Overview of the vodcast assignment

Weighting:                                         25%

Length and/or format:                      7 minutes

Purpose:                                            You are asked to describe the pathophysiological changes in and pharmacological management for a person who has either cancer [bowel cancer (adenocarcinoma) or prostate cancer] or Alzheimer’s disease by making a vodcast. The above conditions have been identified as National Health Priority Areas according to the Australian Institute for Health and Welfare. This assignment will help you demonstrate effective communication in oral and written English language and visual media.

Learning outcomes assessed:           LO2, LO3

How to submit:                                 Submit your vodcast online through LEO by to the appropriate submission box under the ‘Assessments’ folder.

Return of assignment:                      Marks to be released via the BIOL122 LEO site within 3 weeks

of the assessment due date

Assessment criteria:                         Marking rubric (at the end of this document)

Detailed description:

• This assessment task requires you to make a 7-minute vodcast presentation (i.e., a video with audio, written text, and pictures/diagrams) about colon adenocarcinoma, prostate cancer, or Alzheimer’s disease. The vodcast will be assessed according to the following criteria:
  • 1. Coverage (or depth) of the subject matter,
  • 2. Accuracy of the information,
  • 3. Clarity of the presentation,
  • 4. Ability to engage the audience, and
  • 5. Referencing

• Your vodcast has to be about a specific person who has colon adenocarcinoma, prostate cancer, or Alzheimer’s disease.
• You will need to create your own person (living or fictional) according to the following criteria.*

Criteria	For example	For example	Fill in for your own person
What is their name?	Phillip Nguyen	James Mae
What is their gender?	Male	Male
What is their age?	67 years old	57 years old
What condition do they have?	Alzheimer’s disease	Prostate cancer
Are they within a healthy weight range?	Overweight	Underweight
Do they exercise?	Not any more; used to take short walks every day	Used to ride his bicycle every day; not any more because he feels too tired
What is their occupation?	Retired accountant	Retired electrician
What is their living status?	Phillip lives with his wife	James lives alone
What is their family medical history?	Father died of complications related to diabetes mellitus; his two children are healthy	There is no history of malignant tumours on his mother’s side; father’s history not well known
Are they pregnant?	N/A	N/A
Are they a smoker?	Used to be a regular smoker; quit 7 years ago	Yes; has been smoking about 25 cigarettes per day for the past 40 years
What is their alcohol intake?	Enjoys an occasional glass of wine	N/A
What medications or treatments have they been prescribed?#	Aricept (Donepezil hydrochloride)	Chemo- and hormone therapy

*The examples listed in the table above are suggestions; you need to introduce your own person.

• You will then be required to answer a series of specific questions (listed at the end of this document) that relate directly to your person and the condition she or he has. All of your answers must be specific for this person; mark deductions will be applied if your presentation does not relate to the person you have introduced.

·      Vodcasts are expected to stay within the 7-minute time limit. Presentations exceeding 7 minutes will incur penalties (see rubric).

• When submitting your vodcast to LEO, make sure you adapt the following naming principles: SURNAME_FIRST NAME_TOPIC. For example, if John Doe created a presentation on Alzheimer’s disease, the file name would be “Doe_John_Alzheimer’s disease”. For further details, see checklist below.
• You will need to research your topic; please ensure that you keep a record of any references that you have used.
• You will be required to write an annotated bibliography containing 5–10 citations as part of this assignment. An annotated bibliography provides information regarding how you used the research to support your assignment.

To create your assignment:

• Create your vodcast by, for example, creating a Powerpoint presentation and then recording your narration using either PowerPoint alone or Zoom. Other options are also possible, and you can be as creative as you want.
• It is expected that you use figures or visual aids to enhance your presentation and make it as engaging as possible.

·      Your Vodcast should not exceed 70 MB. Note that you will not be able to upload your Vodcast file to LEO if it is larger than 70 MB.

• The Vodcast needs to be your own original work; you cannot include YouTube clips or other videos as part of your vodcast. However, you can generate and include your own video files if you wish.
• Please be mindful that it can sometimes take 10–20 minutes to upload and submit your vodcast file to LEO; please do not leave your submission until the last minute.

·      It is your responsibility to check that your vodcast has been submitted successfully. To do this, you will need to go to a different computer, log onto LEO, open your vodcast, and check that you can see the visual material and hear the audio content. We have had vodcasts without working audio in the past, which meant that these submissions attracted only a fraction of the total marks.

Check-list for this assignment

• I have chosen the right condition (Alzheimer’s disease or colon adenocarcinoma or prostate cancer).
• I have introduced a person (living or fictional) based on the criteria listed in the table above.
• I have researched the condition that my person has been diagnosed with.
• I have answered the specific questions, and all my answers are related to my particular person.
• I have used my answers to the specific questions when creating my vodcast.
• I have added an annotated bibliography to the end of my presentation.
• My presentation does not exceed 70 MB.
• My vodcast does not contain any YouTube clips or videos other than those I have personally created.

☐ My vodcast is within the required 7-minute duration.

• I have named my file in a way that indicates the vodcast topic (e.g., Doe_Jane_Prostate cancer).
• I have checked my submitted vodcast file using a different computer and ascertained that the visual material is working and the narration is audible.

• I have familiarized myself with the rubric.

STUDENT INSTRUCTIONS: Alzheimer’s disease vodcast questions

You will have the opportunity to describe the pathophysiology and pharmacological management for a person suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. We would like you to show your understanding by making explicit the links between pathophysiology, clinical manifestations, and pharmacological management of your person’s disease. When preparing your presentation, assume that your target audience is health professionals (e.g., nurses, paramedics, midwives; all of which should have roughly the same base knowledge). Your answers to the questions below will be used to grade the ‘depth’, ‘accuracy’, and ‘clarity’ sections of your vodcast assignment (see marking rubric provided at the end of this document). At the beginning of your vodcast, you need to set the scene within the first minute — i.e., tell us about your person, and then proceed to answer the following questions.

You must answer all 3 questions below:

Question 1. Answer both parts (a) and (b).

• Identify two brain structures that are particularly severely affected by Alzheimer’s disease and explain their physiological functions.
• Define and describe the most important characteristics of dementia, and name three conditions (other than Alzheimer’s disease) that may cause dementia.

Question 2. Answer both parts (a) and (b).

• Explain the significance of amyloid-β-plaques and neurofibrillary tangles in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s disease.
• Describe how the typical morphological changes associated with Alzheimer’s disease are related to its characteristic signs and symptoms.

Question 3.

Explain the mechanism of action of the most common type of medicine used to manage Alzheimer’s disease, and list three strategies to prevent/delay its onset.

STUDENT INSTRUCTIONS: Colon adenocarcinoma vodcast questions

You will have the opportunity to describe the pathophysiology and pharmacological management for a person suffering from colon adenocarcinoma. We would like you to show your understanding by making explicit the links between pathophysiology, clinical manifestations, and pharmacological management of your person’s disease. When preparing your presentation, assume that your target audience is health professionals (e.g., nurses, paramedics, midwives; all of which should have roughly the same base knowledge). Your answers to the questions below will be used to grade the ‘depth’, ‘accuracy’, and ‘clarity’ sections of your vodcast assignment (see marking rubric provided at the end of this document). At the beginning of your Vodcast, you need to set the scene within the first minute — i.e., tell us about your person, and then proceed to answer the following questions.

You must answer all 3 questions below:

Question 1. Answer both parts (a) and (b).

• Describe the physiological structure and function of the cells/tissues where colon adenocarcinoma originates from.
  • Describe at least five risk factors for colon adenocarcinoma and discuss strategies used for prevention and early diagnosis of this type of tumour.

Question 2. Answer both parts (a) and (b).

• Describe how mutations in either a proto-oncogene or tumour suppressor gene contribute to the initiation of colon adenocarcinoma.
• Discuss how metastases can occur in colon adenocarcinoma and describe the most common locations where this type of metastatic tumour implants.

Question 3.

Explain the mechanism of action of the chemotherapy used to treat colon adenocarcinoma.

STUDENT INSTRUCTIONS: Prostate cancer vodcast questions

You will have the opportunity to describe the pathophysiology and pharmacological management for a person suffering from prostate cancer. We would like you to show your understanding by making explicit the links between pathophysiology, clinical manifestations, and pharmacological management of your person’s disease. When preparing your presentation, assume that your target audience is health professionals (e.g., nurses, paramedics, midwives; all of which should have roughly the same base knowledge). Your answers to the questions below will be used to grade the ‘depth’, ‘accuracy’, and ‘clarity’ sections of your Vodcast assignment (see marking rubric provided at the end of this document). At the beginning of your Vodcast, you need to set the scene within the first minute — i.e., tell us about your person, and then proceed to answer the following questions.

You must answer all 3 questions below:

Question 1 Answer both parts (a) and (b).

• Discuss the key differences between benign prostate hyperplasia and prostate cancer.
• Describe the role of hormones in prostate cancer formation and progression, and discuss strategies that allow differentiation between benign prostate cancer and prostate cancer.

Question 2. Answer both parts (a) and (b).

• Describe how mutations in either a proto-oncogene or tumour suppressor gene contribute to the initiation of prostate cancer.
• Discuss how metastases can occur in prostate cancer and describe the most common locations where this type of metastatic tumour implants.

Question 3.

Describe the currently available strategies and treatment methods to treat/manage prostate cancer and explain the mechanism of action of at least one of those treatment methods.