Mr. Wood,
My team and I are graduate students at the University of Texas at Austin in the College of Education. We are taking a course studying 'Adventure Learning', and are reviewing the PolarTrec program and website. As part of this review, we have come across your ongoing expedition, and wanted to ask a few questions, if you don't mind. In case you haven't heard the term before, Adventure Learning refers to learning activities that are mediated via the internet (websites, photos, blog posts, etc.) by an educator / student / professionals from a generally remote location. It generally involves two way communication between students and instructors/adventurers. One aspect that makes AL intriguing is the 'hook' - the adventure aspect that keeps learners engaged and draws them in to the subject and materials. Your trip and research in Alaska definitely meets those criteria!
First off, I wanted to say that I think it is amazing that you are participating in this expedition and are committed to posting learning materials for your students. This program is great and your posts are interesting and fun to read.
As for questions, we are interested in what sort of prep work did you do re: classroom activities for the students back home? Did you develop a curriculum that they are following along with and you post items that correspond with the lessons, or are your questions / lessons developed more on-the-fly as opportunities present themselves? Did you have your students study the carbon cycle, tundra, etc. prior to beginning your trip?
What advantages / disadvantages do you perceive in regards to this expedition as a learning experience for yourself and the students, and using the website tools to provide learning materials?
Sorry about the length of the questions, and thank you in advance for any information that you can provide. We know you are busy up there!
Sincerely,
Lance Kinney Mat Evans Minwook Ok