BOT 2.0: Botany through Web 2.0, the Memex and Social Learning

University Of North Carolina At Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill NC

Investigators

Abstract

Biological Sciences (61). This project is taking an innovative technological approach to recruiting students and retaining their interest in the biological and botanical sciences, and is addressing the lack of diversity in the student population pursuing the botanical sciences. The project involves introducing two groups of 8-12 students from area universities and community colleges to a three-phase curriculum involving reading and field exercises that incorporate inquiry-based learning, communal learning, and reflection. The curriculum utilizes a memex, an open source innovative memory framework allowing students to link and share digital information. The memex is supported by social software, also known as Web 2.0 technologies (e.g., blogs, wikis, instant messaging) and is providing a powerful means for augmenting student memory, aiding retention, and facilitating student engagement. The Bot 2.0 Memex technology architecture is open and flexible, including cell phones and free open-source desktop search tools, which makes it available for duplication in other institutional settings and disciplines. The project's primary goals are: (1) to use social software to connect students to the natural world to study botanical science; (2) to study how students organize information; (3) to examine the role and potential use of the memex framework (including a collaborative memex) to facilitate learning of STEM topics, and (4) to recruit students from diverse and underrepresented populations to the field of botany. The project team is developing and implementing evaluation instruments to assess student learning and memex use, bringing students to campus for a two-day collaborative camp experience to learn from experts in the field of botany and information science, and conducting an overall evaluation of student use of technology and student ability to cope with and depend on Web 2.0 technologies for academic use. The intellectual merits of this project include integrating social software, reflection, and self-monitoring into botany curricula, and testing the effectiveness of this strategy for using Web 2.0 technologies to support reflection and learning. The broader impacts of the project include its strong potential for transforming pedagogy and student learning experiences in a variety of STEM disciplines. In addition the project is broadening participation in the botanical sciences by focusing on recruiting underrepresented students. Project results are being disseminated in a variety of ways, including submission to the National Science Digital Library.