KAYSC Podcast Crew: Evaluation Activities 2009 - 2010

From January - August 2010, the Kitty Andersen Youth Science Center's (KAYSC) Podcast Crew worked to develop five video podcasts to supplement the Disease Detectives exhibition. Four of these podcasts focused broadly on infectious diseases and one podcast was an overview of the KAYSC. Funded through a SEPA grant from the National Institute of Health, the podcasts were meant to enhance the Disease Detective exhibition experience and make it accessible to youth ages 12-18 by adding a teen voice Evaluation activities associated with the Podcast Crew began January 2010 and were completed September 2010. Four studies were conducted to assess various aspects of developing video podcasts that were meant to supplement an exhibition and be appealing to teen visitors. Below are brief descriptions of the evaluation activities included in this report. Recommendations for Creating Videos for a Teen Audience One of the goals of the project was to develop recommendations for creating video podcasts meant for a youth audience. The recommendations were developed using a two-phase process. The first phase was a front-end study to create the initial recommendations for the Podcast Crew to use during their production process. The second phase occurred at the end of the project to revise and expand on the recommendations using the data from the formative evaluations of the five Podcast Crew podcasts. The recommendations provided guidance to the Podcast Crew as they created video podcasts to accompany the Disease Detectives exhibition. Formative Evaluation of Youth-Created Podcasts Over the course of the Podcast Crew project, there were three cycles of podcast development. Around three quarters of the way through each podcast's development cycle, formative evaluation was carried out to test and improve the podcast prototypes. The evaluation process consisted of cued interviews with KAYSC youth. Youth watched the podcast prototype and then participated in an interview. Reflections on the Podcast Design Process Formative evaluation was carried out to improve the process of designing podcasts meant to supplement an exhibition. Reflective opportunities for both the youth and Podcast Crew Program Manager were integrated into the process after cycles two and three. The data was used to improve the production process and will provide guidance for future development of podcasts in the KAYSC. A summative evaluation was carried out to gather information about youths' overall experience on the Podcast Crew, what they learned from their experience, and their future plans. The evaluation consisted of one-on-one interviews or an on-line survey with corresponding questions. This report includes an interview protocol and self-assessment.

If you would like to edit a resource, please email us to submit your request.