It's going to be all write

*Disclaimer: Niklas and Clay are not Copyright lawyers, nor do we hold a background in law. We are generally discussing issues to be aware of when using digital media in an academic environment.

As education increasingly becomes digitalised, students and educators need apply caution when creating digital educational content. Just because the Internet gives seemingly free access to a wealth of information and media, this does not mean we can freely use images, audio, or video content we find on the Web.

From a lay-person perspective, Niklas and Clay discuss some potential issues that might be faced in creating lectures, digital assignments, or other educational material. Issues like use-rights, problems with redistribution, and copyright infringement. Fortunately, there is a licensing system called Creative Commons which offers educators and students a better option to freely and correctly use licensed materials.

For more information, visit:

creativecommons.org

delrett.no

There are also a number of Creative Commons image databases available for use. To find the one that is best for you, just conduct an Internet search for "Creative Commons Image Sites"

Science is commonly seen as a neutral, objective account of research studies, however science and scientific communication is also about convincing an audience. In this episode, Niklas and Clay discuss the subtle and overt ways that rhetoric is applied to scientific and academic writing in order to persuade audiences. Rhetoric is a useful tool in science, because new evidence and perspectives are always being introduced to add to, counter, or replace older ideas, theories and evidence.

Interested in learning more?

Visit our YouTube channel for a quick lesson in applying rhetoric: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jxuRS8_BvCY&t=9s

Learn about logical fallacies: https://yourlogicalfallacyis.com/

Sources are integral to academic and scientific writing. As a student or researcher, sources will be your bread and butter - something you cannot live without. But what makes a good source? What should you be aware of when reading literature to support your research?

Niklas and Clay take some time to go through the difference between scholarly sources, non-academic sources, gray literature, primary sources, secondary sources and more. While sources seem so obvious, there is more beneath the surface that you should direct your attention to.

We are back for our second season, and just in time for the upcoming autumn semester. Since the semester kick off is right in front of us, we thought we should talk about how we take notes. Notes when reading, notes when attending lectures, and different ways to create and collaborate with notes.

Note taking seems simple, but it involves a complex array of different academic skills: critical and attentive listening, critical reading, purposefully filtering and selecting important ideas, organising and more. We hope that our discussion on note taking for in the classroom and reading gives you some useful ideas to develop your own note taking process.

Season 2 update:

It's Going to be All Write will now be released bi-weekly (once every two weeks). Niklas and Clay are working hard on providing lectures, webinar series, video development and other digital resources for our staff and students. We are still excited and enthusiastic to continue podcasting, so expect to get a full season worth of listening. We are looking forward to it.

We've reached the end, for now. Niklas and Clay are taking their summer holidays, so It's going to be all write will end its first season.

Season two begins in August, when we are back after taking a break. This season one ender does a brief recap of some topics we covered, but also talks about the importance of having breaks.

We would enjoy hearing your comments, questions, and suggestions for topics or how we can improve the podcast for season two. Feel free to contact us at [email protected]

See you in August for the season two kick off.

Many of us have probably heard the terms ivory tower or intelligentsia, but if you are unfamiliar with these terms, you have just experienced jargon. Jargon refers to specialised language that limits a person's understanding if that person is outside of the specialised field.

This week, Niklas and Clay talk about the benefits and downsides of using jargon when writing. We go over how technical language is a form of useful jargon, and explain why complex, wordy, and pompous writing is a form of jargon that is less useful. If you have ever struggled to understand an author, there is a good chance that the author was using jargon, or writing in incomprehensible ways.

There is a debate about whether academic and scientific research should be more accessible, or if it should remain jargon-laden. Our understanding is that knowing your intended audience and choosing to either sound smart or to be easily understood are choices that you need to make as an author. However, we hope this podcast gives you some clues about how to identify and even avoid excessive jargon in your writing.

Resources:

The Writer's Diet Test: http://writersdiet.com/test.php

Gunning-Fog Index: http://gunning-fog-index.com

Thesaurus: https://www.thesaurus.com

NMBU Writing Centre on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfB2LMgctwc5I3tLGLwPeww

Clay is back! This week Niklas and Clay look over the last eleven weeks and talk about how we stay motivated to work, study, and podcast from a home office situation.

With COVID-19 restrictions slowly being lifted in Norway, and summer holidays just around the corner, it is easy to think life will be back to normal when we return to school and work. But, many companies and universities are expected reduced office hours and capacity, meaning we should expect to have some work-from-home component to our lives as students or employees.

In this episode, we discuss some different ways to stay motivated when working from home. We're all about finding and maintaining motivation and productivity through routines, time management techniques, variation and using technology to assist you.

Resources

For NMBU students and employees, we offer a Productivity Planner in the SWR100 Canvas room. For additional productivity planners and trackers, please visit: https://www.productiveflourishing.com/free-planners/

The Eisenhower Matrix: https://www.eisenhower.me/eisenhower-matrix/

Apps and browser plugins to limit distractions: https://freedom.to/blog/8-website-blockers-for-studying-productivity-focus/ 

We've made it to Episode 10. Unfortunately, Niklas needed to celebrate alone because Clay was in course work this week. So, it's story time!

Niklas shares his lived experience as both a student and an examiner, giving some helpful advice on what you can expect in an oral defence. His position as an examiner gave him inside information on how examiners think and how they may want to conduct an oral exam or defence.

For anyone about to defend their research or take an oral exam, this shorter podcast is a perfect listen for you.

Science and creativity might not be two words you regularly associate. However, creativity is a large part of the scientific process.

Niklas and Clay discuss their perspectives on creativity in science, research, and academic writing. From what creativity is and how to spark it, to the role creativity plays in creating new ideas and how creative writing can improve communication. We're all over the map in this episode, so hopefully there is something for everyone who wants to find some inspiration to get creative.

Most of us are familiar with IQ tests, and many people still believe that IQ is an indicator of intelligence. But, have you every considered that IQ tests only explore one way of being smart?

Niklas and Clay share their experience using Howard Gardner's Multiple Intelligences test as a way to improve work and study habits. Multiple intelligences can be a helpful way to understand your own learning preferences, and by using your strengths you can design routines and search out information in formats that are most understandable to you.

Learn more about Multiple Intelligences:

https://infed.org/mobi/howard-gardner-multiple-intelligences-and-education/

What are your multiple intelligences? Take some of the tests below:

https://www.literacynet.org/mi/assessment/findyourstrengths.html

https://personalitymax.com/multiple-intelligences-test/