Below is a list of awesome courses that dive into all different aspects of visual communication and storytelling.

Visual storytelling is a way for people to communicate their story using visuals and digital media such as video, graphics, and photography.

I’ve had a fantastic MSc experience (almost done!) and have been talking to a lot of incoming or current students. Some topics / questions come up a lot. Here’s what I know!

🧵 Tips for an awesome MSc experience.

#AcademicTwitter #AcademicChatter @OpenAcademics @academeology

1/ Ok to start, some context: I started my MSc in September 2019 in Organizational Behaviour. I start my PhD this September.

A lot happened in my MSc: I won several scholarships, my Dad died, I submitted my thesis work to a major conference, annnd there was the pandemic.

2/ Let’s get into it!

Choosing a thesis topic: Read read read.

What are you interested? Pick an umbrella topic and start reading. Follow the rabbit holes. Write questions, answers, more questions. When you find questions you cannot answer, you might have a thesis topic.

3/ Don’t get stuck on the idea you came in with.

My first semester a professor said “if your research ideas don’t change, you haven’t learned anything.”

No one is going to pull up your SOP and hold you to whatever you said you were interested in upfront.

4/ Pin down a thesis format

What will you do, broadly? One study? Two? A review paper? Meta-analysis? As early as possible, find out what YOU actually need to do to complete your thesis. ESPECIALLY if you’re in a lab with lots going on. What is YOUR requirement?

What does it take to sustain screwiness in the way the world works? Mostly, it's just good people, trying their best to get us to a better place... within constraints which pretty much preclude us actually getting anywhere! A case in point with

These authors come across as hugely committed to something we might all agree upon: improving young people's experiences of physical education through better school-based-interventions. Sounds great? Agreed, & pretty much everything about their study models best practice 🥳

Sadly, established "best practice" involves further embedding the medicalisation of PE as if it should be about the potential contribution of physical activity to everything from quality of life, self-perception & cognition to the likelyhood of becoming healthy & active adults 🤯

We're reminded of the Chief Medical Officer's "recommended guidelines of 60 min of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) per day for healthy growth and development" 👇 This is a focus on what we can easily measure (generic) rather than on what we might value (individual).

We get recognition that PE "is not merely an opportunity for children to engage in PA" but that's linked to its role in "the development of knowledge & skills to foster their PA engagement throughout life" - so further focus on health outcomes. A long way from @meaningfulPE 🙄

The Copywriter’s Guide to Buyer Persona

•••THREAD•••

1. Define a Background

For this thread we will be selling Mass Gainer protein shakes to college men that want to gain weight.

Go deep and make a full profile up of one of these people.

You want to include:
> age
> job
> what they do in free time
> what they’re feeling

Example:

Brad is a junior in college (21 years old). He does work during the week and parties on the weekends.

He started going to the gym with his friends but isn’t really seeing results. He’s starting to get frustrated and wants to find a cure to his problems.

2. Define Their Goals and Challenges

When you define these things, you can use them in your copy.

Painting your ideal customer’s pain points throughout your copy is important.

You need to show them that they have a problem, and you can solve.

Example:

Brad is fairly skinny and wants to gain weight fast.

He’s tried eating more but can’t eat enough, or maybe he eats the wrong things.

Whatever it might be, it’s not working and he’s getting frustrated.