Digital Observation Technology Skills (DOTS) is a framework for integrating modern, mobile technology into outdoor, experiential science education. DOTS addresses longstanding tensions between modern technology and classical outdoor education by carefully selecting appropriate digital technology for educational purposes and by situating these tools in classical experiential pedagogy.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
R. Justin HoughamMarc NutterCaitlin Graham
As part of the National Science Foundation (NSF) funding for the In Defense of Food project directed by Kikim Media, the independent evaluation firm Knight Williams Inc.1 conducted a summative evaluation of the project’s key deliverables, which included: a PBS television broadcast program, an outreach effort, and an educational curriculum. This report (Study 2 of 3) focuses on the outreach effort.
This summative report evaluates the accessibility and efficacy of a project website as a tool for teaching ecosystem science. Edu ran a qualitative study with twelve participants in order to determine the overall usability and learnability of IntotheRift.org – an online textbook offering a virtual field trip to Lake Tanganyika in East Africa. The goal of the study – identify usability issues and also what currently works well. A learnability study focused on learners’ increase in awareness of ecosystem concepts and research scientists working in Lake Tanganyika. An efficacy study evaluated
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Douglas SpencerSasha MinskyJediah Graham
This CRPA project will develop a game for mobile devices called the "RapidGuppy". It provides users (students 12-21 years of age) with an interesting and fun way to learn details about biological adaptation and genetic change. The game teaches users about the environmental factors that lead to adaptation. More than 30 years of research on the Trinidadian Guppy that "rapidly" evolves (over 3-5 years) is the basis for the game. The research, databases, and mini-documentaries that support the "RapidGuppy" game are linked to allow users to easily delve deeper into these materials. An extensive social media campaign will be used to market the game and the public facing website. Partners in this endeavor include: University of California-Riverside, Habitat Seven, Magmic Inc., and Edu, Inc. In this project, the mobile device game will be backed by a sophisticated website that contains detailed research results from the field and mini-documentaries showing real fish and the actual research processes as well as researchers and scientists to promote role model development. Interested individuals may also directly access the videos and research results via the website. The target audiences are youth who are prone to play electronic games and the general public. The comprehensive evaluation plan will assess the learning outcomes resulting from the mini-documentaries, in-game content, and website, as well as the playability of the game and website functionality. Impacts resulting from the social media campaign and outreach to underserved audiences will also be measured. Because of the major social media campaign, this project may increase the level of interest in the science of evolution and genetic change, and raise awareness of STEM careers. If the user groups become excited about the game and the inherent messages, it is anticipated that the public will gain a better understanding of the factors responsible for genetic change.
This report includes six separate formative evaluations conducted to inform the design and development of the deliverables for the 3D Visualization Tools for Enhancing Awareness, Understanding and Stewardship of Freshwater Ecosystems project. Deliverables were tested with both students and general visitor groups, with a focus on groups including late elementary and middle school children. Many different components were tested, including prototype versions of 3D visualizations, high-tech interactive experiences, apps on tablets and phones, and table top exhibits. Results are reported in each of
The National Science Foundation (NSF) awarded an Informal Science Education (ISE) grant, since renamed Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) to a group of institutions led by two of the University of California, Davis’s centers: the Tahoe Environmental Research Center (TERC) and the W.M. Keck Center for Active Visualization in Earth Sciences (KeckCAVES). The purpose of the evaluation was to gather feedback from museum professionals and the general public about the proposed 3D visualization project and its related components. Additionally, the study aimed to assess the current understanding
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TEAM MEMBERS:
University of California, DavisSteven Yalowitz
This poster was presented at the 2014 AISL PI Meeting in Washington, DC. It highlights the goals, audience, outcomes, and lessons learned for a pathways project to develop a model for producing scientific news reports in a variety of media formats on a range of topics of keen interest to rural and Native American communities in Montana. Cultural differences and geographic isolation influence opportunities to provide STEM content to these communities, yet these communities are facing perplexing decisions about exploitation of their environmental resources. The poster highlights the successes of
Produced by National Geographic Television and funded in part by the National Science Foundation (NSF), Alien Deep is a multi-platform media project designed to increase public literacy about: the fundamental principles and concepts underlying ocean systems and functions, the importance and challenges of oceanographic research and exploration, and the impact of the ocean on humanity and humanity’s impact on the ocean. The centerpiece of the project is a five-part mini-series that premiered on the National Geographic Channel in 2012. In addition to the five episodes, which were also made
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Knight Williams Inc.Valerie Knight-WilliamsDivan WilliamsRachel TeelEric AndersonGabriel Simmons
This report was completed by the Program Evaluation Research Group at Endicott College in October 2013. It describes the outcomes and impacts of a four-year, NSF-funded project called Go Botany: Integrated Tools to Advance Botanical Learning (grant number 0840186). Go Botany focuses on fostering increased interest in and knowledge of botany among youth and adults in New England. This was being done through the creation of an online flora for the region, along with the development of related tools, including PlantShare, and a user-friendly interface for ‘smartphones’. In January 2012, the PI
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Judah LeblangNew England Wild Flower Society
Rockman et al (REA), a San Francisco-based research and evaluation firm, conducted the summative evaluation of the Sea Change website. Through funding from the National Science Foundation, Dan Grossman Media developed this website as part of Dr. Maureen Raymo's research. Her research looks at the Pliocene era (thought to be the most recent time in geologic history with a concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere with levels as high as today). The aim of the Sea Change website is to raise awareness about global-warming-induced sea level rise and how scientists study it. This report follows a
This is the summative evaluation of Statistics for Action (SfA). The mixed-methods evaluation included both process (project implementation) and impact (project effectiveness) assessments. It was posited a cascade-like impact of SfA, in which new materials would be developed by TERC staff; a host of environmental organizations would be trained to utilize them with grass roots community groups; and these groups would then incorporate SfA into their ongoing environmental campaigns. Ultimately, it was theorized, the public messaging around environmental issues would be strengthened by SfA’s
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Arbor Consulting PartnersMargaret ConnorsMindy FriedMadeleine Taylor
This documentary film series and community story project aims to raise awareness of the critical role of trees for all life on Earth and to spark interest in getting involved with trees at the local level. Trees are threatened by climate disruption and deforestation, and yet at the same time are essential to efforts to mitigate and adapt to climate change. Many citizen groups are involved with planting and care of trees. Collaboration with these groups at the national and community level offers a practical, action-oriented opportunity to mobilize networks of citizens already interested in and identified with trees in the effort to raise broader awareness of the subject. Project deliverables include a 3-part PBS documentary series, a multimedia story project in collaboration with several of these citizen groups; a website and social media; and informational materials to support broadcast meteorologists in reporting about tree science in the context of current weather/changing climate. The project is projected to reach at least 15 million Americans during the grant period and many more during the 10-year project lifespan of the films. Principal public audiences include PBS viewers and citizen foresters. The professional audience is broadcast meteorologists. Partners include the U.S. Forest Service, National Environmental Education Foundation, and Alliance for Community Trees. This is a new model of local/national collaborative storytelling and community engagement designed to increase knowledge, awareness, and interest in tree biology and forest ecology.