Team:UUlm/Education

iGEM Explained

Since the beginning an integral part of our project was the education of our peers and to raise awareness for the variety of interesting topics in biology and especially synthetic biology. Therefore, we started our iGEM explained video series via our social media channels. We provided an overview about relevant lab methods, basic knowledge about topics such as immunology, virology, and the chemistry behind disinfectants, as well as specific information regarding our own iGEM project, that deals with mealworms. Through the variety of content that we provide as well as the media we chose we are sure that we were able to contribute to a better education regarding young potential scientists. Additionally, to check the acquired knowledge we provide tests on our website to review the most important facts. In the following figure you can get an idea of the iGEM explained series.

Figure 1: Overview on our iGEM explained topics
Figure 2: iGEM explained example from our instagram

iGEM at School

Education is an important topic and due to the current SARS-CoV-2 situation schools and also the students are facing a hard time. Initially, we wanted to cooperate with schools in Ulm and hold lectures in classes, which unfortunately wasn’t possible due to SARS-CoV-2. Therefore, we designed an online lecture, which contains information about the iGEM contest, our specific topic, as well as the basic techniques in synthetic biology. Using this format, we wanted to make sure, that we are still able to reach students during the times of social distancing, and also we have the opportunity to reach a larger audience.
We recorded the lectures in multiple short videos, and also created a script for teachers with links to the videos on our website, some tasks to review the learning process of the students, and a feedback sheet so that we were able to gain knowledge on how to improve our contribution to the education process.
The videos are available on our website and on YouTube.

Figure 3: An overview about the topics on our iGEM at School lecture format. Detailed version is availabe on YouTube.

On our website there are lots of options to test your knowledge as well as playful options to gain more information about interesting microorganisms and their purpose.
We do have a bacteria quiz, where you can instantly check if your answers are correct, as well as a designed bacteria quartet that you can print out yourself and start a game with either family or friends, which is a great way to expand your knowledge about various microorganisms and their properties.

Figure 4: An example of the test questions available on our website.
Figure 5: The iGEM explained is also on our website with a direct link to a quiz to review your knowledge.

By offering material of different levels, we provided understandable content for people interested in science as well as professionals. Prior knowledge is not necessary to understand the provided content. With the variety of material, that we have created, we are sure to offer fun ways to learn interesting things for every age.





Social Media

In our generation, social media are getting more and more important. During the lockdown in spring 2020 we experienced the chances of social media and video chatting to communicate within our team but also with other iGEM teams around the world. We think social media are a great way to educate and raise awareness for synthetic biology, since genetic engineering has become more controversial throughout society.

When we first started being active on social media, we choose to follow different strategies for different platforms. We compared aspects such as reach, number of followers, target group and defined goals for each platform. Our concept is shown in table 1 below.

Reach Small and local reach Small and local reach International and larger reach International and moderate reach
Typical follower/ target group Family and friends
Interested parties
German pupils/ students
Interested parties
Mixed
Other iGEM teams
International and local interested parties
Researcher
Other iGEM teams
Bioscience accounts
Age range Especially over 30 years (75%) Especially under 30 years (80%) Especially under 30 years (90%) Between 20 and 40 years
Our goal Updates on our project Educational input: "iGEM at school"
Videos about research
International education: "iGEM Explained..."
Insights into our work & research
Communication with other teams
Promotion within iGEM community
Fun stuff
Updates on our project
Number of followers (Oct. 2020) 22 19 314 61
Table 1: Comparison iGEM_UUlm social media accounts Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and Twitter under different aspects.

After the first couple of weeks, we saw the biggest growth on our Instagram platform and hence decided to use it as our main platform within social media.

Instagram as the main platform

On Instagram, we want to share our project progress with followers and explain the theory of the research. This ensured that people without a bioscientific background can keep up. We created the concept of “iGEM Explained…”, where we outline biological topics illustrated with a short presentation including images and graphs. “iGEM Explained…” topics are explained from scratch and are suitable for non-professionals. However, even bioscience students can revise and fortify their knowledge with “iGEM Explained…”. “iGEM Explained…” topics range from understanding the project idea and methods used to interesting and current topics concerning biochemistry in humans or SARS-CoV-2.

To achieve that people face up with science and build their own opinion about synthetic biology we provide them with basic knowledge to awaken their interest and break down complex processes into easy-understanding issues. To ensure consistency and a continuous learning process, every third post on our Instagram account is an “iGEM Explained…” post. Fun quizzes to control learning achievements take away the pressure one would find in a school or college. Spreading knowledge with Instagram is a casual way of learning new things without the need of a lecture.

Exchanging with other teams in the iGEM community is also very easy on social media. Talking with others about collaborations, research progress, feedback or challenges lifts the mood during lockdown and exam periods.

Since March 2020 we have documented our weekly interactions on Instagram. The correspondent graph is shown below.

Graph 1: Statistics of our Instagram account. Interactions and reach per week are plotted against the time.

On average we interacted with 225 accounts on Instagram weekly.

Educational videos and research information on YouTube

YouTube is the main platform where we share videos about the project design and our research background.

To support online teaching in German schools we produced the “iGEM at school” series. We explain biological methods like transformation and conjugation with the example of our research project. We aimed at middle and high school classes in the surroundings of Ulm. That is also the reason why the “iGEM at school” series is in German. All video presentations are available in our “iGEM at school” playlist on YouTube.

Project updates via Facebook and Twitter

We used Facebook and Twitter to keep our followers up-to-date on our projects. By giving basic information and sharing links to our posts on Instagram and videos we provided our audience with the latest updates. It is important for us to cover as much age groups and target groups as possible. Facebook enabled us to reach even older people, who might not be active on Instagram.