We’ve just completed our 4th round of #EnvironmentalDataDiscovery trails. One interesting observation from running these online events is that the same people rarely participate more than once. We’re not sure if that’s in response to the different data centre communication channels being used or peoples’ changing interest in the environmental themes. In total there’s been over 2,400 views of the different trails. Overall, the wide reach of these events is pleasing and has successfully delivered our aim: to promote the existence of the UK data centres and the Constructing a Digital Environment Strategic Priorities Fund programme.
This trail focused on environmental data the UK Polar Data Centre (UK PDC) collects in the Arctic and Antarctic. The data has been collected over many years by researchers and is added to constantly. The data trail gives you a guided example of how to explore the data using Snap! This trail used environmental data from Antarctica collected in 2015 recorded on the Brunt Ice Shelf.
This is the first quiz we have run that is accessible to school children, taking 20-30 minutes to complete. The idea was school teams or individual pupils could centre depending on their age. It was also the first quiz that was run when there were no Covid-19 restrictions in place in the UK, which we think impacted the uptake of the resource. The trail was run as a public event and a school event from 1st April to 31st March, to allow time for teachers to test it and incorporate into lesson plans around Easter holidays. The promotion through targeted twitterfeeds, news channels and Facebook channels worked well with over 300 views of the public link and over 190 views of the school link. But there was very little participation although rewards were on offer – a Netatmo Smart Weather Station and very exclusive NERC water bottles!
So why the low participation?
Without the £100 public reward we don’t think people were enticed to explore data when the Easter holidays were coming and there were no more Covid-19 travel restrictions. Many people are busy catching up with friends, family, missed events and traveling for work once again. A much-needed break from IT is being enjoyed by all!
For the school events Feedback from teachers has been very valuable in preparing the trail, which our testers and participants found to be fun and user friendly. Potential to use data trails for computing, maths or science lessons was identified. As an online resource for schools quizzes like this were thought to be useful, but quite a bit of preparation and lead time is required to be a success. Points to consider are as follows:
- The data needs to be selected depending on the age range of students
intended to use it. - There needs to be plenty of time for teachers to test the quiz and build it
into lesson plans. - Ideally worksheets & lesson plans need to be prepared to go with the
online material, helping fit the quiz to different key stages and subjects.
Teachers require information on how to present the data in context, e.g.
have multiple datasets to demonstrate (temperature) change and trends
by gathering values into a spreadsheet. - The data must be presented with a purpose – why is it important? what
can you do with it if you learn the skills to interpret it? - Time is required for data providers to find the online sites where teachers
obtain their materials – not easy if you don’t have school links.
This trail has been archived as a resource for schools and the public to use at any time. We continue to monitor if it has views and participation, although no feedback or user information is collected. Those that take part will receive a certificate with their score.
Views and participation in the previous Environmental Data Discovery Trails still continue – “From the river catchment to deep ocean”, “From present to past meteorology around the globe” and “Going underground”. These remain available as a resource, although we are no longer actively collecting feedback.
Why not have a go!