CRPA: Into the Rift: A Multimedia Experience for Advancing Ecosystem-based Science Education

这个将研究人员与公众联系起来的项目计划创建一个多媒体网站“进入裂谷”，这是一个前往东非坦噶尼喀湖的虚拟之旅，同时还提供教学资源和宣传活动。内容将集中在世界第二大湖泊的高度淡水多样性；湖中种类繁多的慈鲷；以及过度捕捞和全球变暖对湖泊生态系统的影响。该项目的预期学习成果是，观众将增强对以下方面的认识和理解：1)支持湖泊生命的生态系统尺度过程；2)完整的自然生态系统对人类社会福祉的重要性；3)科学家们用来了解更多关于生态系统尺度的物质和能量运动的技术；4) STEM领域的潜在职业道路。这些学习成果与当前和拟议的科学标准相关，这些标准为内容开发和结果评估提供了一个结构。该项目将由赖特州立大学的生态学家（项目负责人Yvonne vadboncoeur博士）、教育专家（项目负责人Lisa Kenyon博士）、传播专家（项目负责人Elliot Gaines博士）和一个媒体实验室（Habitat Seven）共同设计，并由Edu公司进行形成性评估。该网站由一名来自东非的导游和PI共同主持，除英语外，还将以三种语言（西班牙语、法语和斯瓦希里语）呈现。Edu, Inc.还将根据四种预期学习成果及其相关概念对项目的所有组成部分进行总结性评估，并分析传播策略的结果。该CRPA使用互联网技术将抽象的科学概念和基本上无法进入的研究地点提供给广大受众。除了网站之外，该项目还打算通过积极使用社交媒体来告知和吸引观众。《进入裂谷》将为非专业观众和课堂提供材料，包括获得真实的科学数据，将坦噶尼喀湖的数据与从美国五大湖收集的环境数据进行比较。与现有组织的其他合作，包括跨越边界，保护桥梁和社区桥梁，将扩大项目对不同受众的影响和影响。这种多语种的方法可以让我们在美国国内外都能接触到更多的潜在用户

This Connecting Researchers to Public Audiences project plans to create a multimedia website, Into the Rift, a virtual journey to Lake Tanganyika in East Africa, along with teaching resources and a dissemination campaign. The content will focus on the high freshwater diversity of the 2nd largest lake in the world; the diverse array of cichlid fish in the lake; and the effects of overharvesting and global warming on the lake's ecosystem. The project's intended learning outcomes are that viewers will have enhanced awareness and understanding of: 1) the ecosystem-scale processes that support life in lakes; 2) the importance of intact natural ecosystems for the well-being of human societies; 3) the techniques that scientists use to learn more about the ecosystem-scale movement of matter and energy; and 4) potential career paths in STEM fields. These learning outcomes correlate to the current and proposed science standards, which provide a structure for content development and outcomes assessment.The project will be designed by the collaboration of an ecologist (the PI Dr. Yvonne Vadeboncoeur), education specialist (co-PI Dr. Lisa Kenyon), communication specialist (co-PI Dr. Elliot Gaines) all from Wright State University, and a media lab (Habitat Seven), and informed by formative evaluation conducted by Edu, Inc. The website, hosted by a guide from East Africa along with the PI, will be presented in three languages (Spanish, French, and Swahili) in addition to English. Edu, Inc. will also conduct a summative evaluation of all the components of the project with respect to the four intended learning outcomes and their related concepts as well as analyze the outcomes of the dissemination strategies.This CRPA uses internet technologies to make abstract scientific concepts and a largely inaccessible research location available to a wide audience. The project intends to inform and engage the audience with an aggressive use of social media in addition to the website. Into the Rift will provide material for both the lay audience and classrooms, including access to authentic scientific data to compare the Lake Tanganyika data to environmental data collected from the U.S. Great Lakes. Additional collaborations with established organizations, including Crossing Boundaries, Conservation Bridge and Community Bridges, will expand the reach and impact of the project to diverse audiences. The multi-lingual approach extends the reach to potentially an even greater audience both within and outside the U.S.