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Scientix4 SATC Module2 v05
Scientix4 SATC Module2 v05
Module 2
Table of Contents
Introduction ............................................................................................................................ 2
Why get involved? ................................................................................................................. 2
Eligible countries................................................................................................................ 3
Project specific tasks .......................................................................................................... 3
The Scientix Ambassadors’ tasks ........................................................................................... 3
Scientix Ambassadors' Tasks: Dissemination .................................................................... 4
Scientix Ambassadors' Tasks: Content Support ................................................................. 6
Planning your dissemination event .................................................................................... 6
Working with projects and European Schoolnet / Scientix.................................................... 9
Self-management ................................................................................................................ 9
Professionalism .................................................................................................................. 9
Online reputation .............................................................................................................. 10
Email etiquette.................................................................................................................. 11
Email writing .................................................................................................................... 12
Word documents .............................................................................................................. 14
The work presented in this document has received funding from the European Union’s H2020 research
and innovation programme – project Scientix 4 (Grant agreement N. 101000063), coordinated by
European Schoolnet (EUN). The content of the document is the sole responsibility of the organizer and it
does not represent the opinion of the European Commission (EC), and the EC is not responsible for any
use that might be made of information contained.
Scientix Ambassadors Training Course
Module 2
Introduction
Now that you have learned more details about Scientix, let us continue with the main
responsibilities of Scientix Ambassadors, who form the Scientix Teachers Panel.
Scientix Ambassadors are teachers from anywhere in the world, willing to support the
dissemination of Scientix and the exchange of practices and knowledge between all STEM
education stakeholders. Their role as a Scientix Ambassador on a voluntary basis is renewed
based on an annual re-evaluation by European Schoolnet consisting of their active
involvement during the period in question (e.g. a new review will take place in December 2021).
Next to the Scientix National Contact Points and the Ministries of Education STEM
working group, the Scientix Teachers' Panel is one of the main groups that support the
implementation of project activities at national level. Scientix has benefited from input and
support of the Teachers' Panel since the beginning of the project, back in 2010. The Scientix
Teachers' Panel is a collaborative group of STEM teachers, highly dedicated to their
profession, looking to find new ways of improving their teaching, while at the same time eager
to share their experiences with their peers. The current Teachers' Panel in Scientix includes
teachers from across the world.
Throughout the duration of the project, the main task of Scientix Ambassadors is to
disseminate Scientix and STEM education activities, to make sure that the Scientix message
is spread far and wide, and that more teachers and other relevant stakeholders are engaged
with our community. Alongside these goals, they also support Scientix and other projects in
science education in their day-to-day activities.
Two essential characteristics are met by all the Scientix Ambassadors: a passion for
their work and a constant desire to improve.
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Eligible countries
Teachers from anywhere around the world can become Scientix Ambassadors.
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• Task 5: Support with specific tasks through the “Scientix teachers’ projects support
initiative” (these tasks require filling in timesheets in addition to completing the
corresponding form). Tasks may include Moderation of communities of practice or
forums, literature review on a specific STEM education related topic, design of lesson
plans, review of educational resources, etc.
• Task 6: Support STE(A)M European partnerships at national level connected to
Scientix.
Now let’s take a closer look at some useful guidelines concerning dissemination and content
support.
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• Publish Scientix related news and articles in blogs, social media, newspapers,
magazines, journals, government websites, or on the websites of other relevant
organisms.
Remember!
If you are planning to organise a face to face Scientix presentation or workshop, you are
welcome to use Scientix branded materials like the Scientix PowerPoint template (Scientix 4 -
PowerPoint Template). In it you will see some slides already we use to present Scientix. Feel
free to reuse as you see fit or remove them. The only things that must always be present in a
Scientix are:
• The Scientix logo if is a presentation about Scientix or the Scientix Ambassador logo
if it is an activity organized by you (only activities co-organized by Scientix directly –
i.e., approved by the project manager Agueda Gras, can include the Scientix logo).
• The European Commission Logo and European Schoolnet logo
• The Scientix 4 disclaimer which you can add as text or as an image: Scientix has
received funding from the European Union’s H2020 research and innovation
programme – project Scientix 4 (Grant agreement N. 101000063) coordinated by
European Schoolnet (EUN). The content of the presentation is the sole responsibility
of the presenter and it does not represent the opinion of the European Commission
(EC), and the EC is not responsible for any use that might be made of information
contained.
Which means:
or
depending on who the organiser is or what you are referring to.
And always:
If you rather, you may create your own materials as well, but just to make sure you are
spreading the correct information, you may send them to the Scientix Team to review before
using them. But this step is not needed.
Just remember, no Scientix logo, EC/EUN logo and disclaimer, the work is not eligible under
Scientix (which means we cannot count it as work done – it is the same with us, anything we
publish without these items, does not count for us either).
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A. Event planning
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At this stage, there are 6 key interconnected elements you will need to define:
1. The purpose of the activity. Do you wish to inform the audience of a specific activity within
Scientix? Are you looking to provide a general overview of the project? Do you wish to provide
training to your colleagues? Having the aim of your event clearly defined will help you structure
your presentation later on.
2. Target audiences. Knowing your audience is key to a successful event. If your presentation
is part of a conference, do your best to understand who will be in the audience. Is the
conference aimed at primary or secondary school teachers? Is it for policy-makers? Will there
be students present? For your talk/workshop to be successful, you should adapt your message
to the audience.
3. Event support. Particularly if you are organising the full event yourself, you should think in
advance of the type of support you need from your colleagues. Depending on the type of event,
you will need to think of event facilitators, technical support, timekeepers, external speakers,
etc.
4. Event venue. Where or via which channels your event will take place will largely define the
type of support you will need. For webinars, it is always good practice to get technical support,
but if you are planning the event at your school, you will need to think about booking rooms,
Internet connection, welcoming external guests, having a registration desk, etc.
5. The event timing. Agreeing the date and time of the event can be trickier than it would
seem at a first glance: it involves not only finding a date and time that works for everyone
involved in the event organisation (speakers, facilitators, your team), but also being aware of
other important dates that might influence your attendance (school holidays, other similar
events taking place in parallel, etc.).
6. How? Once all these details are defined, it is time to make the arrangements: booking
rooms, inviting, and keeping contact with speakers, building a preliminary programme, defining
the event branding, creating a registration form and, perhaps most importantly, making sure
that your event is known! Remember to invite people, advertise the event, send reminders,
etc.
Having a contingency plan and anticipating potential issues (for example, what if the Internet
connection does not work or the audience is not what you expected) is also a good idea.
B. The event
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If all the planning is put in place, your event should run smoothly. Just make sure that all the
people involved (your team) are aware of their roles within the event and, if you have external
speakers, they are briefed on the event structure (including timing) and possible discussion
paths. Do not forget to get the signatures of participants if required, record if participants
approved before and above all, enjoy the event! They are hard work, but can be a fantastic
time to network, meet new people.
C. Follow-up
Following up with your participants after the event will allow you to gather and learn from their
feedback, as well as to build and consolidate a network around your event.
Your evaluation form should include questions that allow your participants to provide honest
feedback that will help you identify things to improve on when organising future events. Send
a follow-up email to your participants including a link to a feedback form, but also links to pages
with images from the event and to social media channels to allow your participants to continue
the conversations and discussions that were started during the event or presentations.
The lessons you learn, networks you build, and information you gather will help you improve
your next event!
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Self-management
Working as a Scientix Ambassador means adding extra activities to your busy teaching
schedules; and since you will be working independently, managing yourself and your time will
be essential.
• List your tasks
To make managing your time easier, you can start by making a list of your tasks. You should
know exactly what must be done and by when. To make it more visual, include your important
deadlines in your calendar. You can even create a weekly list of activities from which you can
cross things out as you go through your week.
Try to also expect the unexpected and include some time buffers in your schedule to make
sure you can reach your deadlines.
• Set achievable goals
Next thing to do is set your goals. This means prioritizing your tasks according to the time they
require and their importance. What needs to be done first? What will take more time to do?
Will you be able to do all things on your list? It is important to set realistic goals and deadlines.
Remember: A deadline is a limit that you or others set for a certain task. This does not mean
that you cannot get things done earlier. The ability to prioritize and evaluate realistically your
workload will be essential in your Ambassador role.
• Plan
Design a detailed road map for your activities. Think of the exact steps you will need to take to
reach your goals.
For example, if you have to write a paper within the next three weeks, you will have to: [1]
select a topic; [2] narrow your topic; [3] do research; [4] put together a preliminary bibliography;
[5] have a working outline; [6] consult your bibliography and start taking notes; [7] review your
paper outline; [8] write your first draft; [9] edit your paper; [10] write your final draft.
Each step will be allocated a certain amount of time and a certain "internal" deadline.
Professionalism
We all know that professionalism is very important in every working space. In your role as
Scientix Ambassador you are representing Scientix and we expect you to always act
respectfully, be ready to provide support, and show integrity. For example, we trust that when
completing the Scientix Ambassadors Training Course tasks, you are not trying to cheat the
system and copy the answers from other people.
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Online reputation
According to the Cambridge English Dictionary, reputation is "the opinion that people in general
have about someone or something, or how much respect or admiration someone or something
receives, based on past behaviour or character." A crucial factor in building trust, online
reputation is constructed through the way you behave/act within the communities you are part
of.
Most online communities organize themselves through internal rules, generally accepted by
their users.
Have a look at Twitter's, Facebook's or Instagram's codes of conduct and user guidelines. Did
you ever check them before posting? Do you know of instances when these rules were broken?
Were there any consequences?
Did you know?
The Scientix portal has its own code of practice, setting out the ethical framework for collecting,
writing and editing the portal content. The code outlines the Scientix commitment to:
• Truth and accuracy: the content published on the portal should be accurate, well
sourced, based on sound evidence, and presented in clear language.
• Impartiality and diversity of opinion: content should reflect impartiality and allow
diversity of opinion. Controversial subjects or scientific, political, and industrial
controversy shall be handled with respect and care. Specific efforts are made to ensure
scientific balance.
• Editorial integrity and independence: the content produced in-house or from external
providers should never be influenced by political or commercial pressures, nor by any
personal interests.
• Serving the community’s interests: the content published on the portal have a
primary audience – educationalists in general, researchers, and policy makers – as
well as a secondary audience, which include visitors who come to the portal via other
websites or online searches. With the primary audience in mind, the content should
therefore be accurate, relevant, and appropriate to match as much as possible the
expectations and needs of this audience.
• Fairness: our output will be based on fairness and openness. Both internal and
external contributors will be treated honestly and with respect.
• Privacy: we will respect privacy and will not infringe it. Private behaviour,
correspondence, and conversation will not be brought into the public domain unless
there is a clear public interest.
• Accountability: we are accountable to our audiences and will encourage a culture of
willingness to learn from them.
• Responsiveness: maximising responsiveness means serving the different
requirements of these stakeholders promptly and accurately the first time.
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Email etiquette
Scientix Ambassadors working with Scientix or other projects under the Scientix umbrella will
use the email as their main channel of communications between them and the Scientix team.
The following topic will get into more details about how to write emails that trigger expected
reactions. Below you can find some good practices for when you are working with projects:
1. Respond to emails as quickly as possible. Remember the commitment to
responsiveness in the Scientix Portal code of practice? It is something that the Scientix Team
is constantly striving to achieve and something we expect back from our collaborators. But we
also understand that we are not always in front of the computer. For example, the Scientix
Team colleagues at European Schoolnet work Monday to Friday between 8 am and 6pm CET
usually. So take it into account when writing to them.
3. Read your emails carefully before replying. Make sure you don't ask for information which
is already included in the email.
4. When you are addressing an email: the "To" field is for those who you are addressing
directly, the "Cc." field is for those who you wish/need to keep informed. "Bcc" is normally
used for mass communication, in order to protect the privacy of multiple receivers. This is very
important as a Scientix ambassador. You will get emails from either Ivelina Ivanova
ivelina.ivanova@eun.org, the Scientix Ambassadors coordinator or Agueda Gras
agueda.gras@eun.org, project manager of Scientix. And they always keep the other in CC. If
you reply removing one of them, you are making our work more difficult, which is the opposite
of what a Scientix Ambassador should do.
5. Put the appropriate people in copy. Cc. on a need-to-know basis.
6. Hit "reply to all" when you receive an email with one ore more people in Cc. Project
managers and representatives add people in copy to keep them informed of specific activities.
They will 'need-to-know' about your answer too.
7. Read your email until the end. Check if it calls for immediate action. If the respective
project manager/project representatives asks to confirm your availability, do so by the provided
deadline. This is particularly important when you are delivering bad news. If you really can't
make a deadline for a task, it is better to let your coordinators know as soon as possible. This
will give them time to allocate your task to someone else, or to support you better so you can
deliver on the activities.
8. Do not send the same email several times and to different people. It just makes the
time to respond take longer and complicates our work.
Once you will start collaborating with others, you will see your inbox increasing significantly.
How can you ensure that the information you send (and receive) is structured, clear, and that
you spend the most time on your content, and less on your form? We address this in the next
section.
9. Do not use capitals/upper case for all your text in emails. When emails are written all in
capitals it can be seen as if you were screaming. See the difference:
• Hello Scientix Ambassador, how are you doing?
• HELLO! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?
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Email writing
If you are remotely collaborating with others, you will want that all the communication between
you is as efficient as possible. Here are some examples of good practice to keep in mind for
your next email exchanges:
1. Subject lines
The subject line should accurately summarize the content of the email. Its purpose is to let
people know what your email is about, so they can quickly decide its priority. This is particularly
important when you send emails to people who are regularly receiving many emails.
A few things to remember when writing your email's subject:
• Include a subject line. An email without a subject line is likely to receive less attention
or even be categorized as spam.
• Do not use exclamation marks, or other pressing words (such as: Urgent! Please reply!
etc.), unless your emails really are urgent and require a quick answer.
• Think in keywords. Try to include at least some of the 5 Ws in your subject line: Who?
What? When? Where? are the most common.
• Write the body of your message first. Journalists usually do. It will make it easier for
you to work out a summary of your message and not send very long emails.
Example:
2. Your message
The purpose of writing an email is to transfer some type of information. It is easier to achieve
this goal if you:
a. Make clear how you expect your reader to react to your email.
Is the purpose to provide information, to ask for information, or to get the receiver to do
something? Whatever instance applies to you, make sure to state your purpose clearly
from your first paragraph.
Ask your question at the beginning of your email if you wish to receive an answer. Mention
at the start what action you want your reader to perform. The details can follow later.
Sometimes these boundaries are not that clear. You may wish to inform your reader of
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something, but also get them to answer a question. This is where the structure of your
message comes into play.
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Word documents
Correct and consistent formatting is often seen as an indication of the content of one's work.
But, if done properly, it can also save time on the long run if you are working collaboratively
with others on the same body of text (be it a lesson plan you wish to produce with your fellow
teachers, or a journal or magazine article).
The first thing to keep in mind is that you should use as many of the automatic functionalities
of your software as possible. If you are looking for a personalized style, you can start working
on a template - but make sure you save it as an empty file so you (or those you are
collaborating with) can always start your work from the same file.
Whether you choose to create your own template or start with a basic document, you should
have these points in mind:
1. Be consistent
Make sure that, throughout your document, you have the same:
• document margins
• font, font size and line spacing for your paragraphs
• headings' styles
• table design and style of the captions
• caption style for figures
• headers and footers
• referencing styles
• document language
All these can be defined before starting your document, so you can have a workable
template that can also be applied for your future work.
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• To refer to and explain the tables and figures present in your document, preferably
before their actual presence in the file
• To include automatic captions to your tables and figures
• To have the header of your table always present at the top, when the table is
stretched over more than one page
• To insert cross-referencing whenever you point to a table or a figure in your
document
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