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

生物科学(61)。该项目正在采取一种创新的技术方法来招收学生，并保持他们对生物和植物学的兴趣，并正在解决学习植物学的学生群体缺乏多样性的问题。该项目包括将来自地区大学和社区学院的两组8-12名学生引入三个阶段的课程，包括阅读和实地练习，其中包括探究性学习、公共学习和反思。该课程使用了Memex，这是一个开放源码的创新记忆框架，允许学生链接和共享数字信息。Memex由社交软件支持，也称为Web 2.0技术(例如博客、维基、即时消息)，并为增强学生记忆力、帮助记忆和促进学生参与提供了强大的手段。Bot 2.0 Memex技术架构是开放和灵活的，包括手机和免费的开源桌面搜索工具，这使得它可以在其他机构设置和学科中复制。该项目的主要目标是：(1)使用社交软件将学生与自然界联系起来学习植物学；(2)研究学生如何组织信息；(3)研究Memex框架(包括协作Memex)的作用和潜在用途，以促进STEM专题的学习；以及(4)从不同和代表性不足的人群中招收植物学领域的学生。项目团队正在开发和实施评估工具，以评估学生的学习和Memex的使用，将学生带到校园进行为期两天的协作夏令营体验，向植物学和信息科学领域的专家学习，并对学生对技术的使用以及学生应对和依赖Web 2.0技术进行学术使用的能力进行全面评估。这个项目的智力价值包括将社交软件、反思和自我监控整合到植物学课程中，并测试使用Web2.0技术支持反思和学习的这一战略的有效性。该项目的更广泛影响包括它在改变各种STEM学科的教学方法和学生学习经验方面的巨大潜力。此外，该项目通过集中招收代表性不足的学生，扩大了对植物学的参与。项目成果正在以各种方式传播，包括提交给国家科学数字图书馆。

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.