JoVE Snapshot: This is a regular series profiling the JoVErs doing outstanding work in editorial, customer success, videography, and more. Together, they are changing how science is done.
Name: Colin Treanor
Title: Onboarding and Curriculum Specialist, JoVE Customer Success
Degree: B.A. in Anthropology and Sociology, University of Connecticut
What do you do at JoVE?
My role is two part — the easiest way to sum it up is by saying my job is to help the library get its money’s worth when it comes to a JoVE subscription. On the on-boarding side, I work with our new subscribers (and recent upgrades), and our partners in the library, to help support a subscription through any kind of outreach to different academic departments. We provide resources for the library to hand out, for faculty to use, or for training instructors, researchers and students in how best to use JoVE.
We really do appreciate the business libraries give us, and want to make sure it’s the most worthwhile investment they have. I want to be sure JoVE is being used throughout the campus and not just by one or two faculty members. Anytime librarians look at their catalog of resources, I want them to look at how-in depth JoVE is used throughout the campus, and have them say, “We really depend on JoVE.”
We’ve been doing work with student organizations, especially nursing and pre-medical and pre-health-care groups. We’ve been telling them about what kinds of resources they have access to through the library, and how they can use them. Additionally, I work with student groups and administrators to help spread JoVE throughout the campus.
In terms of your education and background, how were you prepared to do your job?
I don’t have a STEM background, unlike a lot of my colleagues here. Academically, my background is social sciences, specifically anthropology and sociology. In college, when studying, I worked closely with people, getting to understand how they think and process things.
Professionally, my background is higher education, but on the student-affairs side of things. While the world of science research is new to me, I’m pretty well-versed in the college campus landscape, and all the different areas of student and academic support, and the library and academic resource centers, along with the faculty and students, and how all these fit together.
This has given me insight into where JoVE can fit and be a great benefit, and not just in the classroom and research lab. My background really helps me when working with libraries to support the subscribers with products such as JoVE Core. These are freely available for students at subscribing institutions to use at no cost. This helps students from lower socioeconomic or underprivileged backgrounds. They may not have the resources to afford a $200, $300, $400 textbook, in which they may be just using one or two chapters. And I know a lot of faculty are really getting behind the idea of more affordable resources for students — and increasing the resources to help serve those from underprivileged communities. JoVE can be a resource for that.
What customer problems are you solving?
On a macro level — and it’s true for JoVE itself — we’re helping solve problems around scientific research advancement and education. On the education side, more and more students are Generation Z, and they are familiar with looking up things on YouTube and learning through video. As textbooks cease to be the learning format students are accustomed to, there will be more and more educational resources available in a video format. We’re seeing just how effective they are, and we’re going to be at the forefront of that.
Day to day, I’m typically working with the account management team. I look at which accounts need support, and what kinds of issues they’re running into. No two accounts are the same. For instance, on one campus, they may be holding a resource fair and looking to push resources to their biology faculty. From there, I’ll work with them on a plan on how we can approach this. It may involve calling faculty in a certain department to talk about what kind of courses they’re teaching. Or we’ll cover the resources we have that may best apply to them — or get their feedback on how certain JoVE tools may fit into their curricula.
In my curriculum specialist role, I work with faculty and researchers on how best to integrate JoVE into their courses or lab work. Also, I’ve been working with academic administrations and departments (such as tutoring centers) and letting them know they have these resources available — if they want to work these into their tutoring toolkit. So, if one student is struggling on one specific concept in organic chemistry, they have that video in their back pocket in case they need it.
What’s your favorite movie?
“Indiana Jones.” As I said, I studied anthropology.
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