Solutions-Focused Science Engagement + Multimedia = Increased Science Literacy (for science-informed decision-making and behavior change)
The SciLit Digital Research Group conducts research about the impacts of agricultural and natural resources science communication, engagement, and outreach.
What’s Coming Soon to Conferences from SciLit Digital
Loizzo, J., Spandau, G., & Barnett, C. (2023). Wading into the virtual reality waters: Three options for online VR creation [How to Session]. Association for Communication Excellence (ACE) in Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Life and Human Sciences, Asheville, NC.
Nickerson, C., Bolger, A., Loizzo, J., & Akers, A. (2023). The buzz about bees: Conservation communication for pollinator protection and pro-environmental behavior [Poster presentation]. Association for Communication Excellence (ACE) in Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Life and Human Sciences, Asheville, NC.
Spandau, G., Loizzo, J., Fechtel, H., Pearson, B., Bunch, C, J., Stedman, N. (2023). Communicating heath concerns on Reddit: A content analysis of patients’ medicinal cannabis contamination experiences [Poster presentation]. Association for Communication Excellence (ACE) in Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Life and Human Sciences, Asheville, NC.
Spandau, G., Loizzo, J., Fechtel, H., Pearson, B., Bunch, C, J., Stedman, N. (2023). Medical cannabis contaminants concerns: A qualitative content analysis of Reddit posts [Poster presentation]. Cannabis Clinical Outcomes Research Conference (CCORC), Orlando, FL.
SciLit Digital Publications
Aenlle, J. V., Meredith, M., Loizzo, J. L., & Akers, A. (2022). A podcast ethnography: Exploring COVID-19’s effect on the scientific enterprise. International Journal of Arts, Humanities & Social Science, 03(09), 32-36. https://doi.org/10.56734/ijahss.v3n9a4
Aenlle, J. V., Loizzo, J. Bunch, J. C., Stone, W., Meredith, M. & Ray, K. (2022) Conservation conversation: an arts-based approach to examine impacts of a live video webcast on youth viewers’ conceptualizations of forest ecosystems, Applied Environmental Education & Communication, DOI: 10.1080/1533015X.2022.2034554
Stone, W., Loizzo, J., Aenlle, J., & Beattie, P. (2022). Labs and landscapes virtual reality: Student-created forest conservation tours for informal public engagement. Journal of Applied Communications, 106(1). https://doi.org/10.4148/1051-0834.2395
Beattie, P. N., Kent, K. W., Suits, T. E., Loizzo, J. L., & Bunch, J. C. (2021). Bats and Beyond: Communicating wildlife and climate change empathy to youth through an electronic field trip. Journal of Southern Agricultural Education Research.
McLeod-Morin, A., Beattie, P., Stone, W., Kent, K., Loizzo, J., & Telg, R. (2020). The science of mosquitoes: Youths’ perceptions, engagement, and learning from a Skype in the Classroom science communication program. Advancements in Agricultural Development, 1(2), 79-89. https://doi.org/10.37433/aad.v1i2.51
Krebs C.L., Loizzo J.L., Stone W.A., & Telg, R.W. (2020). Scientist Online: Entomologists’ experiences engaging with school audiences through Skype in the Classroom. Frontiers in Communication – Science and Environmental Communication, 5(576593). doi: 10.3389/fcomm.2020.576593
Beattie, P. N., Loizzo, J. L., Kent, K. W., Krebs, C. L., Suits, T. E., Bunch, J. C. (2020). Leveraging Skype in the Classroom for science communication: A Streaming Science – Scientist Online approach. Journal of Applied Communication, 104(3), 1-15. https://doi.org/10.4148/1051-0834.2328
Loizzo, J. & Beattie, P. (2019). Self-Study of a project-based graduate science communication course focused on electronic field trip development. Journal of North American College Teachers of Agriculture, 63(2).
Loizzo, J. L. (2019, July/August). Streaming Science: An intentional educational approach for developing the next generation of science communicators, educators, and extension specialists. The Agricultural Education Magazine, 92(1), 5-7.
Loizzo, J., Harner, M., Weitzenkamp, D., & Kent, K. (2019). Electronic field trips for science engagement: The Streaming Science model. Journal of Applied Communications, 103(4). https://doi.org/10.4148/1051-0834.2275
Loizzo, J. L. & Lillard, P. (2015). In the field: Introducing undergraduates to Extension through a blended project-based multimedia production course. The Journal of Extension, 53(1).
Adedokun, O. A., Hetzel, K., Parker, L. C., Loizzo, J. L., Burgess, W. D., & Robinson, J. P. (2012). Using virtual field trips to connect students with university scientists: core elementsand evaluation of Purdue zipTripsTM. Journal of Science Education and Technology, 21(5), 607–618. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10956-011-9350-z
Adedokun, O. A., Parker, L. C., Loizzo, J.L., Burgess, W. D., & Robinson, J. P. (2012). Factors influencing participant perceptions of program impact: lessons from a virtual fieldtrip for middle-school students. Journal of Extension [Online], 49(6) Article 6FEA8. Available at http://www.joe.org/joe/2011december/a8.php
Adedokun, O. A., Parker, L. C., Loizzo, J. L., Burgess, W. D., Robinson, J. P. (2011). A field trip without buses: connecting your students to scientists through a virtual visit. Science Scope, 34(9).
Parker, L. C., Adedokun, O. A., Loizzo, J. L., & Burgess, W. D. (2010). Purdue zipTripsTM:Connecting students and scientists through electronic field trips. IL Spectrum, 36(2), 36–43.
Ask IFAS EDIS Publications
STREAMING SCIENCE #2: USING WEBCAST ELECTRONIC FIELD TRIPS FOR ENGAGEMENT WITH YOUR TARGET AUDIENCE
Meet the SciLit Digital Research Team
Dr. Loizzo is the founder of Streaming Science and is the lead faculty member of the SciLit Digital Research Team. She is originally from Hillsboro, Illinois. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Radio-Television from Southern Illinois University-Carbondale, her master’s degree and PhD in Learning Design and Technology from Purdue University. Dr. Loizzo started her career in academia at University of Nebraska-Lincoln, where she was an Assistant Professor of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Communication in the Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communication. After spending three years at UNL, Dr. Loizzo moved South to become an Assistant Professor of Agricultural Communication in the Department of Agricultural Education and Communication at the University of Florida. She has been a Gator since the fall of 2018.
Research interests: science communication, science literacy, media literacy, trust in science, scientists, and the media, project-based learning, online learning and teaching, distance education, arts-based research, and virtual ethnography.
Dr. Sadie Hundemer is an assistant professor of agriculture and natural resources communication in the Department of Agricultural Education and Communication (AEC) at the University of Florida. Hundemer earned her bachelor’s degree in business administration from The Ohio State University in 2001. Following her graduation, she led communication initiatives in industry, government, and at the University of West Florida (UWF). Hundemer completed her master’s degree in Environmental Science from UWF in 2014 then, in 2021, received her doctorate from the University of Florida in Forest Resources and Conservation, specializing in human dimensions and natural resources communication. Hundemer’s research draws from the fields of psychology, sociology, behavioral economics, political science, and communication science to understand and respond to the human dimensions of agricultural and natural resources challenges.
Research interests: stakeholder conflict, political polarization, value-based discourse, science communication ethics, water communication, trust in science, mental models
Dr. J.C. Bunch is a faculty member in AEC who assists the SciLit Digital team in research projects. He is originally from Fletcher, Oklahoma. He received his bachelor’s degree, master’s degree, and PhD in agricultural education at Oklahoma State University. Upon completion of his PhD in May of 2012, Dr. Bunch began is career at Louisiana State University as an assistant professor of agricultural education in the department of Agricultural and Extension Education and Evaluation. He joined the department of Agricultural Education and Communication and the UF faculty in the spring of 2017 as an assistant professor of agricultural education.
Research interests: pedagogical practices and curriculum/program development among professional educators in agricultural education (e.g., school-based agriscience teachers, state and county faculty, and international faculty); how professional educators can become more competent and efficacious in the science of teaching and learning and in their everyday practice as educators and developers of educational programs; impact of international experiences on undergraduate student learning and on their development of global human capital as it pertains to the development of workplace skills through study-abroad program/curriculum development
Christine Krebs is a PhD student who focuses her studies in agricultural communication in the Department of Agricultural Education and Communication. She is originally from Clermont, Florida and has earned her bachelor’s degree in wildlife ecology and conservation and her master’s degree in agricultural education and communication from the University of Florida. She will graduate with her PhD in the spring of 2024.
Research interests: digital communication strategies to foster a connection to nature and formal/informal instructional design for science communicators
Caroline Nickerson is a PhD student in Agricultural Education and Communication at the University of Florida and an advisee of Dr. Jamie Loizzo. At UF, Caroline is currently working on multiple projects, including the Restore the Shore project and a certification for pollinator-friendly plants. She’s deeply passionate about public engagement in science, environmental resiliency, and mitigating climate change. She has worked with SciStarter in various capacities, most recently as Senior Program Director at SciStarter where she managed the Citizen Science Month Program, SciStarter’s Corporate Volunteer Programs and other programmatic and outreach efforts, including working with SciStarter’s Syndicated Blog Network, which encompasses the Science Connected, Discover Magazine and SciStarter platforms, as well as large-scale programs with multiple federal agencies (including NASA, NOAA, and the National Library of Medicine) and global groups (including the United Nations Environment Programme). Caroline is a Master of Public Policy graduate from American University, where she was a Reilly Environmental Policy Scholar, an honor conferred by the former director of the EPA, Bill Reilly. Caroline was an undergrad at the University of Florida and was one of the inaugural recipients of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences’ Student Excellence Award, an honor conferred to only three graduating seniors.
Gabe Spandau is a doctoral student in agricultural communication with a focus on cannabis. He received his bachelors degree from the University of Florida in Agricultural Education and Communication and received a master’s degree from the University of Maryland in Medical Cannabis Sciences and Therapeutics. He has a passion for agriculture and education and hopes to intertwine the two once he finishes his Ph.D. to become a research professor. When he is not busy with school, Gabe enjoys being outdoors, exercise, spending time with friends, and traveling.
Caroline Barnett is a doctoral student focusing her studies in agricultural communication in the Department of Agricultural Education and Communication with a certificate in environmental education. She is originally from St. Petersburg, Florida, and has earned her bachelor’s degree in marine sciences with minors in international studies in agricultural and life sciences, agricultural communications, and classics from the University of Florida. She graduated with her M.S. Degree in the spring of 2022.
Research interests: formal and informal approaches to marine science communication, virtual reality and 360-degree tours, and public perceptions of environmental issues and connectedness to water.
Alice Akers is a Master’s student focusing her studies in agricultural communication in the University of Florida Department of Agricultural Education and Communication. She is originally from Bodyke, Ireland, and earned her bachelor’s degree in agricultural and environmental sciences communication from the University of Nebraska – Lincoln. She will graduate with her M.S. Degree in the spring of 2023.
Research interests: Science communication, strategic communication, education, and public perceptions of environmental issues and natural recourse topics.
Cayla Romano is currently pursuing a master’s degree in the UF/IFAS Department of Agricultural Education and Communication (AEC), specializing in communication, as well as working toward a graduate certificate in environmental education and communication. Originally from Long Island, New York, she moved to Florida in 2018 to earn her bachelor’s degree with UF AEC, with specialization in communication and leadership development, and a minor in wildlife ecology and conservation. She is a photographer, videographer, artist, and backyard naturalist.
For her non-thesis master’s project she is working alongside a UF Biology Ph.D. student to create a museum exhibit for the Florida Museum of Natural History and coinciding coloring book about his research on Florida longleaf pine ecosystems.
Bethany Gaffey received a B.S. in Marine Sciences and Mass Communication at the University of Florida in 2017. After years of working in (and out of) scientific research, Bethany started her master’s degree journey as a Graduate Assistant in the Fisheries & Aquatic Sciences department before transferring to Agricultural Education and Communication. Now specializing in Agricultural Communication, Bethany looks forward to using her research experiences to create engaging content about our natural resources.
For her non-thesis master’s project, she is creating case-based videos to enhance online STEM university-level course content, specifically in the field of aquaculture.
Past Members
Dr. Kevin Kent
Dr. Ashley McLeod-Morin
