: For Students, Faculty, and Staff 
By Allison Thompson
BREAKING NEWS: The Sugar Bandits are on the loose, luring children towards childhood obesity with unhealthy eating and excessive screen time. No need to fear… Captain Celery is here! With the help of his sidekicks, the Public Health Nurses, he can defeat them for good.
Captain Celery stars as the hero of a video project created by Mairead Herson, Corine Moche, Hao Nguyen, Kristin Wilk, Tara Wilson, and Muna Yusuf for Public Health Nursing (N4321), a class taught by Melissa Horning, Ph.D. Much of the video was created using the 1:Button Studio at the Bio-Medical Library.
What are 1:Button Studios?
The 1:Button Studio in the Bio-Medical Library. Photo credit Allison Thompson.
The 1:Button Studios are user-friendly, high definition video-recording spaces equipped with professional studio lighting and sound equipment. The automated setup enables users to create high-quality video projects without any knowledge of lighting or audiovisual equipment.
With four locations across the University Libraries, the 1:Button Studios offer the right tools to help you practice presentations, conduct interviews, record lectures for flipped classrooms, and complete course assignments.
About the video
Students enrolled in Horning’s Public Health Nursing course learn concepts of prevention, epidemiology, and social justice — as well as how those concepts are applied to population-based nursing care.
“Students explore and analyze public health nursing competencies, community assessment principles, models of public health nursing practice and evidence-based nursing interventions,” said Horning.
Still image of Captain Celery from the video.
A major assignment for this course was the development of a Public Service Announcement (PSA). Public health nurses have to convey public health information in a variety of formats — including PSAs — so this assignment helped them practice for their future duties and demonstrate their ability to apply public health principles to their work.
“A big part of my nursing career is patient teaching,” said Nguyen. “This project opened my eyes to a new, creative way to deliver information to my patients.”
“Patients increasingly are accustomed to acquiring information through electronic devices,” said Wilk. “Video formats are an essential way nurses can communicate evidenced-based messages with a positive impact on public health.”
Inspiration
Information on Captain Celery, presented in the style of a comic book trading card.
“Our goal for the video was to motivate behavior change to reduce childhood obesity,” said Wilk. “We chose to raise awareness about the critical role schools play in addressing social determinants of health and promoting health equity.”
Access to nutritious meals, recess, and reinforcing environments that support all children were important themes they wanted to include.
Their approach to the video was inspired by Wilson’s 6-year-old son, who loves superheroes. The superhero and villain storyline was combined with Nguyen’s love of Marvel and DC comics to create Captain Celery and the Sugar Bandits and engage their elementary school audience.
Choosing the 1:Button Studio
The group followed Nguyen’s suggestion to use the 1:Button Studio to record scenes that featured news reporters sharing the breaking news about the Sugar Bandits.
The 1:Button in action. Photo credit Allison Thompson.
Nguyen first set foot in the 1:Button Studio when a friend used it to interview her for a class assignment. She felt it would be the right tool for their project.
The group had never before recorded a professional video, but the instructions in the studio were very easy to follow, said Nguyen.
“I love the great sources of lighting from multiple angles, the big backdrop, and the TV monitor that allows us to see what is being recorded right in front of us,” Nguyen said. “I also love that the videos are very accessible and easy to download, and that the online reservation process was easy and straightforward.”
Librarian expertise enhances experience
As the students wrote the video script, Nursing Librarian Liz Weinfurter helped them find relevant, reliable, and current sources on their topic of childhood obesity.
“Liz recommended epidemiologic data from the Centers for Disease Control to show which members of our population were most affected,” said Wilk. “Liz also provided current research articles on Ovid Medline related to pediatric obesity since 2015.”
“I always encourage students to work with me if they’re getting stuck. Partnering with a librarian to find relevant evidence helps improve the quality of projects, and also gives students guided practice to help develop and refine their research skills,” said Weinfurter. “Librarians are partners for students, both now and throughout their careers, and it serves the students well that Dr. Horning facilitated those connections early on.”
Weinfurter’s expertise also helped them gain confidence in searching independently for credible information in medical databases through multiple visits to the nursing research class they all took as juniors.
“I was totally overwhelmed by using these databases and would avoid them before she came to our lecture,” said Herson. “Now I feel comfortable navigating the information and finding the answers I need.”
Professor Horning agrees that librarian expertise helps foster success.
“Connecting with the libraries is key to help facilitate student learning,” she said. “It’s an invaluable applied learning experience for the students, and we, the faculty, always learn a new trick or two, too.”
Skills gained and lessons learned
Still image of the Public Health Nursing students from the video.
The Public Health Nursing students gained both technical and interpersonal skills as they created their PSA video, including the effective application of their knowledge of course content and the skills learned throughout their public health nursing course.
Use of the 1:Button Studio helped increase their confidence in creating videos and using the studio.
“I do not consider myself ‘tech savvy’ whatsoever, but I found the equipment to be pretty straightforward,” said Wilson. “I am now more likely to use this resource on my own in the future.”
The project also reinforced the lesson that great nursing practice requires collaboration with others.
“This work has prepared me to work productively in a group where many different ideas are shared and brought to life,” said Nguyen. “When we create a supportive and non-judgmental environment, it encourages everyone to think outside the box and brings forth innovative ideas.”
Best of all, the experience showed that much can be achieved when work and play are combined. Said Nguyen: “The project showed me that it is possible to incorporate your hobby into your practice to deliver creative and effective care.”
Sign hanging from the entrance of the 1:Button Studio in the Bio-Medical Library. Photo credit Allison Thompson.
What will you create?
As demonstrated by Captain Celery and his Public Health Nursing friends, there is a lot to be gained from using the 1:Button Studios.
You too can save the day using a 1:Button Studio! Reserve your time today.
About the Author
Allison Thompson.
Hi, I’m Allison Thompson. I work at the Bio-Medical Library supporting course reserves and communications. I also provide research help at our service desk, so please stop by to say hello!
I’d like to give a shout out to some other library resources that may be helpful to first time users of the 1:Button Studios.
For access to editing software, there are Productivity Computer Workstations available within the Bio-Medical Library. These computer stations are equipped with extra large dual monitors and editing software, including iMovie and the Adobe Creative Suite. Another great resource for getting started is the SMART Learning Commons, through which an appointment can be scheduled with a media consultant for instruction on basic video and audio editing techniques.
