Contact us: emily.renoe@ubc.ca | catherine.paul@ubc.ca

Case Study 1 : Creatures From The Bog

You are teaching a Biology course on wetland ecosystems. The course is mostly classroom-based with an online component for student collaboration in WebCT Vista. There are a number of planned field trips for each module in the course. One of the modules is called "The Study of a Bog" and will focus on plant and animal adaptations and deal with the issues of conservation, habitat and pollution within this unique ecosystem. This module includes a field trip to Burns Bog in Richmond. The learning objectives you have set for this particular module and field trip are for students to work in groups to accomplish the following:

1. Identify and explain bog creatures 2. Comment and give feedback on peer work 3. Contribute to knowledge creation in an authentic way 4. Synthesize group findings

There are a number of activities assigned to students on this particular field trip that will support these learning objectives, including:

1. Take photos of bog creatures and identify them; share these photos with the whole class 2. Give "on-the-spot" feedback to peers on information gathered in the bog using online tools 3. Share knowledge you have gathered with peers inside and outside the class; connect to a social network or community of practice 4. Create a group presentation that summarizes bog research & share with the whole class

Challenge!

Your challenge now is to figure out ways to use emerging technologies to support your students' field trip activities. You should also be thinking about how to bring the information & data gathered and produced by your students into your online course.

emerging technologies that enhance teaching & learning

Solution

Activity 1: Shared Digital RepositoryTool: FlickrSet-Up Time: 10 minutesKeep-up Time:Tech Savvy: Low

Activity 2: On-the-Spot Feedback Tool: TwitterSet-Up Time: 10 minutesKeep-up Time:Tech Savvy: Low

Activity 3: Share KnowledgeTool: Blog/WikiSet-Up Time: 10 minutesKeep-up Time:Tech Savvy: Low

Activity 4: Group PresentationTool: PreziSet-Up Time: 1 hourKeep-up Time:Tech Savvy: Medium

Resources

Check out our wiki for all the resources discussed in this session: http://wiki.ubc.ca/EmergingTech

Training and more at: www.elearning.ubc.ca

www.flickr.com

www.twitter.com

www.blogs.ubc.ca

www.prezi.com