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Innovative teaching in the digital age goes viral

Nature Microbiology volume 4, pages 562–564 (2019)Cite this article

Subjects

Innovations in teaching STEM subjects can help build critical science literacy and address global economic needs. Virology teachers and researchers are actively developing and integrating innovative educational materials for students, creating engaging teaching programs and improving information platforms for the general public.

Several virologists have established initiatives to bridge this gap and provide factual information, through creative and integrated teaching programs. Numerous blogs and online resources within the virology field offer information in an engaging manner. One instance is the popular ‘This Week in Virology’ (TWiV) podcast, produced by the independent podcast network MicrobeTV, which has been running since 2008 and is hosted by Vincent Racaniello and Dickson Despommier, of Columbia University, New York5. This enjoyable and entertaining podcast provides an excellent stage for scientists to discuss the latest developments in the various fields of virology, while simultaneously educating listeners on a specific topic and providing further fact-checked resources for independent learning. Racaniello also hosts several of these podcasts live to packed rooms at scientific conferences throughout the year. Crucially, TWiV combines evidence-based virology in an engaging and accessible format for the academic and layperson alike. The renewed popularity of comic books has also provided a novel platform for information dissemination, such as the Cimaza virology comics developed by Susan Nasif and collaborators. These award-winning comics address debunking vaccine myths through a fact-filled and engaging narrative designed to appeal to adults and teenagers (http://www.cimazacomics.com/). To date, several thousand copies have been sold on copyright and are displayed in waiting rooms and classrooms. The website itself receives a close to 7,000 visitors annually. Other teaching innovations in this field include the creation of several Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) in the virology field (https://www.mooc-list.com/tags/virology). Racaniello again leads the way through his freely available online undergraduate virology course at Columbia University (now also translated into Spanish; http://www.virology.ws/course/). The Complutense University of Madrid and l’École Nationale Vétérinaire d’Alfort have produced an engaging veterinary virology MOOC ‘Animal Viruses: their transmission and the diseases they produce’, aimed at undergraduates, professionals and the general public (also available in English and Spanish; https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/animal-viruses/). Though relatively expensive in production, MOOCs are attractive because they bring the science, in this case virology, from well respected academic providers to learners from all over the world — providing an interactive platform that, for many, is the only opportunity to follow specialized courses. For example, in its second run in April 2018, ‘Animal Viruses’ had 1,800 joiners from 117 countries, including Sudan, Algeria, Indonesia, Vietnam, Nepal and Sri Lanka, among others.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Animal Health. Veterinary Faculty, Complutense University of Madrid, Madrid, Spain

    Esperanza Gomez-Lucia

  2. Novel and Dangerous Pathogens Training, Public Health England, Porton Down, UK

    Christopher H. Logue

  3. Universidad San Francisco de Quito, Quito, Ecuador

    Christopher H. Logue

  4. Szkola Glówna Gospodarstwa Wiejskiego, Warsaw, Poland

    Marek S. Szyndel

  5. Department of Biosystems, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium

    Rob Lavigne

Authors
  1. Esperanza Gomez-Lucia
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  2. Christopher H. Logue
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  3. Marek S. Szyndel
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  4. Rob Lavigne
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Contributions

All authors are members of the Innovirology Consortium. For general information about the Innovirology program, please contact E.G.-L. For questions related to access to Innovirology online resources, please contact C.H.L. For general questions and comments related to this Comment, please contact R.L.

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Esperanza Gomez-Lucia, Christopher H. Logue or Rob Lavigne.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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Gomez-Lucia, E., Logue, C.H., Szyndel, M.S. et al. Innovative teaching in the digital age goes viral. Nat Microbiol 4, 562–564 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41564-019-0389-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41564-019-0389-6

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