PROGRAMME & SPEAKERS
ICEM 2019 Workshop: Making the technical accessible
Workshop Title: Making the technical accessible: Ideas on how to tailor your talks for public and school audiences
When: Wednesday 26th June 16:15-18:00 CEST
Where: DTU Lyngby Meeting Centre, Building 101, Room S12
Session description:
More academic and industry organisations are engaging in outreach and education both to inform and as a response to gain public confidence and transparency. This session led by an ex-high school teacher and teacher trainer will give participants some skills and knowledge to turn the technical into the accessible, without losing the message they are trying to convey.
Session lead:
Kit Rackley
Education & Program Officer, WEMC & Educational Author, Blogger & Speaker, GeogRamblings
Schedule (click to expand):
Kit Rackley, WEMC/GeogRamblings
This introduction not only sets out the plan for the workshop, but briefly makes the case why academic and expert communities must do better in engaging with public audiences.
Kit Rackley, WEMC/GeogRamblings
Engaging presentations often contain visualisations and interactive tools. But what differentiates the distracting ‘visual-bling’ and the elegant but effective visuals? This part of the workshop looks at the best visualisations which have been proven to both ‘wow’ and inform in public lectures and classrooms, and discuss the benefits and limitations of including such visuals in presentations that attempt to communicate technical and advanced information.
Resources & Further Reading:
- Website: Gapminder Tools – A dynamic and effective data visualisation tool that is exceptionally popular with educators who teach global development and statistics
Sebastian Sterl, Vrije Universiteit Brussel
Sebastian gives his experiences in public speaking based on a range of academic, research and consultancy activities. See Sebastian’s LinkedIn profile here.
Presentation Download
Jared Lee, UCAR/NCAR
Jared shares his insights from his outreach experiences at NCAR in Colorado, USA. His K-12 (school) outreach activities include a ‘Weather & Climate Q&A’ via FaceTime with 6th graders (11-12 year olds), “NCAR Wizard” at UCAR’s Super Science Saturday and reading/homework tutor for refugee children. See Jared’s NCAR profile here.
Resources & Further Reading:
- Website: NCAR Explorer Series Lectures – An education and outreach programme from NCAR recommended for ages 12 and up to get “the inside scoop on [NCAR] science from the scientists themselves.”
Presentation download
Kit Rackley, WEMC/GeogRamblings
No one person is a panacea of good ideas, so the final part of the workshop will see the room engage in discussion and collectively generate 10 ‘top tips’ which can help with:
- Making technical information more accessible to audiences without technical knowledge & understanding
- Keeping audiences engaged and enthused, with the aim to have ‘mirrors for your passion’
- Knowing what to choose or generate when using visualisations in presentation
Workshop outcomes:
Scans of ‘Top Tips’:
Resources & Further Reading:
- Website: Gapminder Tools – A dynamic and effective data visualisation tool that is exceptionally popular with educators who teach global development and statistics
- Website: NCAR Explorer Series Lectures – An education and outreach programme from NCAR recommended for ages 12 and up to get “the inside scoop on [NCAR] science from the scientists themselves.”