The findings summarized in this summative evaluation report focus on three of The World's media venues: (1) its radio broadcast, (2) its Science Podcast (http://www.world-science.org/category/podcast), and (3) its online resources (e.g., articles, streaming audio and video). An additional focus is on The World's participatory Science and Technology Forums. The primary research aim was to assess the project's impact and success at reaching its intended goals while avoiding unintended negative outcomes. Toward these ends, The World's audience members were asked to respond to an online survey
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Arthur JohnsonPublic Radio International (PRI)
This report presents findings from the evaluation of the Baseball Stories user generated content (UGC) project. The Baseball Stories project was created by the Information and Interactive Technology Department to allow people to share stories about their experiences with baseball for display in the Baseball As America traveling exhibition. As a part of the project, a website was created where people could create and post their stories and view other stories, and an exhibition kiosk was created where people could view their or others' stories or send an email to remind themselves to create a
Knight Williams Research Communications (Knight Williams, Inc), an independent evaluation firm specializing in the development and evaluation of science education media, conducted the summative evaluation for Ice Stories. The evaluation focused on the extent to which the project achieved the goals described in the Exploratorium's grant to the National Science Foundation (NSF) Arctic Research and Education, Antarctic Coordination and Information program within the Division of Research on Learning in Formal and Informal Settings (DRL). The NSF DRL program provided funding for both the project
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Valerie Knight-WilliamsExploratoriumDivan WilliamsChristina MeyersOra GrinbergTal SraboyantsEveen ChanDavid Tower
Edu, Inc. provided expertise and experience in user testing and evaluation of public outreach using new media for this project. In their role as advisor, Edu, Inc., observed that the website successfully satisfied the project goal of producing and testing five new models of interactive media and several feedback mechanisms to allow the public to register personal opinions on ethical scenarios regarding nanotechnology. The evaluators suggest that there is significant anecdotal evidence to recommend four practices tested by the web designers: 1. The potential of web comics as a media to present
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Douglas SpencerOregon Public BroadcastingJediah GrahamSusan Hibbard
The evaluation research summarized here focuses on science reports developed by MacNeil/Lehrer Productions. The reports appear on The NewsHour television broadcasts and are archived as streaming video available on the program's Web site (www.pbs.org/newshour/science), which includes enhanced media resources such as audio Podcasts, RSS feeds, transcripts, teacher lesson plans, background reports, slideshows, and interactives. The project's general intention is to produce positive learning outcomes and attitudes towards STEM topics (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) and to foster
Fort Worth Museum of Science and History (FWMSH) contracted with Randi Korn & Associates, Inc. (RK&A) to evaluate CSI: The Experience National Science Foundation- and Science Museum Exhibit Collaborative-funded project focused on forensic science. The project included a museum exhibition and an online gaming experience (Web Adventure) targeting children ages 9 to 17 and adults. A summative evaluation explored visitors' overall experiences, understanding of forensic sciences, and the research question: Does the Web Adventure extend exhibition visitors' learning of forensic science? A process
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Randi Korn & Associates, Inc.Fort Worth Museum of Science and History
The Science Source Pathways Project will conduct initial work designing and testing a new model for providing news on STEM related topics to the rural and Native American communities in Montana. This project will enhance understanding of how the communication of scientific research reaches and impacts underrepresented audiences. A collaborative model will be developed between the environmental journalism program at the University of Montana and various local television, radio, and online media outlets that are either operated by or reach Native Americans on reservations and throughout the state. Project deliverables include a survey and analysis of current science reporting reaching this audience; and production and testing of prototype science news stories for dissemination on various platforms (print, radio, TV, web). The development of science news pieces will be led by graduate students in the School of Journalism under the careful guidance and mentorship of experienced professors. This project will enhance the communication and amount of STEM content delivered to underserved groups, and provide diverse opportunities for them to engage in STEM related environmental issues that affect their local communities.
You can use CyberTracker on a Smartphone or handheld computer to record any type of observation. CyberTracker, which requires no programming skills, allows you to customize a series of screens for your own data collection needs. Our vision is to enable you to be part of a worldwide environmental monitoring network. Our mission is to help you improve environmental monitoring by increasing the efficiency of data gathering and to improve observer reliability.
This article explores the ways museums can utilize portable devices (i.e cell phones) as a way to engage visitors in their exhibits. Featured are three museums experimenting with this technology in their exhibit spaces. Authors include Wayne Labar, Vice President of Exhibitions and Theaters at the Liberty Science Center, Denise Bressler, an Exhibit Developer and Project Manager at the Liberty Science Center, David Asheim, Founder and CEO of Guide by Cell, Peter Samis, Associate Curator of Education and Program Manager of Interactive Educational Technologies, and Stephanie Pau, Associate
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Wayne LaBarDenise BresslerDavid AsheimPeter SamisStephanie Pau
In this article, Jim Spadaccini, director of Ideum (Corrales, NM), highlights nine free or nearly free internet-based opportunities for museums. Spadaccini provides a brief description, benefits, participants, tips, and costs associated with each web software or service. Examples include blogging, RSS feeds, and photo sharing.
Launched in 2010, the NMC Horizon Report: Museum Edition expanded the NMC Horizon Report series to provide insight on the entrance of new tools and applications in the museum sector. The Museum Edition examines emerging technologies for their potential impact on and use in education and interpretation within the museum environment. This edition is made possible by the generous support of the Edward and Betty Marcus Foundation and the Marcus Institure for Digital Education in the Arts.
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The New Media ConsortiumJohnson, L.Witchey, H.Smith, R.Levine, A.Haywood, K.
In this Communicating Research to Public Audiences project, the University of Colorado at Boulder -- in partnership with the University of Colorado Museum of Natural History, the City of Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks, and the CU-Boulder Office of Diversity, Equity and Community Engagement -- is building on the work they have done via their NSF research award, A Meta-Design Framework for Participative Software Systems, in which they have been developing participative software systems (PPS) and applications of the framework. Community of Soundscapes will employ newly developed mobile computing and collaborative mapping technology in programs that help users gain greater insights and stake into the shared environment in which they live and visit. Sound Camera, a digital recording device outfitted with GPS mapping software, allows users to collect audio clips of their sonic experiences as they explore their cities, parks and other environments and upload them online onto a digital map through a Web 2.0 application. They can then compose, annotate, and share soundscapes of the places where the sounds were recorded. A Web site will be developed to expand the project's reach to audiences not in the Boulder programs. Professional development training will be provided for collaborators and through the Colorado Alliance for Environmental Education. The educational goals are to promote literacy of PSS and engage the public in personally meaningful activities that benefit environmental education (cognitive goal) and expand environmental awareness (affective goal). The project work and its evaluation processes (by Wells Resources, Inc.) are intended to advance the field of informal science education with respect to PSS and to study how these new technologies might affect shifts in the kinds of experiences various audiences prefer to have.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Gerhard FischerElisa GiaccardiGerhard Fischer