With the acceleration and increasing complexity of macro-scale problems such as climate change, the need for scientists to ensure that their work is understood has become urgent. As citizens and recipients of public funds for research, scientists have an obligation to communicate their findings in ways many people can understand. However, developing translations that are broadly accessible without being “dumbed down” can be challenging. Fortunately, tenets of visual literacy, combined with narrative methods, can help to convey scientific knowledge with fidelity, while sustaining viewers’
Supported by the National Science Foundation, the Global Soundscapes! Big Data, Big Screens, Open Ears project employs a variety of informal learning experiences to present the physics of sound and the new science of soundscape ecology. The interdisciplinary science of soundscape ecology analyzes sounds over time in different ecosystems around the world. The major components of the Global Soundscapes project are an educator-led interactive giant-screen theater show, group activities, and websites. All components are designed with both sighted and visually impaired students in mind. Multimedia
Glaciers around the world are undergoing dramatic changes. Many people, however, have a limited understanding of the scope of these changes because they are geographically distant and difficult to visualize. Although both digital learning tools and online scientific data repositories have greatly expanded over the last decade, there is currently no interface that brings the two together in a way that allows the public to explore these rapidly changing glacial environments. Therefore, to both improve public understanding and provide greater access to already existing resources, the project team will develop the Virtual Ice Explorer to encourage informal learning about glacial environments. This web application will feature an immersive virtual environment and display a suite of environmental data for an array of Earth's glacial systems. An interactive globe will allow users to select from a collection of sites ranging from polar regions to tropical latitudes. Each featured site will offer users an opportunity to interact with (1) a 3D rendering of the landscape; (2) a local map of the site; (3) historical and contemporary photographs of the site; (4) background information text describing the location, past research, and climate impacts; and (5) available environmental data. One of the most original features of the application will be its realistic, immersive 3D rendering of glacial landscapes by combining very high-resolution digital elevation models and satellite imagery with the application's built-in capabilities for immersive virtual environments. Although immersive environments often require expensive equipment, we are maximizing accessibility by developing the Virtual Ice Explorer to run in a web browser and function across various devices. Thus, the application will be available to anyone with internet access, and they can explore at their own pace.
As part of the successful development of Virtual Ice Explorer, the project team will create a platform for digital elevation models to be visualized and explored in 3D by users within the web application; curate digital elevation models, maps, images, text, and environmental data for inclusion in the web application for up to 11 geographically diverse glaciers/glacial landscapes; iteratively user-test the web application with project partners; and design the architecture of the system to readily scale to a larger collection of glaciers/glacial landscapes. To extend dissemination of the final products, the team has partnered with the U.S. Geologic Survey to showcase four benchmark glaciers in their long-term Glaciers and Climate project. In addition to improving understanding of glacier systems in informal learning environments, the project team will explore applications for spatial learning, employment of 3D environments for educational interventions, and use of Virtual Ice Explorer in formal learning environments. This project is funded by the Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) program, which seeks to advance new approaches to, and evidence-based understanding of, the design and development of STEM learning in informal environments. This includes providing multiple pathways for broadening access to and engagement in STEM learning experiences, advancing innovative research on and assessment of STEM learning in informal environments, and developing understandings of deeper learning by participants. The project also has support from the Office of Polar Programs.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Jason CervenecJesse FoxJulien Nicolas
Polar Extremes: Enhancing Experiential Digital Learning is an integrated media and research project produced by the PBS science series, NOVA, that will bring polar science to informal learners through traditional storytelling and experiential, digital learning environments. Stark, cold, and seemingly frozen in time, the top and bottom of the Earth feel other-worldly, completely removed from our everyday existence. Yet, nothing could be further from the truth. The Arctic and Antarctic exert profound influence over our entire planet. Disturbances in these icy realms can send transformative ripples around the globe, altering the circulation of the atmosphere and oceans, and affecting every form of life. And although the poles might seem constant and everlasting, they--like our planet--are always changing, with a deep and complex past. NOVA will provide informal science learners access to specialized research happening at the ends of the earth, introducing them to today's scientists exploring the major drivers of the climate, uncovering the deep history of past paleoclimates, or perfecting climate and weather models. The project includes: a 2-hour nationally broadcast PBS documentary (working title Polar Extremes); a NOVA Polar Lab, an experiential interactive learning platform on polar science; and a Polar Exploration Initiative consisting of a 10-part YouTube series, a collection of 360 videos, virtual field trips, and social media reporting "on location" from Antarctica, along with other polar-themed video, radio and digital journalism. It also includes a research program conducted in collaboration with the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) to study how narrative-driven and experiential learning can foster informal learning in polar science across a diverse array of audiences. NOVA, the most popular science program on television, with a robust digital presence, will bring current polar science to millions. NOVA will use a range of media to transport viewers to remote polar locations, to interact with polar scientists, manipulate polar data, or vicariously explore the frozen tundra--using a mix of learning approaches. This project will develop and test the impact of two forms of informal learning: traditional narrative-driven storytelling and active, experiential learning. Both components will be developed through audience research, formative evaluation or pilot testing, and experiments. The overarching goal is to determine the best way to combine and leverage traditional and interactive media technologies to educate the public about polar science. How can these modes enhance learning outcomes? The study uses the Informal Science Learning "strand framework" developed by the National Research Council in Learning Science in Informal Environments: People, Places, and Pursuits (2009). Because different age groups and socioeconomic backgrounds may engage differently with different types of learning materials and platforms, the project components are designed to test a variety of different learning approaches, with different audiences. This study will be one of the first to address the relative efficacy of various forms of experiential education and whether active versus vicarious experiential learning depends on the characteristics of the learners. As engagement technologies continue to evolve, this project will help inform how to best design and apply them effectively. The project will apply these new lessons specifically to present polar research to the public and to offer audiences an opportunity to explore and learn about these remote regions in new ways that bring them to life, make them relevant, and enhance learning outcomes. This project is funded by the Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) program, which seeks to advance new approaches to, and evidence-based understanding of, the design and development of STEM learning in informal environments. This includes providing multiple pathways for broadening access to and engagement in STEM learning experiences, advancing innovative research on and assessment of STEM learning in informal environments, and developing understandings of deeper learning by participants. The project has co-funding support from the Office of Polar Programs (OPP).
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Paula ApsellLisa LeombruniJulia CortHunter Gehlbach
In this project, education researchers, environmental scientists, and educators will develop a computer tool to let STEM educators and curriculum developers build local environmental science models. The system will use data about land use to automatically construct map-based simulations of any area in the United States. Users will be able to choose from a range of environmental and economic issues to include in these models. The system will create simulations that ask students to change to patterns of land use -- for example, increasing land zoned for housing, or open land, or industrial development -- to try to meet environmental and social goals. As a result, students will be able to learn about the interaction of environmental and economic issues relevant to their own city, town, neighborhood, or region. These map-based simulations will be incorporated into an existing science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education tool, Land Science, in which learners work in a fictional planning office to study how zoning affects economic and environmental issues in a community. Research has shown that Land Science is mode effective when learners are exploring issues in an area near their home, and the current study will investigate how and why local simulations improve environmental science learning. This project is funded by the Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) program which supports work to enhance learning in informal environments by funding innovative research, approaches, and resources for use in a variety of settings.
In this project, the research team will build, test, and deploy a toolkit that will allow informal STEM educators and developers of informal STEM programming to easily adapt an existing environmental science learning environment, which consists of a place-based virtual internship in urban planning and ecology, to their local contexts, learning objectives, and learner populations. Land Science is a virtual internship in which young people explore the environmental and socio-economic impacts of land-use decisions. To do so, they play the role of interns at an urban planning firm developing a new land-use proposal for the city of Lowell, Massachusetts: they read reports, virtually visit sites, determine stakeholder priorities, and use a geographic information system (GIS) model to evaluate the socio-economic and environmental impacts of land-use choices. No one plan can satisfy all stakeholders, so learners must compromise to create an effective plan and justify their decisions. Land Science has been shown to improve civic engagement, interest in eco-social issues, and understanding of scientific models, but it is most effective when the location of the virtual internship is in or near the learners' home town. To improve the accessibility and impact of this effective learning intervention, the interdisciplinary research team, which includes learning scientists, land-use experts, and informal STEM educators, will develop a Local Environmental Modeling toolkit, which will allow educators to change the location of the simulation and the stakeholder groups, zoning codes, and environmental and socio-economic indicators included in the land-use model. The system will ensure that the model produced is functional, realistic, and appropriately complex. The localized versions of Land Science produced by informal STEM educators will be used in a range of contexts and locations, allowing the research team to study the effects of an online, place-based learning intervention on environmental science learning, STEM interest and motivation, and civic engagement.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
David ShafferKristen ScopinichHolly GibbsJeffrey Linderoth
Lineage is a comprehensive educational media and outreach initiative that will engage individuals and families in learning about deep time and evolution, helping audiences come to newfound understandings of the connections between the past, present, and future of life on Earth. The project is a partnership between Twin Cities PBS (TPT) and the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History and is linked to the opening of that museum's new Deep Time Fossil Hall in June 2019. The project includes a two-hour film for national broadcast on PBS, and a 20-minute short version for exhibition in science centers. The documentaries will show how scientists, using paleontology, genetics, earth science and other disciplines, can reconstruct in detail the origins of living animals like birds and elephants, revealing their ancient past as well as evidence of ecological change that can inform our understanding of Earth today. Extensive educational outreach will include the creation of "Bone Hunter," an innovative VR (Virtual Reality) game designed for family co-play that engages multiple players in the process of paleontology as they piece together a fossil in a digital lab. Bone Hunter and other collaborative educational activities will be deployed at Family Fossil Festivals that will attract multi-generational learners. One such Festival will take place at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., while others will be based at geographically diverse institutions that serve underserved rural as well as urban communities. Lineage is a collaboration between national media producers, noted learning institutions and researchers, including Twin Cities Public Television, the Smithsonian Institution / National Museum of Natural History, Schell Games, the Institute for Learning Innovation (ILI), and Rockman et al. One of the project's primary innovations is its exploration of new learning designs for families that use cutting-edge technologies (e.g. the Bone Hunter virtual reality game) and collaborative multi-generational learning experiences that advance science knowledge and inquiry-based learning. An external research study conducted by ILI will investigate how intergenerational co-play with physical artifacts compared to virtual artifacts influences STEM (Science Technology Engineering Mathematics) learning and engagement. The findings will lead to critical strategic impacts for the field, building knowledge about ongoing innovation in the free choice learning space. The project's external evaluation will be conducted by Rockman et al and evaluative findings, as well as the educational materials derived from the project, will be widely disseminated through partnerships with professional and educator groups. Clips from the Lineage film and related learning resources will be hosted on PBS LearningMedia, so educators can incorporate these resources into their classrooms, and students and lifelong learners can explore and discover on their own. The project outcomes will have broad impact on public audiences, deepening and advancing knowledge and understanding about important scientific concepts, and promoting continued, family-based collaborative learning experiences to expand and deepen STEM knowledge. This project is funded by the Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) program, which seeks to advance new approaches to, and evidence-based understanding of, the design and development of STEM learning in informal environments. This includes providing multiple pathways for broadening access to and engagement in STEM learning.
The connections between technology applications of all sorts and human users that are ubiquitous in informal learning and assume a great deal about how the technology is used and how learning takes place. Much of the research in this area has been focused on game design and interaction. This project will examine this interaction involving the use of gestures that represent how individuals work with systems and large data sets that represent complex systems like the oceans, to understand how basic elements of a project with a 3-D type of design might enhance the user experience and increase the utility and learning that takes place by understanding the cognitive elements of these game like interactions in specific STEM related settings like museums.
This exploratory pathways project will investigate the use of interactive, gesture-enabled, multi-touch spheres for teaching about ocean systems in science centers and museums. The gesture-enabled aspect of the project will improve on interactive table-top installations which can frustrate users who use unexpected gestures and receive no response leading to brief interaction and abandonment without significant interaction or learning. The project will investigate ways in which unsupported gestures would still produce a system response which would encourage the user to remain at the installation and continue to investigate. The effect of multiple gestures will be supported by using natural mappings between gestures and interactions with the on-sphere data.
The project investigates theories of embodied cognition that support the notion that by engaging with global-scale datasets on a spherical display more effectively models the earth in a non-distorted manner and therefore will be more natural and allow users to develop a more accurate conceptual model of how data relates to itself and the globe. In this way, the project shares some aspects of understanding about learning through game play. The sphere will not be a fully developed game but will share characteristics of game play.
This project is funded by the Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) program, which seeks to advance new approaches to, and evidence-based understanding of, the design and development of STEM learning in informal environments. This includes providing multiple pathways for broadening access to and engagement in STEM learning experiences, advancing innovative research on and assessment of STEM learning in informal environments, and developing understandings of deeper learning by participants.