Ocean Tracks – A Journey Through the Ocean: A Modern Approach to Science Education

Research in the sciences is currently undergoing a massive transformation, as technological advancements shift big data into the forefront of investigative tools, and early education is looking for solutions to keep up. The Ocean Tracks program offers a structured learning tool that supports both students and teachers in tackling big data in the classroom.

As technology advances and more professions are requiring data skills, our education systems are working hard to keep up and prepare students for this new workforce. Although complex datasets are often widely available to teachers, it is a challenge to make big data student friendly.

Indeed, the forms that big data takes are often far from user friendly, due to cryptic labelling of measurements, unintuitive navigation through data repositories, complicated visualisations, and highly involved analytical requirements. Further, teachers are also often unfamiliar with big data analysis techniques, particularly at introductory high school levels. These barriers make it difficult for the average high school instructor to either teach or assess a comprehensive lesson using big data. There is a genuine need for a user-friendly data interfaces and curriculum to guide students and teachers through big data and empower them to answer their own inquiries with reassuring guidance.

The Ocean Tracks program, developed by Randy Kochevar, Kira Krumhansl, Ruth Krumhansl and their colleagues, is a novel program aimed at engaging students in working with big data,...read the full article.