Group items tagged

Example of clicktivism Original email: A recent surge in poaching is threatening to send African rhino populations back to dangerously low numbers. One rhino is killed every 19 hours despite laws that prohibit poaching and sales of rhino horns. Demand for rhino horns is particularly high in Vietnam and China where the powder is thought to cure cancer and other health ailments, though it has no health benefits whatsoever. Sir Richard Branson is calling for immediate action by CITES, a consortium of 175 countries charged with stopping the rhino horn trade. Join him by signing the petition to demand that CITES put pressure on Vietnam and China to ensure that severe punishments for traffickers and sellers are enforced.

Following on from the lists of academic tweeters published earlier this month, we have put together a short guide to using Twitter in university research, teaching, and impact activities, available to download as a PDF. How can Twitter, which limits users to 140 characters per tweet, have any relevance to universities and academia, where journal articles are 3,000 to 8,000 words long, and where books contain 80,000 words? Can anything of academic value ever be said in just 140 characters? We have put together a short guide answering these questions, showing new users how to get started on Twitter and hone their tweeting style, as well as offering advice to more experienced users on how to use Twitter for research projects, alongside blogging, and for use in teaching.

Great guide, Nicola, thanks for sharing that.

he Education Conversations are aimed at encouraging our nation to talk, as well as to create a space for on‐going debate and discussion through which diverse voices can be heard. The conversations will focus on what works and how we can, collectively, advance the agenda for an improved public education system.

platform for data collection and sharing - relevance for citizen science and citizen journalism

HERS-SA is a self-sustaining non-profit organisation, dedicated to the advancement of women in the Higher Education sector. For the past eight years this small organisation has advocated for, and contributed to, the career development of women employed in academia via carefully crafted interventions including hosting the first national conference on Women in Leadership in Higher Education and the annual HERS-SA ACADEMY that attracts women from all over sub-Saharan Africa.

"As hyperbolic as it may sound, academic publishing is the curator and guardian of the accumulated scientific knowledge of the human race, 1600 to present. It is also a cornerstone of modern science, preferentially selecting well-executed research through the peer review process. However, academic libraries are facing decreasing budgets, and even highly ranked universities are having to cut back on journal subscriptions. Since these subscriptions account for up to 75 percent of publishers' revenues, the entire system is feeling the pressure of the economic crisis..."

The Virtual Museum (VM) provides the platform for citizen scientists to contribute to biodiversity projects.  This innovative concept was developed by the Animal Demography Unit. For many people, a "museum" is a place to see stuffed animals on display. But the ADU's Virtual Museum is not like this. The scientific part of a museum contains collections of specimens, frequently large numbers of specimens of the same species from different parts of the range, all carefully preserved and labelled with the date and place where they were collected. The ADU's Virtual Museum is like this, except that instead of specimens in draws or bottles, we have digital photographs arranged in a database.

OER Blog The OER@UCT blog serves as a reflection and collaboration point for staff involved with Open Educational Resources at the University of Cape Town. The project is part of a greater movement toward creating open access to information and educational resources. We believe that no one with the desire to learn should be cut off from educational material simply because they do not have the means to study in a traditional fashion. The internet enables access to information and we want to make sure that high quality learning materials are available to those with a thirst for knowledge.

May be helpful example for Citizen Science

Contribute to UCT Open Content like Kevin has - may also be a nice place to make Summer School podcasts available, like the great Texts/Big Questions series:)

wiki for open michigan badges project

Scientific American has been bringing science to people for over 160 years. Now the magazine is bringing people to science through a new online listing of citizen science opportunities. Early this month, Scientific American Online launched a Citizen Science section of the web site. This is part of a larger Education effort, which includes a number of science activities called Bring Science Home.

Privacy settings - classify for digital responsible citizens? Bear in mind, these stats are US

Nice penguin article May 2012, mentions Richard Sherley

I sent them a message about the Science for Citizens courses and suggested a feature on Penguins as Ocean Sentinels, as this mag is promoted by SANCCOB

If you want to create impressive presentations:)

online citizen science for astronomy and a couple of other natural science projects