Cebu biology students learn to create popular science content

Biology students from various higher education institutions in Cebu City now have ideas on how to create stories and content for their research projects that are suitable for various platforms such as print publications, online news sites and social media channels.

The Department of Science and Technology – Science and Technology Information Institute (DOST-STII) expanded its outreach program “Science Journo Ako” to 40 biology students from six colleges and universities in Cebu City.

This event was held in partnership with the Cebu Association of Biology Students (CABS) Incorporated and DOST Region 7.

Students from six member schools of the Cebu Biology Students Association get the chance to learn tips and tricks on writing science news and feature articles, mobile photojournalism and creating science content for social media at the Golden Prince Hotel in Cebu City. DOST-STIY PHOTO

Crixia Gienel Subingsubing, a former science reporter for an English newspaper, lectured on science journalism.

She discussed how to write informative articles about relevant discoveries, consult with expert scientists and researchers, and convey information in a way that a non-specialized audience can understand.

A good science story, she says, must have three key characteristics: it must be accessible, engaging and fact-checked.

Subingsubing also emphasized the importance of sharing science stories with Filipinos.

She said these stories can increase awareness and understanding of science, inspire more Filipinos to study science and educate the public about phenomena that affect their lives.

“When writing a scientific story, it should be about a discovery, progress, research, problem, or new discovery in a scientific field. These stories should also include interviews or quotes from expert sources such as scientists,” Subingsabing concluded.

The next session was on the basics of photography and photojournalism, led by Rosemary Señora, Research Specialist at DOST-STII. She highlighted the elements of the exposure triangle needed to improve your photographs: aperture, ISO, and shutter speed.

Señora advised photojournalists to look for subjects with drama, action, expression and unusualness to take compelling photographs.

She also reminded the student participants of some ethical considerations when taking photographs.

“Manipulating photographs is a crime. Photos for publication cannot be edited because people believe the photos,” Señora added.

In the second part of the lecture, she discussed photojournalism and the proper way to write captions. She said captions should be written in complete sentences, using the present tense and active voice to give the image a sense of immediacy.

She added that most captions are one or two short declarative sentences, but some may expand to a third sentence if complex contextual information is needed to fully explain the image.

The final topic of the session was creating content for social networks.

Allan Mauro Marfal, DOST-STII Social Media Manager and Information Specialist 3, led the discussion, emphasizing the importance of communicating science to increase public awareness.

He stated that when creating content, a creator must first identify his audience and understand their preferences. He also suggested that content should be based on the interests of the target audience.

He also recommended that participants thoroughly research their topic and ensure that its content is based on facts and verified sources.

Outlining content before writing is also a useful strategy, he says.

Similar to writing science news and feature articles, Marfal encouraged participants to keep their content short and simple to make it more appealing to the audience.

Marfal also shared some tips for writing captions for social media content.

In addition to keeping signatures short and simple, he suggested using a specific format. First, add a call for attention, such as “look,” “read,” “watch,” or “watch.”

Creators can also include a brief description of the content, links to sources, hashtags, and calls to action such as “share,” “like,” or “click.”

“When creating content and managing social media, planning your posting schedule is also critical. Posting at least three times a week is ideal for maintaining an active social media account. Using the data provided by social media platforms, content creators should also base their posts on when their followers are online to maximize engagement,” Marfal said.

He concluded by advising participants to always cite their sources according to etiquette and stressed the importance of connecting with the audience when responding to comments.

Following the lecture, DOST-STII and its partners organized a simultaneous press conference entitled “Quentuhan with Cebuano Science Journalists” at the Mosquito Research and Microbiology Laboratories and Medical Group.

Participants were tasked with acting as reporters, giving interviews, and writing scholarly articles based on the forum.

After nearly three hours of content creation, resource speakers provided feedback on the results created by participants.

This training workshop is part of the Science Journo Ako outreach program launched by DOST-STII in 2015.

The program partners with academic institutions, public universities, and organizations committed to improving scientific communication and fostering scientific culture among students, faculty, researchers, and industry practitioners.

To date, Science Journo Ako has conducted over 72 workshops/webinars, providing valuable knowledge and skills to over 7,000 students, researchers and science communication enthusiasts.