, and
we had
more than
200 views
.
In addition, we made a memory game with the images of different
animals that
are right
now in extinction
or endangered, with the objective to represent in a more visual
way all the
species that
we
have lost. It is available online on
this link .
Because of the engagement generated, we were also invited to participate on a Facebook live to present our project, where we had the opportunity to interact with the assistants and answer their questions. We had around 350 views.
Because of the engagement generated, we were also invited to participate on a Facebook live to present our project, where we had the opportunity to interact with the assistants and answer their questions. We had around 350 views.
MEXICO SCOUTS, GROUP 9
Respect and responsibility with nature are two of the most
outstanding
values scouts
groups try to
disseminate onto their members, and they perfectly match the
values we
intend to
communicate.
Along with implementing their opinions as a stakeholders
community, we also
wanted to
make an educational
activity with them; for us, young children making efforts for
taking care
of our
ecosystems are an audience
we must reach.
We made the presentation 2Ecosystems in Nuevo Leo" which
consisted of a
session of
questions and answers,
where based on their previous knowledge, we described the
ecosystems we have
in the
region, and explained
their importance, as well as the problem of wildfires and what
we can do to
prevent it.
At the end of the
session, we talked about our project and shared a survey to get
to know
their
perspectives. The slides
are available by clicking
here., and the comments we obtained in the survey are
reported in
our education
section.
As explained at the beginning of this page, graphic design was one
of the
main tools we
decided to
use this year to communicate. You can see over our social media
posts,
infographics,
videos, etc.
that we used the same style following the principles already
explained. In
general,
we used art
in all our activities ,however, for us to go further with
this tool,
we
developed some art activities
for science communication, following the theory of aesthetic
education (19) to
combine different perception forms.
STORYBOOK: A COLLECTION OF ENVIRONMENTAL STORIES
This year we got in contact with iGEM team Calgary. The idea of
making a
story book to
talk about our
projects came up during a brainstorm meeting. We decided to use
illustrations as a way
to explain complex
concepts to young children, since we wanted to make sure they could
learn
from a young
age that science
is a great discipline and that it can help solve problems in
different
interesting ways.
We also contacted other iGEM teams, including UMA_MALAGA, UMaryland, Ecuador, and even UAM and MikuyTEC from the iGEM Design League joined the initiative. Our main goal for each team was to create a short, illustrated story with compelling characters talking about our projects in a fun and relatable way to our target audience (children from 6-10 years old). Additionally, we integrated some interactive aspects such as coloring pages to keep them engaged.The storybook presents these stories with drawings and a team pet for each iGEM project; we used recognizable characters as a way of connecting with children, like the suggestion made by our advisor PhD Matteo Farinella. You can see the storybook by clicking here.
We also contacted other iGEM teams, including UMA_MALAGA, UMaryland, Ecuador, and even UAM and MikuyTEC from the iGEM Design League joined the initiative. Our main goal for each team was to create a short, illustrated story with compelling characters talking about our projects in a fun and relatable way to our target audience (children from 6-10 years old). Additionally, we integrated some interactive aspects such as coloring pages to keep them engaged.The storybook presents these stories with drawings and a team pet for each iGEM project; we used recognizable characters as a way of connecting with children, like the suggestion made by our advisor PhD Matteo Farinella. You can see the storybook by clicking here.
To ensure that this material would reach the children, we organized
a
storytelling
event with the Calgary team,
where we read aloud two of the stories of the book dynamically by
using
background
sounds to create a unique reading
experience for our audience (a group of kids from both
Mexico and
Canada).At the
end of the activity, the kids
and us drew our favorite part of the stories as a suggested way from
our
advisors to
receive children’s feedback.
Overall, it was a very enjoyable event for everyone, where kids
learned
while having
fun. They liked it so
much that some of their parents later contacted us telling us
that the
children
wanted to have more activities
like this in the future.
CORRIDO "RECKLESSNESS IN NUEVO LEON"
Corridos are a Mexican typical music genre characterized by
narrating popular
events of the
region and exploits of real or fictitious heroes. Corridos are a
very
important part of
our Mexican culture,
so we wanted to combine this type of music with science and
environmental
education by
making a song
about the effect of human activity on forest fires. We composed the
letter
of the song,
and used a copyright-free
track. We also made a music video to show in a visual way the effect
humans have on
the environment,
which is available on YouTube , you can watch said music
video on
the
following link .
In order to know if our video was having a good impact on people, we
organized a survey
to know what they
learned and thought. This was done because of the feedback our
advisor PhD
Heber Torres
gave us about the
importance of finding a way to measure the impact of the music
video. We
noticed
people are actually afraid of
the human factor in causing forest fires, which confirms that
focusing our
efforts on
environmental education and
fire prevention is a good approach to raise awareness.
MYCO EXPO
Mexico's northern region is characterized for its wide biodiversity,
including endemic
species of flora and
fauna. With the aim of getting the international community to
know
the organisms
our ecosystems hold,
we joined the IISER_TVM team on their initiative Myco Expo, a photo
exhibition to show
the fungi biodiversity.
We truly believe photography is one of the most distributed forms of
art
nowadays, so we
sent three entries belonging to
the genus Cladonia spp and Gymnopus spp, both present
in our
forests, along
with a
picture of a petri dish
with several unidentified microscopic fungi of different colors. The
full
gallery is
available in their wiki.
With the purpose of learning and having more information besides our
stakeholders'
guidance for pedagogy, science communication and storytelling
(further
explanation
available on our education
section)
, we took a "Comprehensive Training Workshop for the Public
Communication
of
Science" organized by Divulgaciencia,
an organism that promotes science at various educational levels and
bring
science and
technology closer to the population.
This course helped us evaluate the way we had approached our audiences and how we could improve the methods to get a better understanding. Also, we became able to use certain tools to achieve certain reactions from the audience such as awareness, enjoyment, interest, opinions and understanding (A-E-I-O-U model) (1). This inspired us to go deeper into the educational matter, as shown in our education section. Also, we learnt the difference between science communication and science diffusion; the last one refers to talking about science with expert audiences, hence, we developed some diffusion activities, as explained in the following paragraphs.
This course helped us evaluate the way we had approached our audiences and how we could improve the methods to get a better understanding. Also, we became able to use certain tools to achieve certain reactions from the audience such as awareness, enjoyment, interest, opinions and understanding (A-E-I-O-U model) (1). This inspired us to go deeper into the educational matter, as shown in our education section. Also, we learnt the difference between science communication and science diffusion; the last one refers to talking about science with expert audiences, hence, we developed some diffusion activities, as explained in the following paragraphs.
INTERNATIONAL MATERIALS RESEARCH CONGRESS
We participated in the XXIX International Materials Research
Congress
organized by the
Sociedad Mexicana de
Materiales, on the topic Materials for Sustainability and
Environmental
Applications. We presented
three works about our project’s design (for more detail, go to our
project
description
section). There, we
had the opportunity to listen to expert’s questions and opinions to
improve
the way we
present the technical
part of our project. The titles of the works presented are listed
below:
- Design of a novel B. subtilis strain for the industrial production of surfactin, a green surfactant
- Genetically engineering Bacillus subtilis to overexpress eps and tapA operons to increase biofilm matrix production
- Recombinant production of Ranaspumin proteins in E. coli as biodegradable surfactants and foam stabilizers
GENETIC CIRCUITS: THE FOUNDATIONS FOR THE DESIGN OF BIOLOGICAL
MACHINES,
COLLABORATION
WITH UNILA_LATAM
As part of our partnership with UNILA_LatAm team, we participated on
their
journal club
“SynFronteras Club” by organizing the talk
“Genetic Circuits: the foundations for the design of biological
machines”.
click
here to see the presentation
On it, we talked about gene design, metabolic engineering, and
software and
databases
that can be used for this matter. This was thought for
iGEMers or any person working with biotechnology or synthetic
biology
our
audience consisted of around 100 people including live
assistants and
YouTube
viewers.
MEETUPS AND HANGING OUT ACTIVITIES WITH OTHER TEAMS
Throughout the season, we participated in several activities to
explain the
technical
aspects of our project and receive
feedback and questions from experts on the subject and other iGEM
teams. The
activities
we participated in are: Julygem
, organized by Calgary team, North America Meetup organized
by our
sponsor
GenScript, Meetup LATAM 2021
organized by TecCEM team, and the Latam Fest organized by
the iGEM
ambassadors.
Similarly, we presented in activities outside the
iGEM network, such as DifuSyn: Synthetic Biology webinar
organized
by the
Journal Club Perú from the Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia,
and the First Cycle of Conferences on Synthetic Biology,
organized
by the
Research Group on Industrial Biotechnology (SINBI) from
Universidad Francisco de Paula Santander.
OUR LEARNING THROUGH THE iGEM SEASON
When we talk about education on iGEM, we usually think of activities
the
teams can make
to communicate science and our projects,
but something we have learnt through our journey is that education
is a two
sided tool.
This year we had the opportunity
to develop many activities for different public targets, and based
on the
outcomes,
questions asked, and interest generated we
can cheerfully say that we accomplished our purpose to disseminate
the
concepts and
ideas we wanted; however, after making a
reflexive exercise we noticed how many new things we learned
throughout the
year, that
have directly impacted both the
development of our project and our own personal, academic, and
professional
growth; a
deeper analysis is available
in our education
section.
MENTORSHIP PROGRAM FOR FRESHMAN iGEMERS
One of the ways the pandemic has affected us is the difficulties we
have had
to access
the laboratories.
For first year undergraduate students, their career laboratory
practices
stopped,
repercuiting on their development as
future scientists. This is the reason why we decided to develop
a
mentorship program
for our younger team members
with the aim of helping them learn some laboratory techniques from
the main
areas we use
on our project, such as microbiology,
molecular biology, biotechnology, and genetic engineering.
We then defined some "apprentices" and our wet lab team developed a plan in order to involve them in the experimental development of our project. Each apprentice attended the laboratory for one month; at the beginning we explained to them some of the basic rules for the laboratory work, and then we explained the theoretical background of everything that had been carried out. We ensure everyone learnt all the possible techniques, usage of materials, and equipment. The techniques and concepts we included in the general plan are shown in the following list:
With this activity we used empirical analysis and evidence-based
learning
, to
help future biotechnologists to develop skills
and acquire knowledge through activities to complement their
development.
Every
apprentice made a reflection at the end
of their time in the laboratory, that can be found in our education
section.
We then defined some "apprentices" and our wet lab team developed a plan in order to involve them in the experimental development of our project. Each apprentice attended the laboratory for one month; at the beginning we explained to them some of the basic rules for the laboratory work, and then we explained the theoretical background of everything that had been carried out. We ensure everyone learnt all the possible techniques, usage of materials, and equipment. The techniques and concepts we included in the general plan are shown in the following list:
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(1)Burns, T. W., O'Connor, D. J., Stocklmayer, S. M. (2003).
Comunicacion
cientifica: una definicion contemporanea.
Comprension publica de la ciencia, 12, 183-202
(2)Cooke, S.J., Gallagher, A.J., Sopinka, N.M., Nguyen, V. M., Skubel, R.A., Hammerschlag, N., Boon, S., Young, N., & Danylchuk, A.J. (2017). Considerations for effective science communication. FACETS, 2, 233-248. doi:10.1139/facets-2016-0055
(3)Foell, J. (2021). Social media science communication is a nonstop academic conference for all. Nature Human Behaviour, 5(812). doi:10.1038/s41562-021-01138-0
(4)Bado, N. (2019). Game-based learning pedagogy: a review of the literature. Interactive Learning Environments, 1-13. doi:10.1080/10494820.2019.1683587
(5)Singh, N. (2017). Enhancing the effectiveness of case study pedagogy by clubbing complementary teaching strategies for better students learning. Educational Methods Commons, CIRTL Reports, 8.
(6)Mims, C. (2003). Authentic Learning: A practical introduction and guide for implementation. Meridian, 2003:6, 1-13.
(7)Ambrose, G., Harris, P., & Ball, N. (2019). The Fundamentals of Graphic Design (2nd ed.). Bloomsbury Publishing.
(8)James, V. (2020). Science Communication Efforts and Identity at Popular Culture Conventions. Science Communication, 42(3). doi:10.1177/1075547020928571
(9)INEGI. (2020). Cuentame, informacion por entidad. Nuevo Leon, Educacion. https://bit.ly/3iVnoy3
(10)Secretary of Economy (2021). N.L. Matricula de alumnos inscritos por Nivel Educativo. https://bit.ly/3lEgtuX
(11)INEGI. (2020). Mexico en cifras. https://bit.ly/2YRqBYo
(12Anguiano, D. (2017). Universidades en NL. Buenas, bonitas y.... ¿caras?. El Financiero. https://bit.ly/3FGRUpf
(13)Consejo para la Evaluacion de la Educacion del Tipo Medio Superior A.C. (COPEEMS) (2012). Reporte de la Encuesta Nacional de Deserción en la Educación Media Superior. Mexico: COPEEMS. https://bit.ly/3p1g1sw (14)Abrego, M & Torres, D. (2018). El Horizonte. NL tiene la tarifa de transporte mas alta de México. https://bit.ly/3DCHZ1Z
(15)Espindola, E; & Leon, A. (2002). La desercion escolar en America Latina: Un tema prioritario para la agenda regional. Revista Iberoamericana de Educación, 1(30), 39-62. doi:10.35362/rie300941
(16)Bahrani, T. & Soltani, R. (2011). The pedagogical values of cartoons. Research on humanities and social sciences, 1(4), 19-23.
(17FCB-UANL. (2020). Synbiofoam: a synthetic alternative to fluorosurfactants. https://bit.ly/3mlaf1W
(18)Shim, J.P., Shropshire, J., Park, S., Harris, H. & Campbell, N. (2007). Podcasting for e-learning, communication, and delivery. Industrial Management & Data Systems, 107(4), 587-600. doi:10.1108/02635570710740715
(19)Mesquida, P. & Melchior Inocêncio, K.C. (2016). Art and Education or Education through Art: Educating through Image. Creative Education, 07(09), 1214-1221. doi:10.4236/ce.2016.79127
(2)Cooke, S.J., Gallagher, A.J., Sopinka, N.M., Nguyen, V. M., Skubel, R.A., Hammerschlag, N., Boon, S., Young, N., & Danylchuk, A.J. (2017). Considerations for effective science communication. FACETS, 2, 233-248. doi:10.1139/facets-2016-0055
(3)Foell, J. (2021). Social media science communication is a nonstop academic conference for all. Nature Human Behaviour, 5(812). doi:10.1038/s41562-021-01138-0
(4)Bado, N. (2019). Game-based learning pedagogy: a review of the literature. Interactive Learning Environments, 1-13. doi:10.1080/10494820.2019.1683587
(5)Singh, N. (2017). Enhancing the effectiveness of case study pedagogy by clubbing complementary teaching strategies for better students learning. Educational Methods Commons, CIRTL Reports, 8.
(6)Mims, C. (2003). Authentic Learning: A practical introduction and guide for implementation. Meridian, 2003:6, 1-13.
(7)Ambrose, G., Harris, P., & Ball, N. (2019). The Fundamentals of Graphic Design (2nd ed.). Bloomsbury Publishing.
(8)James, V. (2020). Science Communication Efforts and Identity at Popular Culture Conventions. Science Communication, 42(3). doi:10.1177/1075547020928571
(9)INEGI. (2020). Cuentame, informacion por entidad. Nuevo Leon, Educacion. https://bit.ly/3iVnoy3
(10)Secretary of Economy (2021). N.L. Matricula de alumnos inscritos por Nivel Educativo. https://bit.ly/3lEgtuX
(11)INEGI. (2020). Mexico en cifras. https://bit.ly/2YRqBYo
(12Anguiano, D. (2017). Universidades en NL. Buenas, bonitas y.... ¿caras?. El Financiero. https://bit.ly/3FGRUpf
(13)Consejo para la Evaluacion de la Educacion del Tipo Medio Superior A.C. (COPEEMS) (2012). Reporte de la Encuesta Nacional de Deserción en la Educación Media Superior. Mexico: COPEEMS. https://bit.ly/3p1g1sw (14)Abrego, M & Torres, D. (2018). El Horizonte. NL tiene la tarifa de transporte mas alta de México. https://bit.ly/3DCHZ1Z
(15)Espindola, E; & Leon, A. (2002). La desercion escolar en America Latina: Un tema prioritario para la agenda regional. Revista Iberoamericana de Educación, 1(30), 39-62. doi:10.35362/rie300941
(16)Bahrani, T. & Soltani, R. (2011). The pedagogical values of cartoons. Research on humanities and social sciences, 1(4), 19-23.
(17FCB-UANL. (2020). Synbiofoam: a synthetic alternative to fluorosurfactants. https://bit.ly/3mlaf1W
(18)Shim, J.P., Shropshire, J., Park, S., Harris, H. & Campbell, N. (2007). Podcasting for e-learning, communication, and delivery. Industrial Management & Data Systems, 107(4), 587-600. doi:10.1108/02635570710740715
(19)Mesquida, P. & Melchior Inocêncio, K.C. (2016). Art and Education or Education through Art: Educating through Image. Creative Education, 07(09), 1214-1221. doi:10.4236/ce.2016.79127
Our 2020-2021 iGEM project is generously supported by
