Course Aims:

This workshop aims to give conservation educators hands-on experience using a wide range of different learning technologies to aid in-person teaching, interpretation, and blended or fully remote learning.

Throughout the highly interactive workshop, participants should build their confidence in using learning technologies, expand their knowledge of different free or very low-cost options available for educators, and generate ideas of how they can embed new tools into their existing practices and new education sessions.

Learning Outcomes:

By the end of this course you will:

• Increase your experience using a wide range of different learning technologies as a student/visitor
• Increase your experience using a wide range of different learning technologies as an educator
• Increase your confidence using a wide range of different learning technologies as an educator
• Be able to apply your knowledge of learning technologies to different contexts to generate ideas for use
• Be able to inspire others to support the use of learning technologies in your own institution
• Be able to evaluate the use of learning technologies and the impact they have using statistics provided by them

Content:

This will be a highly interactive workshop. Participants will get the chance to use a range of free or very low-cost learning technologies from the point of view of both a student/visitor and an educator. Technologies include (but are not limited to!):

• Audience Response Systems (ARS)
• PowerPoint
• Digital Learning Environments
• Stop Motion Animation
• Video Editing
• QR codes
• Augmented Reality
• Virtual Reality
• Collaborative Documents
• Evaluation/Stats

We will take the time to answer any and all questions to ensure that everyone feels confident using these technologies, and tips for on-boarding other colleagues to secure finance or to help spread confidence in use.

We will then work in groups to generate ideas to apply these technologies to a range of different contexts including existing formal lessons, creating multiple touch points in learning, interactive interpretation, student-led learning and different outreach activities.

Assessment:

Assessment for this workshop will be informal as it is focused on building confidence and ideas, which are impossible to pass or fail!

Strong evaluation of the session itself will be built in at all stages, beginning with gathering baseline data and aiming to prove the positive impact the session has on the participants

Additional information: 

Participants will need to bring a smartphone they can use to interact during the session. A very limited number will be available for those who do not have access to a personal device.