Workshop Title: Create and Use Online Modules in Tropical Ecology to Internationalize Your Courses

Online, open-access case studies based on research in tropical ecosystems can spark student excitement and bring a more international perspective to undergraduate courses. When presented in the full context of their biological, environmental, social and economic complexity, tropics-based modules enable students to grapple with ecology within a global context and address complex environmental problems within a framework that includes a human-environment dimension, e.g., ESA’s Four Dimensions of Ecology Education (4DEE).
 
To expand the use of online educational resources, this workshop will facilitate the creation and implementation of open-source, online modules in tropical ecology through the OCELOTS (Online Content for Experiential Learning of Tropical Systems) network (https://qubeshub.org/community/groups/ocelots).

The workshop will provide a hands-on, interactive experience that:
1) Familiarizes participants about resources available through an NSF-funded network that brings together ecologists and experts in pedagogy, media, and software development.  Resources include open-access modules hosted on the Gala platform (https://www.learngala.com/), along with implementation plans and teaching notes hosted on QUBES.
2) Enables participants to create online modules.
3) Supports the sharing of ideas about how to implement online course modules.
4) Supports international participants in sharing their research with a global audience.
5) Advances use of the 4DEE framework.