1. Improve Student Engagement and Learning in
Online Science Courses: Using Real-World Data
Peter Jeschofnig, Ph.D.
Institute for Excellence in Distance Science Education
eLCC Conference, April 10-12, 2013 Breckenridge, CO
4. The most terrifying problem in American
university education is the profound lack of
scientific literacy… while we’ve found ways to
educate scientists in the humanities, the reverse
has never really happened.”
• Leon Botstein, President, Bard College
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/22/nyregion/22science.html
5. The Citizen Science program introduces students to
natural science and the ideas of the scientific
method. It is designed to promote science literacy
and focuses on the theme of infectious diseases,
the importance of infectious disease in a
community, and the impact that infectious disease
outbreaks and subsequent management can
have on our global society. The curriculum allows
students to conduct a laboratory experiment,
analyze a scientific problem, and model potential
solutions to that problem.
6. What is Citizen Science?
Scientific research conducted, in whole or in
part, by amateur or nonprofessional scientists.
37. Hudson Bay Sea Ice Changes
1978- 2010
Hudson Bay Sea Ice Changes
1978- 2010
1.00
0.90 y = -0.015x + 30.64
0.80
0.70
Area 10^6 km^2
0.60
0.50
0.40 Series1
0.30 Linear (Series1)
0.20
0.10
0.00
1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020
Year
38. Earth System Research Laboratory
Temperature Time Series
http://www.esrl.noaa.gov/psd/data/timeseries/
39. Hudson Bay Temp Changes
1978 - 2010
0
Nov 1978 - 2010 Temp
1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020 y = 0.132x - 273.0
-2
-4
-6
Temp oC
-8
Series1
-10
Linear (Series1)
-12
-14
-16
-18
Year
40. Resources
ImageJ Web Site http://rsb.info.nih.gov/ij
http://rsbweb.nih.gov/ij/docs/examples/
http://www.lpi.usra.edu/nlsi/education/hsResearch/crateringLab/tutorial/
http://digital.bsd.uchicago.edu/resources_files/ImageJ%20basics%20tutorial%20v2.pdf
46. Resources
Lots of resources on the internet:
Here are two – remember that many links become obsolete with time
Tips on Using Research Data in the Classroom
http://web.vims.edu/bridge/data2.html?svr=www
http://www2.vims.edu/bridge/search/bridge1output_menu.cfm?q=data
Real Time Data Projects
http://www.ciese.org/realtimeproj.html
http://ciese.org/realtimedatasites.html
http://hmsc.oregonstate.edu/visitor/sites/default/files/education-
programs/docs/Using-Real-time_Data.pdf
While teaching F2F classes, I got my students involved in experiential projects every semester. Typically these involved semester-long water-sampling and analysis; stream discharge measurements, aquatic insect studies, etc.
We also did experiential projects during the winter
The only college assigning Citizen Science project s I could find online is Bard College.Great statement by their president
First project I participated in. It only used participants’ computers during inactive time. There was no active involvement by the participant. Using 1000’s of computers provided quite a bit of computing power
Classifying galaxies
Hanny is a participating teacher from Holland who discovered an unusual object that was named Hanny’svoorwertp – meaning Hanny’s objectSmall galaxy that acts like a large reflection nebula, which shows the reflected light of a bright quasar event
Site with several citizen science projects
Cancer Research UK and the Zooniverse use volunteers to help to classify archive cancer samples.Volunteers examine images with tiny tumor samples from a huge dataset. Each sample in the database has been stained to highlight the differences between ordinary cells, such as white blood cells, and irregular, cancerous cells. One slide has around 120 tumor samples, but these are broken down into 16 sections so the public is looking at a tiny subsection of the full dataset when they view each image on Cell Slider.
Anyone who watches birds, from backyards to city streets to remote forests, can help researchers better understand birds and their habits.
Climate scientists need help classifying over 30 years of tropical cyclone satellite imagery. The global intensity record contains uncertainties caused by differences in analysis procedures around the world and through time. Scientists are enlisting the public because patterns in storm imagery are best recognized by the human eye.
Global study of wildlife migration and seasonal change
Timing of leafing, flowering, and fruiting of plants (plant phenophases)
Competitive game dealing with protein folding - several discoveries have been madehttp://www.pnas.org/content/108/47/18949.fullAlgorithm discovery by protein folding game players
http://techland.time.com/2011/09/19/foldit-gamers-solve-aids-puzzle-that-baffled-scientists-for-decade/Foldit Gamers Solve AIDS Puzzle That Baffled Scientists for a Decade
Picture Post is a part of the Digital Earth Watch (DEW) network. DEW supports environmental monitoring by citizens, students and community organizations through digital photography and satellite imagery.
This study aims to utilize modern non-invasive tools in the search for the tomb of Genghis Khan, thus shedding light on Mongolia's rich historical heritage and enabling conservation and education of this rapidly changing landscape.
Great catalog of citizen science projects
Example page
Example of one of the many articles on Citizen science – explaining some projects
NASA has several citizen science projects
Mobile phones are ideal data gathering/recording deviceshttp://mentalfloss.com/article/31189/10-ways-you-can-use-your-smartphone-advance-science
Example app: reporting road kills
Creek Watch is an iPhone application that enables you to help monitor the health of your local watershed.What’s invasive - Volunteers can use the app to look up lists of the top invasive species in their area, created by National Park Service rangers and biologists. If they spot a plant or animal from the list, they submit a geo-tagged observation, with optional picture and text notes, so that scientists can locate, identify, study try to remove the species.
Citizen Science Maps Asteroid Craters like the Proshttp://www.slate.com/blogs/bad_astronomy/2013/03/24/citizen_science_non_pro_asteroid_mappers_do_as_well_as_the_pros.html
Data needs to be checked via random sampling, statistical analysis and comparison among data gatherersMechanisms for Data Quality and Validation in Citizen Sciencehttp://crowston.syr.edu/system/files/PID2090593.pdfhttp://blog.okfn.org/2013/01/23/citizen-science-can-produce-reliable-data/http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/fr359
A “google” search on “virtual” geology field trips will bring up PPTs, film clips, from many well-know geological destination.This is an example from BIG BEND NATIONAL PARK AND SURROUNDING AREAhttp://prism.texarkanacollege.edu/bbvirtual/edwards/edwards.htmlhttp://www.maroon.com/bigbend/intro/index.htmlCoastal Erosion field triphttp://www.miracosta.cc.ca.us/home/cmetzler/field_trip/top.htmlJames A. Wallis, St. Petersburg College, St. Petersburg, FL: A Phenomenological, Evaluative Approach to Developing Ecology Virtual Field Trips for Undergraduate, Non-Major College Students“Abstract: http://www.edu-papers.com/a-phenomenological-evaluative-approach-to-developing-ecology-virtual-field-trips-for-undergraduate-non-major-college-students/Several other dissertations compared use of real vs virtual field trips
Geology of North Cascades National Park, WAhttp://www.nature.nps.gov/geology/usgsnps/noca/nocaft.htmlStops are clickable and show photographs, detailed explanations of geological history
Field experiences can be designed for any course. Dr. Jim Brown of Ocean County College in New Jersey teaches a variety of online biology and microbiology courses at the undergraduate level and provides a “mini” capstone experience at the end of each course. This provides an opportunity for the student to integrate the skills, methodology, and knowledge gained throughout the semester and culminates in a project in the form of a paper to analyze and evaluate the experience.http://onlinescienceeducatorbylabpaq.com/2012/02/02/providing-a-capstone-field-trip-experience-in-your-online-science-course/
imageJ- developed by NIH - http://rsb.info.nih.gov/ij/great open source image processing software – lots of tutorials available on the internethttp://labs.fhcrc.org/fero/Protocols/ImageJ-guide.pdfhttp://sciencedataliteracy.wordpress.com/tag/imagej/http://lukemiller.org/index.php/2010/11/analyzing-gels-and-western-blots-with-image-j/http://mynasadata.larc.nasa.gov/804-2/doing-science-with-a-camera/
Can download sea ice data from this source - http://nsidc.org/http://nsidc.org/data/
Example project: http://www.usc.edu/org/cosee-west/LessonPlans/Climate%20Change%20lesson%20plans/Cris%20deWolf_Polar%20Bears%20in%20Peril_Large%20file.pdfhttp://serc.carleton.edu/earth_analysis/image_analysis/index.htmlhttp://serc.carleton.edu/eet/seaice/index.html
Results of Hudson Bay Sea Ice changes from 1978-2010
Source for Climate datahttp://www.esrl.noaa.gov/psd/data/timeseries
Results of Hudson Bay temp changes from 1978-2010Comparing this graph to the changes in sea ice distribution clearly shows as temperature increased, sea ice extent decreasedStudents could discuss how these changes affect human populations as well as local wildlife, like polar bears, etc
