I find myself reminiscing on what an awesome experience #BCCE2018 was, even though I could not attend the conference due to health issues.
My reflection on my BCCE 2018 experience begins with a dream that was fulfilled during the conference. I co-organized (with the incredible Glenn Hurst) a symposium jointly hosted by the Higher Education Group Committee of the Royal Society of Chemistry and the Biennial Conference Committee of the American Chemical Society. The symposium’s title? “Communicating Chemistry via Social Media” (a topic I may know something about >;).
Joint @RSC_TEG & @acsbcc symposium submitted for @2018BCCE. Whoo hoo!
A call for papers is coming y’all so get those talk abstracts ready. The title and theme of the symposium – “Communicating Chemistry via Social Media” pic.twitter.com/X3tf8VoK3H
— Rissa Sorensen-Unruh (@RissaChem) December 1, 2017
Why was this a dream of mine? I had long wanted to enable both in-person and virtual presenters and audience to interact in a new format of a symposium. And this symposium gave me a golden opportunity to recruit folks I appreciated greatly to participate as speakers, even if they could not physically attend BCCE 2018 due to childcare, travel expense, health, or other issues.
To advertise the symposium, I created a #tweetstorm almost two months in advance detailing the talks (and those who were giving them) in the order they would be given. I was so excited for this symposium…I could hardly contain myself:
I owe y’all a tweetstorm on the @acsbcc & @RSC_TEG joint @2018BCCE (#BCCE2018) symposium “Communicating Chemistry thru Social Media”, which will be Sunday, 7/29/18, from 2pm-4:55pm. PLEASE JOIN US!
— Rissa Sorensen-Unruh (@RissaChem) June 2, 2018
Our 1st talk (after some Intro remarks) @ 2:05pm is virtual & will be given by the amazing @ndbrning. He will be speaking about @compoundchem (his blog & company) & will discuss communicating chemistry using infographics. See https://t.co/LvF0M1ov4c for more info. #Excited
— Rissa Sorensen-Unruh (@RissaChem) June 2, 2018
Our 2nd talk @ 2:25pm is also virtual & will be given by my friend @S_J_Lancaster (an active member of the #LTHEchat). Its title? “Collation and curation of social media content: capturing the synergy of the crowd” – also the title of his chapter here: https://t.co/EOItCKtvDV
— Rissa Sorensen-Unruh (@RissaChem) June 2, 2018
Our 3rd talk @ 2:45pm is our 1st in-person talk & is given by the multitalented @pidgirl entitled “Facebook and Linked-In as tools for personal branding & career advancement in the chemical sciences”. Her informative chapter can be found here as well: https://t.co/EOItCKtvDV
— Rissa Sorensen-Unruh (@RissaChem) June 2, 2018
Our 4th talk @ 3:05pm is by the impressive @Teachforaliving, who with @BHFrohock, used Twitter to engage their #OChem students in lecture & lab. Its in person & is entitled “An integrated approach to the engagement of students in a science lecture/lab course via social media”. pic.twitter.com/rAMgDsl1bl
— Rissa Sorensen-Unruh (@RissaChem) June 2, 2018
Then we have an intermission for 15 minutes…(from 3:25pm-3:40pm) pic.twitter.com/q5jvvvzkJW
— Rissa Sorensen-Unruh (@RissaChem) June 2, 2018
Our 5th talk @ 3:40pm sharp is from #BLACKandSTEM creator @ThePurplePage & is entitled “Give a scientific seminar using social media”. She will discuss effective communication on @Twitter + other platforms. Her chapter with @DrRubidium can be found here: https://t.co/EOItCKtvDV pic.twitter.com/mfPPbhuKll
— Rissa Sorensen-Unruh (@RissaChem) June 2, 2018
Our 6th talk @ 4pm will be given by #SmithaPillai & is entitled “Podia as a social media tool for collaboration and communication in general organic chemistry
classes”. @podiadotcom is an app designed to encourage student collaboration on in-class discussions & questions.— Rissa Sorensen-Unruh (@RissaChem) June 2, 2018
Our 7th talk @ 4:20pm will be virtual & is entitled “Talking to students about careers in chemistry through social media”. Who’s giving it? None other than @Chemjobber. He also wrote an awesome foreword in – you guessed it – the book here: https://t.co/EOItCKtvDV pic.twitter.com/RW0LuLoFsH
— Rissa Sorensen-Unruh (@RissaChem) June 2, 2018
Our last event is a panel discussion – a Q & A – from our virtual and in person participants. Perhaps we’ll also talk about how to facilitate the conversation on social media going forward?!?!
This @2018BCCE symposium will be held in Room 202 in DeBartolo Lecture Hall @NotreDame.— Rissa Sorensen-Unruh (@RissaChem) June 2, 2018
Other folks also advertised the sessions and Jennifer Maclachlan (@pidgirl) made an AWESOME graphic (as she does for most of her talks).
Learn how these folks communicate chemistry thru social media at #BCCE2018 #scicomm @GlennAdamHurst @RissaChem @ndbrning @S_J_Lancaster @pidgirl @Teachforaliving @BHFrohock @ThePurplePage @Chemjobber pic.twitter.com/NaA5z8pbAv
— Jennifer Maclachlan (@pidgirl) July 16, 2018
Advertising on social media was critical because we were trying to encourage an international audience of both ACS and RSC members.
Glenn and I used @pidgirl‘s graphic in our advertising as well. It became an easy go-to graphic to focus attention quickly on our session. Glenn initially posted the signup info in eventbrite.
Register for our FREE ‘Communicating Chemistry through Social Media’ session THIS SUNDAY organised by @RissaChem, Dan Sykes + I through @ACSDivCHED / @acsbcc and @RSC_TEG at #BCCE2018 featuring @Chemjobber @S_J_Lancaster @Teachforaliving @pidgirl + more https://t.co/edF2bU4x10
— Glenn Hurst (@GlennAdamHurst) July 26, 2018
I reiterated it here on the day of the session…
Today from 2pm-4:50pm EST, come join the fun at our joint @acsbcc & @RSC_TEG symposium @2018BCCE. Talks by @Teachforaliving @pidgirl @S_J_Lancaster @ndbrning @Chemjobber & more! Virtual Signup👇🏼👇🏿 https://t.co/KbFwOFhCYo
— Rissa Sorensen-Unruh (@RissaChem) July 29, 2018
But Jennifer was really the expert advertiser for the session (this is only one example of the many awesome posts she made advertising the talk and the session):
Learn how @pidgirl uses social media to communicate chemistry-with an emphasis on Facebook (personal/business/group/Live) and Linked-In for career advancement in the chemical sciences, this Sunday afternoon at #BCCE2018. #SCICOMM Session hashtag: #COMMCHEM2018 pic.twitter.com/sbQEDlzVES
— Jennifer Maclachlan (@pidgirl) July 24, 2018
In terms of burying the Zoom link to the live session in Eventbrite – as organizers, Glenn, Dan, and I felt it was important to have a sign-up page so that we knew how many folks were attending virtually. But if I had the chance to do it all over again, I would have tweeted/facebooked/posted on social media the Zoom link about an hour before the symposium started as well.
A couple of changes happened at the last minute, of course, as they oft do in these kinds of situations. Stephani (@ThePurplePage) could not make it to Notre Dame to present her talk due to a family emergency. So Glenn (@GlennAdamHurst) stepped in with a fantastic talk on his use of Snapchat in his teaching and research lives. And I couldn’t preside at the symposium due to my health issues (which prevented me from flying) so the ever-talented Dan Sykes, the chair of ACS BCC, stepped in as both a presider and as the Zoom meeting manager extraordinaire.
My symposium & such are taken care of already (FYI). @acsbcc has been fabulous in filling the gap. But I. am. going. to. miss. y’all. HUGE!
If you’re going to @2018BCCE, please, please tweet as much as you can. I would ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜 to still feel in the loop. #BCCE2018— Rissa Sorensen-Unruh (@RissaChem) July 16, 2018
The time came for the session to begin. Because I wasn’t there, I begged my #ChemTwitter community to share what was happening in the sessions. And boy, did they EVER step up. (Thanks y’all – I STILL APPRECIATE IT GREATLY!)
My chemistry tweeps kept me up to date on what was happening as it was happening.
We’re getting all setup here for virtual (and actual) at DeBartolo Hall RM 202 for Communicating Chemistry Through Social Media #BCCE2018 #SCICOMM pic.twitter.com/5DYsLlW8Mx
— Jennifer Maclachlan (@pidgirl) July 29, 2018
So, here’s the run down of their (and my) tweets for each talk given during the symposium.
Andy Brunning’s (@ndbrning) talk was on “Using infographics and images to communicate chemistry on social media”. He uses his amazing abilities to design infographics for many different groups and for many different occasions. His infographics can be found in his book and on his website Compound Interest.
Sound check with @ndbrning complete. #BCCE2018 ✅ Come over to DeBartolo 202 or Check out “BCCE Communicating Chemistry via Social Media Symposium” live stream https://t.co/ZAnY1iys5A @EventbriteUK pic.twitter.com/EpIV5cZk3N
— Jennifer Maclachlan (@pidgirl) July 29, 2018
Great remote talk #BCCE2018 #SocialMedia by @ndbrning. What to include and what to leave out in an infographic. How much text? Too much jargon? Easy to read text (size and style) on SM platforms.
— Keith Anliker (@KeithAnliker) July 29, 2018
At @ndbrning’s virtual @compoundchem talk @2018BCCE 😍👍🏻 #BCCE2018 pic.twitter.com/hHCSDROkr9
— Ryan Johnson ⌬ (@RyTriGuy) July 29, 2018
Excellent question for @ndbrning from @Teachforaliving: What graphic design experience did you have prior to starting @compoundchem?
Good to know it was essentially none! Gives the rest of us some hope! #BCCE2018 #SocialMedia @2018BCCE
— Keith Anliker (@KeithAnliker) July 29, 2018
Great talk by @ndbrning on his (very successful) approach to infographics @compoundchem #BCCE2018
— Chemjobber (@Chemjobber) July 29, 2018
@ndbrning is currently talking about infographics. I’m loving it, especially because of his attention to detail and “inside” information on his @CompoundChem work
— M Gallardo-Williams, Ph.D. (@Teachforaliving) July 29, 2018
#BCCE2018 session on communicating chemistry via social media this afternoon – @compoundchem author @ndbrning mentioned two other twitter handles to follow for examples of images for chemistry engagement; @WRBdB & @DrummerBoy2112
— Claire McDonnell (@clairemcd_chem) July 29, 2018
Thanks to @ndbrning / @compoundchem for the mention at @2018BCCE #BCCE2018 @RyTriGuy @RissaChem @RSC_TEG @GlennAdamHurst
Here is the mentioned tweet if anyone is interested:https://t.co/NGRGo2PILj
— Mr BdB (@WRBdB) July 29, 2018
Simon Lancaster‘s (@S_J_Lancaster) talk on “Collation and curation of social media content: capturing the synergy of the crowd” was particularly interesting, not only because it reiterated his book chapter, but it also needed to be recorded in advance as Simon was on a plane during the entire symposium.
At UEA tomorrow (26th) and free from 10am for 15 mins? I am recording a talk on “Collation and curation of social media content: capturing the synergy of the crowd” in Queens 10.03 for #BCCE2018
— Simon Lancaster (@S_J_Lancaster) July 25, 2018
#BCCE2018 #SocialMedia @S_J_Lancaster #ChemQuackers Students will take this and run with it! Creativity meets lab safety! Now with proper #PPE! #goggles
— Keith Anliker (@KeithAnliker) July 29, 2018
@S_J_Lancaster told us all about #phonar and #chemquackers
Here’s the link to my social media in the lab talk https://t.co/Zd3mD7SbM3 @2018BCCE #BCCE2018
— Simon Lancaster (@S_J_Lancaster) July 29, 2018
— M Gallardo-Williams, Ph.D. (@Teachforaliving) July 29, 2018
Jennifer Maclachlan’s (@pidgirl) talk on “Facebook and Linked-In as tools for personal branding and career advancement in the chemical sciences” also reiterated her book chapter , her blog, her time as CPRC chair, and her career.
Ready to roll here at Communicating Chemistry Through Social Media at #BCCE2018 in DeBartolo 202-this session is also being live-streamed. See below in my feed for details. pic.twitter.com/JyrLM3UTom
— Jennifer Maclachlan (@pidgirl) July 29, 2018
@pidgirl giving a great talk on social media and career advancement! My jam! 😍👍🏻 @Flenn @2018BCCE #BCCE2018 pic.twitter.com/dZPpYo77qd
— Ryan Johnson ⌬ (@RyTriGuy) July 29, 2018
Great to see @RissaChem book advertised straight away by @pidgirl. Check it out! It’s a fabulous read! #bcce2018 pic.twitter.com/NgrFfohude
— Glenn Hurst (@GlennAdamHurst) July 29, 2018
Here comes @pidgirl, talking about #LinkedIn #Twitter and #Instagram as a way to build your career and connect. #CareerAdvancement #PersonalBrand #BCCE2018 #SocialMedia
— Keith Anliker (@KeithAnliker) July 29, 2018
Post on a schedule. Have a plan. Maybe do certain sorts of post on certain days so that you can be good at this even on days when you aren’t inspired, witty, etc. #BCCE2018 #SocialMedia @2018BCCE @pidgirl https://t.co/4gRvCbwvlR
— Keith Anliker (@KeithAnliker) July 29, 2018
I really agree with this: “if people are stressing you out, just mute them – they don’t even have to know”. By @pidgirl #BCCE2018
— ⌬Nessa Carson (@SuperScienceGrl) July 29, 2018
Different things for different networks! Example: Don’t wish me happy birthday on #LinkedIn! #SaveItForFacebook@pidgirl #BCCE2018 #SocialMedia @2018BCCE
— Keith Anliker (@KeithAnliker) July 29, 2018
I am always impressed by @pidgirl‘s thoughtful approach to social media, thinking about which content is appropriate for which channel. #bcce2018
— Chemjobber (@Chemjobber) July 29, 2018
As I said earlier, Glenn Hurst (@GlennAdamHurst) filled in for Stephani Page’s (@ThePurplePage) original talk on “Giving a scientific seminar using social media” with a very awesome and entertaining talk on Snapchat.
We’re being treated to a talk about Snapchat and game-based learning by @GlennAdamHurst now at DeBartolo Hall room 202 #BCCE2018 #scicomm pic.twitter.com/lO4u2Tg1VE
— Jennifer Maclachlan (@pidgirl) July 29, 2018
@GlennAdamHurst is talking about @professor_dave’s use of YouTube to share content & to encourage constructive student assignments. Way to go Dave!#BCCE2018 @2018BCCE pic.twitter.com/G56rnGx6zM
— Rissa Sorensen-Unruh (@RissaChem) July 29, 2018
Using @Snapchat to engage students and share media, both to contextualize content in the real world & demonstrate key lab techniques.@GlennAdamHurst is killing it!@2018BCCE #BCCE2018
— Rissa Sorensen-Unruh (@RissaChem) July 29, 2018
@GlennAdamHurst also uses @Snapchat for research purposes & to give students insight into his professional life. The picture with dialogue is SO POWERFUL! And it works too!!! Students are more engaged.@2018BCCE #BCCE2018 pic.twitter.com/CevsmIHwS5
— Rissa Sorensen-Unruh (@RissaChem) July 29, 2018
I got all inspired and made a Snapchat account for @compoundchem. Not sure exactly how I’ll use it yet (and still haven’t worked out how to change the profile picture) but figure it’s worth a go!
— Andy Brunning (@ndbrning) July 31, 2018
Maria Gallardo-Williams (@TeachForALiving) and Bram Frohock (@BHFrohock) gave a talk on “An integrated approach to the engagement of students in a science lecture/lab course via social media”. A great article on Maria’s work on flipping the classroom, open education resources and using SMART videos in the classroom can be found here.
Come hear about our work with @BHFrohock on engagement of students using @Twitter 202-DeBartolo today at 3:05pm. #BCCE2018 Communicating Chemistry Via Social Media! pic.twitter.com/2uXt2GtU2r
— M Gallardo-Williams, Ph.D. (@Teachforaliving) July 29, 2018
Excellent talk on using social media to co-teach and collaborate in the classroom with @Teachforaliving 😊👍🏻 #scicomm #chemchat #BCCE2018 @2018BCCE pic.twitter.com/0bnPJvW9hG
— Ryan Johnson ⌬ (@RyTriGuy) July 29, 2018
.@Teachforaliving on how to engage students on Twitter/Social Media-How appealing is it to use Twitter in/for the college classroom? Students wanted to know what’s in it for me #WIIFM. #BCCE2018 #scicomm
— Jennifer Maclachlan (@pidgirl) July 29, 2018
Smitha Pillai‘s talk on “Podia as a social media tool for collaboration and communication in general organic chemistry classes” was informative and interesting.
Now Smitha Pillai @ASU is discussing how to use @podiadotcom as a social media extension for her classes.
You can use @podiadotcom like clickers or with anywhere polling.
The chat features are important for allowing students to discuss their perspectives#BCCE2018 @2018BCCE
— Rissa Sorensen-Unruh (@RissaChem) July 29, 2018
Chemjobber‘s (@ChemJobber) talk on “Talking to students about careers on social media” continues his work begun (and still going!) on his blog and continued in his regular column “Bench and Cubicle” for C&En News. ChemJobber is best known for his regular (and AWESOME) communication of job trends in chemistry. He also wrote the foreword for the ACS Symposium Series book I edited (thanks CJ!).
The @Chemjobber talk is up next! We’re turning up the volume on this end. #BCCE2018 ✅ Nice and clear! pic.twitter.com/kIDHfvrsg0
— Jennifer Maclachlan (@pidgirl) July 29, 2018
@Chemjobber is killing it. Love this talk so far.
What are our students asking him about getting employed with a chemistry degree? The data indicates they may not be actually working in chemistry. #BCCE2018 @2018BCCE pic.twitter.com/IWtmeV2cjw
— Rissa Sorensen-Unruh (@RissaChem) July 29, 2018
How do I do what I want to do? To be employed, you’ll need a cover letter, a resume, some hands-on research experience, & references from professors. Use your professor’s network. We need to be on @LinkedIn to help them facilitate this. @Chemjobber #BCCE2018 @2018BCCE
— Rissa Sorensen-Unruh (@RissaChem) July 29, 2018
You can ask @Chemjobber questions anytime either through his DMs or through chemjobber@gmail.com.
CJ has great data that he shares with students.
— Rissa Sorensen-Unruh (@RissaChem) July 29, 2018
Are there cyclical trends in chemistry employment or is it kinda stagnant? @Teachforaliving asks @Chemjobber a great question.
It is procyclical – as the economy gets better, chemists get hired more. But it’s been flat since 2015 and is now increasing again.#BCCE2018 @2018BCCE
— Rissa Sorensen-Unruh (@RissaChem) July 29, 2018
Here’s the study that I was referencing: https://t.co/peUFEknKXf
— Chemjobber (@Chemjobber) July 29, 2018
For those interested, this is a PDF of the slides I gave at #BCCE2018: https://t.co/4lERv1MxUL
— Chemjobber (@Chemjobber) July 29, 2018
The talks were amazing! And the symposium was standing room only. DOUBLE WIN!
I had to convey my sadness in missing the symposium, but it came with continued support and encouragement to share what had been presented and what we had learned.
Me too. I’m gutted BTW that I missed your, @Teachforaliving, @Chemjobber and @pidgirl’s talks. If y’all were willing to talk more about them either by posting slides or blogging about them (or another way that seems do-able), I. Would. Be. So. Beyond. Grateful.
— Rissa Sorensen-Unruh (@RissaChem) July 29, 2018
While many thanks were conveyed for hosting this symposium, I think @pidgirl won the prize for the thankful tweet of the day because she highlighted the phenomenal work carried out by Dan (at the last minute, no less).
Today’s virtual & actual multimedia extravaganza was expertly managed & facilitated by Dan Skyes (https://t.co/mDTw7HCJdf). Huge shoutout to Dan, @GlennAdamHurst & @RissaChem for making Communicating Chemistry Through Social Media at #BCCE2018 an astounding success!
— Jennifer Maclachlan (@pidgirl) July 29, 2018
And that was a wrap. What an awesome symposium!
As a result of this symposium, I decided almost immediately that I never wanted to organize a symposium that did not have the ability to accommodate both in-person and virtual presenters and audience. But that’s still a work in progress.