SEARCH EFFICIENCY AND USABILITY IN AN ONLINE CLIMATE CHANGE CURRICULUM

Climate change is one of the most pressing issues facing the world today. A vast array of curricular approaches is being used to teach about climate change, from formal classroom settings to informal approaches. The relative widespread accessibility of the internet has prompted many educators to turn to online instruction as one mechanism for reaching many people easily. The EarthLabs modules (http://serc.carleton.edu/earthlabs/) provide students with up-to-date access to data sets invaluable for understanding the changing Earth. We investigated the interactions between users and the online EarthLabs resources focused on the cryosphere through use of eye tracking technology and retrospective interviews. Data suggest that: 1) In general, EarthLabs modules are designed to focus users on salient, rather than secondary, features of the curriculum; 2) Online data resources available from agencies involved in climate change data collection have mixed success. Some resources adequately encourage users to engage with salient information, while others attract little attention, and therefore engagement, from users; 3) Users followed a wide variety of pathways through the curriculum with similar levels of success; and 4) Users expressed levels of engagement and interest in the materials that paralleled eye tracking observations. We suggest that similar analysis of online curriculum is necessary for identification of exemplary resources from among the range of resources now available online.