GOVPH

In partnership with College of Education and Liberal Arts of Adamson University, the Department of Science and Technology-Science and Technology Information Institute (DOST-STII) conducted a writeshop for its mass communication students recently at the Adamson University Theater.

Some 200 communication students, mostly graduating, participated in the Science Journalism WriteshopFor Campus Journalists. Ruby Cristobal of the Philippine Association of Science Journalists discussed science journalism and Shaira Panela of Rappler talked about environmental journalism online, while Ken Adrian Aracan introduced DOST’s Project NOAH. The participants later had a writeshop critiqued by  Panela.

Dr. Nuna Almanzor, executive director for Adamson’s Center for Research and Development,  said, “Writing what is happening around us is very significant and important to be able to disseminate the information to the least of the Filipino people.” Moreover, she said that the writeshop would be useful in the enhancement of the students’ skills and capability to write things about science.

On her presentation about the overview of science journalism, Cristobal, who is also with DOST’s Science Education Institute, said that in the last 30 years, the science community itself has also increased its efforts to communicate.

“Functionally, science journalists are advocates of science,” Cristobal added. She said that the role of a science journalist is to bridge science and the public.

Panela highlighted that youth are the best writers for environmental stories: “The best way to become a science journalist is to know your entirety.” Emphasizing that students should“understand the‘online environment’”, she shared tips on writing science articles that are easy to understand and catch more attention.

“You have to go to what’s popular,” she said. “Stick to the facts, use terms judiciously. It could be serious but matters on how well you present the facts without intimidating your readers.”

Aracan, chief of Project NOAH WebGIS, also advised the students to use the proper terms and information according tothe situation. Quoting him, “Tamangimpormasyon, satamangsitwasyon.”

Meanwhile, Prof. Joel Zaportesa of AdU described the event as a wonderful experience for both the students and the teachers.

“For the teachers, it’s a wonderful experience because it’s nice to hear directly from the horse’s mouth and the experts, of course, as to how really they can write about the science-based topics. For the students, this is a rare opportunity where they can actually be exposed into experts who could deal with how they will be able to develop their ability to write in layman’s terms the science concepts,” he explained.

Prof. Marc Pacoma, chairperson of Communication Department, thanked DOST-STII for bringing the said writeshop to the university that will surely hone the writing skills of the students.

Pacoma said that he wishes his students to apply what they learned from the writeshop.

“We’re looking forward to more projects with DOST in the near future,” he added.

Written by Administrator   
Monday, 19 October 2015 02:18