This document discusses using multimedia and Web 2.0 technologies to promote bioethics education. It describes how video clips from sources like TRILT can be used to help with scene setting, discussions, and conveying information. It highlights the Bioethicsbytes blog, which provides recommendations and annotations for bioethics-related video clips. The blog allows specialists to share knowledge about locating suitable multimedia material and is a useful resource for bioethics educators.

1. BUFVC Learning on Screen 2008
Sharing the vision: exploiting Web 2.0
technologies in promoting the use of
multimedia in bioethics education
Dr Chris Willmott
Dept of Biochemistry,
University of Leicester
cjrw2@le.ac.uk
University of
Leicester

2. Central thesis
• There is huge pedagogic value in the use of video
• Video clips can be used:
- to help scene-setting
- as discussion starters, and/or
- to convey factual information
• Video material can be obtained freely and legally
for use in education, provided you know what you
are looking for
• Colleagues may require specialist help to locate
and utilise suitable material
• Web 2.0 technologies are ideal for sharing this
specialist knowledge

3. Outline of presentation
• The value of TRILT in identifying useful material
• The added value of Bioethicsbytes in the specific
area of bioethics education

4. Stem cell research
South Park: “Kenny Dies”
(Paramount Comedy Channel, 16th Jan 2006)
This recording is to be used only for educational and non-commercial purposes under the terms of the ERA Licence

5. TRILT – 2 great services
www.trilt.ac.uk offers:
• A weekly e-mail alert warning you of any programmes
coming up in the next two weeks that match your
keywords
• A searchable database of transmission history
covering broadcasts since 1995, in which all
programmes are given an ID code
• The latter can frequently be used to identify
recordings available through the back-up service
(inc all terrestrial TV since June 1998)

6. TRILT entry: Kenny dies

7. Xenotransplantation
Holby City: “Better The Devil You Know”
(BBC1, 6th September 2006)
This recording is to be used only for educational and non-commercial purposes under the terms of the ERA Licence

8. Xenotransplantation
• The clip shown is an excellent vehicle for introducing
discussion of both the ethical objections people might
have regarding this operation, and the scientific
difficulties that would be involved
• The TRILT entry for this programme states:
“Abra returns to Holby and clashes with Ric over the
treatment of a terminally ill patient, when Abra
decides to offer the patient an illegal transplant.
Chrissie thinks she’s cracked it with Sam”
• How would someone else recognise the potential in
this clip?

9. Specialist help: Bioethicsbytes
• It is unrealistic to expect a general-purpose service
to include sufficient annotation to satisfy all nuances
of discipline-specific usage
• We have developed Bioethicsbytes as an alternative
means to share recommendations regarding
bioethics-related footage
www.bioethicsbytes.wordpress.com

10. BioethicsBytes: Holby example
http://bioethicsbytes.wordpress.com/2006/09/08/xenotransplantation-holby-city/

11. Advantages of using blog service
• Wordpress is one of the two main blog platforms
• You don’t need to know any HTML
• Range of “off the shelf” style sheets
• Built in facility to search by categories, tags and
reader-selected keyword
• Built in statistics and tracking
• High visibility in Google searches
• It’s free!
www.bioethicsbytes.wordpress.com

12. BioethicsBytes

13. BioethicsBytes: variety of posts
• Reviews and recommendations about:
- Films
- TV series (documentaries and fiction)
- Books
- Radio
- Podcasts
- News
• Extended commentaries
• Guides to streamed media
www.bioethicsbytes.wordpress.com

14. BioethicsBytes: TV Documentary

15. TV Documentary
A Child Against All Odds BBC1, November 14th 2006
This recording is to be used only for educational and non-commercial purposes under the terms of the ERA Licence

16. BioethicsBytes: Extended Comm.

17. Obtaining footage
• BioethicsBytes recommends but does not supply
off-air recordings
• BUFVC members can usually obtain material via the
back-up service
- Most universities are members
- Most schools are not
• Availability of on-line video?
www.bioethicsbytes.wordpress.com

18. Online video availability?
• The BBC iPlayer is an exciting development, but of
little use here due to short availability window
• Streamed news footage?

19. BioethicsBytes: Streamed News

20. Online video availability?
• The BBC iPlayer is an exciting development, but of
little use here due to short availability window
• Streamed news footage?
• Newsfilm Online – live from May 2008?

21. Online video availability?
• The BBC iPlayer is an exciting development, but of
little use here due to short availability window
• Streamed news footage?
• Newsfilm Online – live from May 2008?
• YouTube, Google Video, etc?
- provenance of material posted there?
- is it ok to recommend it if you didn’t post it?
- is it ok to embed it if you didn’t post it?
• Bespoke videos?

22. Conclusions
• TRILT is an excellent database and alert service
• Additional subject-specific information can aid
colleagues in knowing about useful clips
• Bioethicsbytes is providing this service wrt bioethics
• Web 2.0 technologies (blogs, RSS feeds, etc) are
ideal tools for this function
• This approach could easily be
adapted for other disciplines
www.bioethicsbytes.wordpress.com

23. Acknowledgements
• Bonnie Green and David Willis
• GENIE (the Genetics Education CETL) and the
National Teaching Fellowship Scheme
• Audio-Visual Services, UoL
www.bioethicsbytes.wordpress.com
del.icio.us/chriswillmott/bioethics