MozFest2018 notes

[graciellehigino]

Hey, everyone!

I'll try to summarize here what we've learned at MozFest 2018, and then we can discuss everything on the thread.
The session abstract and plan can be read here, but here is a tl;dr:
How can we explore different senses to communicate science? What are the limits for science communication? In this session, we will try to push the boundaries of IGNITE (a project to train scientists in Science Communication): we will first present the lessons we’ve already built; then we will brainstorm on how to communicate science in unusual and accessible ways. We will use different objects (such as pen and paper, building blocks, clay and musical instruments) to explore and test the understanding of scientific concepts for different audiences, such as people with disabilities.

We had an AMAZING sort of materials provided by MozFest (THANK YOU!!) such as pen + paper, sticky notes, musical instruments for kids, plasticine, four different spices (that smelled good or bad 😆 ), building blocks and crayons.
We first discussed what kinds of accessibility issues we could be facing when communicating science.

We agreed that language, access to information on PDF's and data, colors and subtitles are the main barriers in science communication. Then we brainstormed together on how to overcome these problems using our materials on the table. Some of the products were a word counter per second made with building blocks, a story about climate change using bells and spices, an object made with plasticine that could be two different things - depending on which color you are able to see and how the object is displayed, and an illustration on how videos could use images to illustrate what the narrator is saying, as a way to overcome language barriers (below).

Then we wrote down advices for scientists to communicate their findings to non-specialists (below).

"Please be multimodal and as tactile as possible for the sake of people with kinesthetic and vision impairment issues. 2 modalities at a time authenticates communication at the time it is received and helps transfer info to students in classroom."

"Use colour schemes that work in greyscale too. Caption/alt text your illustrtions."

"Use humor. Use evidence. Know your audience. Make connections between phenomena and with real life. Be creative."

"Be clear. Try to be simple, because there's always a simpler lie. Try to make your files accessible."

"Make your article open access. Learn how to communicate without jargon - take IGNITE workshop. Take time to challenge your assumption over what's knowledge. Speak slower, especially if audience of not scientists and not English speakers."

"Live caption of any talk - live event grants set aside for that."

"Try to use an inclusive language. If you need to translate something, get local help."

"Try to think of the 200 mostly used words of your language and simplify concepts using just them. ask for feedback from different people."

"Explain it to a 10-year-old. If they understand: 👍 . If they don't: your explanation won't be understood by most people (they're just too polite to admit). Try harder 😃 "

We deeply appreciate all your help in this issue! If you were part of this session at MozFest2018 and want your name in any material we build using your advice, or if you want to correct or add something to what you did, just let us know! ❤️