Seeing the Forest and the Trees

University Of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst MA

Investigators

Abstract

Seeing the Forest and the Trees (0941415) The project is implementing a novel method of combining mobile communication technologies with social networking software and websites into the biology curricula of several courses at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. The innovative curriculum takes full advantage of college students' proficiency with networked communications (e.g., PDAs, cell phones, Facebook, Flickr, and Google Earth) while familiarizing them with field observations and research skills. Students are able to share their observations and data through various online sources by contributing to ongoing research about invasive plant species, plant diversity, plant phenology and plant-animal interactions. By evaluating the experiences, ideas, and attitudes of instructors and students using mobile technologies, this project can inform a wide range of educational institutions on adapting this unique approach for its own curriculum. For example, faculty at UMass Boston are evaluating the technology developed in the project in one day workshops with Boston Public School students and middle school teachers. Data collected and lessons learned are being disseminated via a public website called MobileTechnologiesForTeachingFieldCourses. Ultimately this project utilizes the advances in geospatial, mobile, and multimedia information technologies coalesced with their application to environmental science topics to benefit educational institutions of all levels, Citizen Science programs, and environmental non-government organizations.