The divergent use of digital technologies provides an important opportunity for students to develop critical and postdigital approaches to learning. Despite the rising accessibility of music technology, creatively composed sound is a relatively underexplored educational tool compared to the musical elements of melody, rhythm, and lyrics. Sound’s ability to transfer spatial and temporal information renders it a transformative tool for teaching and learning. Embracing an interdisciplinary approach, our research explores the possibility of supplementing secondary science education with a sound-based learning tool which creatively interprets scientific concepts to increase comprehension and engagement. Building on the existing ways in which science is communicated through music and sound, we have developed the Sonaphor (abbreviated from ‘sonic metaphor’). This article will outline the capacity for experimental electronic sound design to increase engagement in contexts ranging from classrooms through to informal learning environments. We see potential for the Sonaphor as a learning tool that reignites wonder and curiosity in science; it combines learning and creativity in sound design and science, allowing learners to interact with, and create their own Sonaphors. Through exemplar Sonaphors, we highlight a proposed structure and discuss the importance of harmonious script, dialogue, and sound design. The flexibility of the digital medium and increasing ubiquity of sound recording and editing software presents an opportunity for Sonaphors to become ‘living’ digital objects that could be adapted by different narrators, sound designers, and artists for different cultures, languages, syllabi, and purposes that build inclusivity in science education and communication.
The World Health Organization (WHO) maintains a list of medicines and medical devices, essential medicines, that should be available to everyone, to form a functioning healthcare system. Yet, many of these medicines remain out of reach for people around the world. One significant barrier to improving the accessibility of essential medicines is a paucity of information about both the extent and causes of this problem. E$$ENTIAL MEDICINE$ (E$$) is a citizen science project designed to investigate this deficit of information by recruiting members of the public to find, validate, compile and share information on essential medicines through an open, online database. Herein, we report an approach to crowdsourcing both the collection of information on the accessibility of essential medicines and the subsequent communication of these findings to diverse audiences. The Meet the Medicines initiative encourages members of the public to share information from the E$$ database, in a short video format appropriate for social media. This communication details the design and implementation of our crowdsourced approach and strategies for recruiting and supporting participants. We discuss data on participant engagement, consider the benefits and challenges of this approach and suggest ways to promote crowdsourcing practices for social and scientific good.
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