Encyclopedia of Life Blog

One reason the Education and Outreach component is so exciting is because the EOL is an incredible platform for creating interest and awareness about the world around us.  It can be leveraged for inspirational, in-depth awareness building and educational experiences as well as be used for practical applications, such as environmental management.  The opportunities for learning, teaching and exploration are vast and limited only by one’s imagination!   

Discussions with teachers in formal and informal education settings so far indicate interest to use EOL as a tool to learn fundamental concepts, such as the scientific method and to enhance the learning related to topics such as evolution, taxonomy, systematics, ecology and extinction.  But that is just the beginning.

There are also more complex or integrated concepts and applications that the EOL will be able to support as it develops over time and accumulates more information on each species page.  Some of these examples include teaching and learning about ecosystem function and the services they provide such as climate regulation and water purification.   Eventually, we hope to develop virtual ecosystems that can be manipulated in a variety of ways so students can test the effects of changes of different types and magnitudes.

Beyond learning possibilities, the EOL will be an important information resource for conservation professionals or environmental managers in governments, corporations or other settings who need to develop management plans or monitor the status of selected species.  Media specialists could use the EOL to fact check their stories, as well as provide links from EOL pages to their stories that will put those species in context of current day issues and news.  The EOL will provide a convenient “one-stop shopping” website of current, authoritative information that can be trusted. 

 Another reason this job is rewarding is due to the partnerships that will grow as EOL starts to grow.  EOL is predicated on collaboration and partnerships.  We understand that EOL content will be richer and a greater diversity of learning and teaching models will be generated through conversations and collaborations with partners and interested members of the public.   Initial audiences Education and Outreach wishes to involve in the development and use of EOL include citizen scientists and hobbyists, educators and learners in formal education institutions (Kindergarten through 12^th grade and college level courses) and informal science education settings (e.g., natural history museums, nature centers, National Parks). 

In addition, Education and Outreach will develop mechanisms to support capacity building of scientists and institutions working on biodiversity and environmental issues in developed and developing countries.  It is expected that all of these audiences will also provide information back into the EOL.  This information could be in the form of observations about a particular species, photographs or sound recordings.  We hope that many of the scientists will volunteer to become curators of species pages and share their knowledge about selected species in their country with the rest of the world. 

If you have specific ideas about how you would use and/or contribute to the EOL, please post them for me and others to see.   I look forward to working with individuals and institutions that bring tremendous skills, interest and innovation to the biodiversity learning space!    

This entry was posted on Sunday, February 24th, 2008 at 10:40 am and is filed under Education and Outreach. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.