The Professor who IRL Streams Educational Outdoor Adventures | Speedify LIVE

On the 152nd episode of Speedify LIVE we take a look into the world of educational streams with IRL Streamer, PhD Biology professor DrWD40!

We chat about streaming tech, his IRL journey and the challenges that come with it, as well as building a community and the importance of accessible science.

Here are our 5 takeaways from our chat with DrWD40:

1. When it comes to Doc’s  streaming setup it’s constantly changing, but right now he uses a Sony ActionCam on his shoulder, an ATEM Mini strapped to his hip, bringing in multiple HDMI sources; when birding, he uses an HDMI zoom camera outputting HDMI into a capture card, that runs into a Belabox running on a Jetson Nano, which outputs over SRT, and bonding four Jetpack Modems’ connection, going to his home server through OBS to Twitch. 
2. DrWD40 has an IRL streaming backpack that started with Speedify on a Raspberry Pi, but now he uses the Belabox for bonding. He says it helps him avoid the power management issues he experienced with multiple modems connected to the Pi at the time.   
3. In terms of cameras, Doc has a variety he uses for different kinds of streams! For rocket launches and birding when he needs high zoom quality he uses a Nikon P1000 with a 3000mm zoom; in ore wooded areas where he doesn’t need to zoom as far, he uses a Canon M50 which he has a 600mm lens for, as well as a 16mm lens which he uses for the interview. 
4. Doc has managed to build up a loyal community over the years, but says it took time to do so. He says he managed to get into a supportive IRL community, and even created his own community of streamers, the Knowledge Fellowship with other educational streamers. He says that interacting with viewers, making up challenges and games have helped grow the community. 
5. According to DrWD40 accessibility in science is very important. He says whether it’s the accessibility of areas in birding, like pathways and ramps, to just making the experience more accessible through streams, and providing more open access in terms of publishing as well, it’s all very important.