Implementing and evaluating technology-based approaches to informal education in the ecological sciences

Background/Question/Methods: A growing number of ecologists are using technology as a means of informal public outreach, engagement, and education. In particular, widespread growth in access to the web and to mobile technology has the capacity to reach new audiences, as well as achieve improvements in knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors towards ecology. Understanding the extent to which technology engages broader or more underrepresented audiences, or affects change beyond that of more traditional approaches, is critically important. How do we know that our efforts are yielding the intended outcomes?

I survey the growth of technology use in informal science education, as well as concomitant efforts to assess its efficacy. I then use two case studies – the natural history website Canopy in the Clouds and the mobile field guide application Plant-O-Matic – to provide quantitative insights into how visitors discover websites and mobile applications, the demographics of the visitors, and what content they engage with when they visit.

Results/Conclusions: The exponential growth in informal science education websites and mobile applications far outpaces their evaluation and assessment. However, as demonstrated by the case studies, there are simple quantitative approaches that provide the means to evaluate the number of visitors and the depth of their engagement with the website or application. In turn, results can be used to iteratively improve outcomes. Similar approaches exist to provide both quantitative and qualitative insights into changes in users’ knowledge and attitudes. There is a critical need to begin assembling formal and informal resources that provide this evidence-based information on best practices to ecologists wishing to engage broader audiences.