francis-educatetokeep-2020.pdf (1.99 MB)
Educate to keep it great: The long-term successes of a virtual Great Barrier Reef education program
journal contribution
posted on 2020-08-10, 00:00 authored by Prue FrancisPrue Francis, J Spencer, C McGroganThe Great Barrier Reef (GBR) is under pressure from climate change and other threats, and part of the solution is to raise awareness of the GBR and its threats beyond a local audience (Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, 2019). Reef HQ Aquarium (the national education centre for the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority) implemented a virtual marine education program focussed on the GBR in 1998. The program uses videoconferencing technology to connect real-time marine biology experts to participants around the world. We report on > ten years of participant trends for this program to assess whether the program is a mechanism for increasing community educational outreach. Since 2005,
the program increased the Aquarium’s community and educational outreach by 4.8% by connecting an additional 83 388 participants from 19 countries worldwide. While the videoconference technology has evolved overtime, the program content remains a unique, interactive virtual experience that has proven to be an effective way for an informal learning institute to increase their outreach on a national and international level, particularly as there has been a transition to online learning and
educational programs due the recent global Coronavirus pandemic.
the program increased the Aquarium’s community and educational outreach by 4.8% by connecting an additional 83 388 participants from 19 countries worldwide. While the videoconference technology has evolved overtime, the program content remains a unique, interactive virtual experience that has proven to be an effective way for an informal learning institute to increase their outreach on a national and international level, particularly as there has been a transition to online learning and
educational programs due the recent global Coronavirus pandemic.
History
Journal
Journal of STEM OutreachVolume
3Issue
2 - Special Issue - SustainabilityPublisher
Vanderbilt UniversityLocation
Nashville, Tenn.Publisher DOI
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ISSN
2576-6767Language
engPublication classification
C Journal article; C1 Refereed article in a scholarly journalCopyright notice
2020, The AuthorsUsage metrics
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