Snapping Biodiversity: Documenting and Sharing Natural History using Smartphones and Social Media
Tested Studies in Laboratory Teaching, 2019, Volume 40
Kimberly M. Kellett
Abstract
Students are on their phones constantly – why not incorporate their love of snapchatting and hashtagging into a learning activity? This is a scavenger-hunt style exercise that allows students to document and share their natural history discoveries – biodiversity, adaptations, biological interactions – with their family and friends (and you) through photographs and videos. This activity will reinforce material that students have learned, give them opportunity to expand their knowledge, and emphasize the importance of science communication! There are a variety of ways to implement this activity in their own courses – whether it is a semester-long project, a lab activity, or a homework assignment. This activity is appropriate for any biology course that includes the topics of biodiversity, organismal evolution, and/or ecology.
Keywords: ecology, photography, biodiversity, social media
