BIOLOGIST IN THE NET: USING VIRTUAL TECHNOLOGY FOR COMMUNICATION AND DISSEMINATION OF THE BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES

Abstract

Communication strategies are increasingly improving and broadening their functionality, continuously developing new information sharing tools, making them more popular among adolescents. Social networks can be considered great allies in the production and dissemination of content. Research and science discussion groups have been gaining ground on the Internet, targeting both researchers and lay people who are interested in science-related topics. Thus, this work aimed to disseminate knowledge and activities developed by undergraduate students in Biological Sciences at FACHUSC, as well as the Biologist profession, in order to demystify the social prejudices related to these two themes. Pages were developed on Facebook® and Instagran®, where weekly news of biology and activities developed by undergraduates in the course were posted. The focus of the dissemination subjects were extracurricular activities such as: seminars; laboratory or field practical classes; scavenger hunts; social work; travels; exchanges, etc. The present work obtained strong adherence of the students of the course, although participation is voluntary and does not count any extra scores in evaluations. There was also a high acceptance of the general public, especially high school students from public schools. This is probably due to the fact that this public makes greater use of social networks and virtual learning groups. This resulted in improved interactivity of Biological Science students, as well as their participation in extracurricular activities. In addition to this variable, we also analyzed the participation in discussions linked to the posts, noting a significant sharing and interaction of users with the posts. This is corroborated by analyzing the number of likes, content shares, comment insertion, and third-party comment responses in posted material. At the end of a year of work, there was an increase in enrollment for the FACHUSC Degree in Biological Sciences course, which may be directly related to the positive marketing intensively practiced via social networks. It is concluded that the investment in the dissemination of content through social networks contributed to an increase in the productivity of undergraduate students and teachers, as well as in the interest of high school students in the Biologist profession, eliminating related local preconceptions. the profession. Social media proved to be an effective tool to shorten the distance between society and the institution of higher education.