The end of the semester is normally full of events in which Mason students present their research. This year all the presentation are available online through a special website. This photo was taken in December 2019 during the fall semester presentations in the MIX. Photo by Evan Cantwell/Creative Services.
Maggie Walker, a sophomore at George Mason University and an Honors College student, was looking forward to presenting her research on endangered species protection. In a typical semester, Walker, 20, would have attended a scholarly event—or even a series of events across campus—in which she discussed her findings while standing by a research poster she created.
The coronavirus pandemic, which shuttered Mason’s physical campus, didn’t stop Walker’s research nor her desire to present. This week, Walker joins about 150 other undergraduate students displaying their research in the campus-wide Virtual Celebration of Student Scholarship. Walker’s presentation is a five-minute video, complete with graphics and other visual aids.
“Making a video was new to me and a little intimidating at first,” said Walker, who is majoring in biology. “It was a challenging new experience. It was, in the end, rewarding to be able to share my research in this way.”
The Virtual Celebration of Student Scholarship begins Monday, with both asynchronous videos and synchronous presentations. Presentations from students who receive funding for their research from the Office of Student Scholarship, Creative Activities and Research (OSCAR) will kick off the week. The entire Mason community, including students, faculty, staff and alumni, is invited to attend by creating an account here.
Anthony DeMaio, office manager for Undergraduate Education, said that, under normal circumstances, most of Mason’s colleges and schools host their own student research exhibitions.
After the pandemic hit, representatives from a variety of colleges and Mason offices “agreed that it would be a great idea to do one central event celebrating all the students,” DeMaio said. “It ended up being an example of good collaboration across the campus.”
The virtual celebration is hosted by the Student Opportunity Center, a third-party vendor that built a website with a searchable interface. The Honors College reached out to student presenters to offer help with graphics and videography.
“By going through the process of producing these videos, students had to think a lot harder about how to present their research,” said Richard Todd Stafford, director of communications for the Honors College. “By making video presentations, students were able to have a meaningful educational experience even if it wasn’t in the normal format.”
Demaio and Stafford both pointed out other benefits to a virtual event. Students were not tied to a single time for their presentation. They could create videos in accordance with their own schedules, upload them, and now are free to experience other students’ research.
Mitchell A. Martinez, a 21-year-old junior majoring in cyber security engineering and an Honors College student, researched how dogs can be used for cyber reconnaissance. Martinez said he misses the immediate feedback he usually gets when making a presentation in person, but added that a video enables him to communicate his research in a more dynamic manner.
Caitlin Murray, a 21-year-old senior graduating with a degree in communication and an Honors College student, will present her research during a synchronous session on Thursday. Her research project looks at the relationship between deliberate and incidental news consumption and how that relates to individual concerns about climate change.
Murray said she’s curious how many people from the Mason community will log into the website and view the presentations.
“Since it’s something that’s different and not done before in this way, I am interested to see how much traction it gets,” Murray said.
“This is an opportunity for students to get validation that what they are doing is meaningful and important,” DeMaio said.