| "You are able to see the presentations in exactly the same way you would if you were sitting in a lecture theatre or classroom." | |
| Peter Tuddenham, College of Exploration |
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At a recent workshop for educators on aquatic nuisance species, leading scientific experts not only presented keynote addresses but also sat and talked with the 282 participants one-on-one. The workshop was free, and while the attendees came from around the world, none of them had to pay for their travel, food, or lodging.
This huge cost savings was because the workshop was part of a virtual series presented by the College of Exploration, a Virginia nonprofit that works with a range of partners to present educational and research programs on leadership, the environment, and technology.
"Travel and accommodation gets to be an expensive proposition for teachers and educators these days," says Peter Tuddenham, the College of Exploration's executive director. With on-line courses, "you just turn on your browser and interact."
The partners that helped bring the three-week workshop to the Internet last March include the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Sea Grant Office, Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Consortium, Dauphin Island Sea Lab in Alabama, and the J.L. Scott Marine Education Center and Aquarium at the University of Southern Mississippi at Biloxi.
The aquatic nuisance species workshop and other programs offered by the College of Exploration are successful, Tuddenham says, because of these types of collaboration.
It also helps that the College of Exploration staff has developed an approach for delivering on-line programs that replicate face-to-face workshops. These elements include speaker segments, a place to discuss classroom implementation, a "café" for informal chat and networking, a Web library with a resource center, and a participant directory.
"You are able to see the presentations in exactly the same way you would if you were sitting in a lecture theatre or classroom," Tuddenham says. "We offer multiple paths to the content to meet the needs of different learning styles and different technical capabilities."
While presentations can be accessed via video and PowerPoint presentations, the main medium used is text-based, asynchronous conferencing where someone starts a conversation by posting (in writing) and then everyone that arrives after the posting can respond. Posts are made in order of time posted, so the result is much like a real dialogue.
All materials gathered and posted during the workshop remain accessible throughout the entire series. Features are scheduled over a period of time such as days or a week, instead of hours, to allow participants from all over the globe time to respond.
In addition to the Aquatic Nuisance Species Workshop, the College of Exploration's virtual series has included a Coral Reef On-line Workshop for Teachers, as well as a nine-month series on Ocean Exploration, which helped identify how ocean content can enhance learning in the classroom.
The on-line workshops "help get more people involved in understanding our oceans and taking action," Tuddenham says. Participants often include grade-school teachers, professors, naturalists, marine educators, and other environmental educators.
He adds, "With the right kind of support, we can make a significant contribution by providing a multidisciplinary forum on topics of concern to us all in regards to the ocean and immediate coastline. That's ultimately what we want at the end of the day."
To learn more about the College of Exploration and the Aquatic Nuisance Species On-line Workshop, point your browser to www.coexploration.org. You may also contact Peter Tuddenham at (703) 433-5760, or peter@coexploration.net.
