Soil-Net.comThe development of a

soils educational web portal for schools age

Dr Stephen Hallett,Prof. P. Bullock, Dr T. Simmons,

J. Dunleavy

Defra funded project: SP0552

EGU. Thursday 11:45 - 12:00ORAL EGU2007-A-04720SSS3-1TH2O-006  Room: Lecture Room 33

Submission: SSS23 Soil as an open interdisciplinary laboratory: didactical pathways for soil science teaching in school

Cranfield campus

RMCS

Silsoe

Department of Natural ResourcesDepartment of Natural Resources

School of Applied SciencesSchool of Applied Sciences

National Soil Resources Institute (NSRI)National Soil Resources Institute (NSRI)

The challenge!

www.soil-net.com/

SOIL, alongside AIR and WATER, is one of the world’s three major natural resources

Soil Drivers EU: Thematic Strategy for Soil Protection

Communication (COM(2006) 231) sets a 10-year framework to ensure high level of soil protection, and identify measures to be taken. The proposed soil framework Directive (COM(2006) 232) identifies common principles for protecting EU soils, allowing EU Member States to decide how best to protect and use soil in a sustainable way. Lastle, the Impact Assessment (SEC (2006) 1165 and SEC(2006) 620) contains a socio-economic and environmental impact assessment of the different options considered in the preparatory phase of the strategy and of the measures finally retained by the Commission.

UK Environment Agency: The State of Soils in England and Wales (13/5/04)

Healthy soils are vital to a sustainable environment, but there are increasing signs that their condition has been neglected. As it cannot be assumed that soil loss and damage will be recoverable, it is essential that soils are managed sustainably to keep them healthy for future generations.

UK DEFRA: The First Soil Action Plan for England (5/04)

Soil is one of the essentials of life, along with air and water. Yet it is so much a part of everyday life that there’s a danger of taking it for granted. Covering most of the earth’s land surface, it is the essential growing medium for our food, timber and other crops. It supports the buildings that we live and work in and the roads and rails that move us around.

Objective One, “Defra will work with stakeholders to develop a programme

of education and awareness of soil issues among the general public, those working with soils and the

professionals that guide, advise or instruct soil managers.”

Objective One, “Defra will work with stakeholders to develop a programme

of education and awareness of soil issues among the general public, those working with soils and the

professionals that guide, advise or instruct soil managers.”

UK Key Stages

Key Stage School Years Children's Ages

1 1 and 2 5 to 7

2 3, 4, 5 and 6 7 to 11

3 7, 8 and 9 11 to 14

4 10 and 11 14 to 16 GCSE

SATs

SATs

SATs

Primary

Secondary

Some comments…

“Soil is very important and has been lost sight of in school education and higher education, with soil departments

closing”

“We think the largest absence is with younger age groups. A level geography

optional modules provide good opportunities for soils study but these are

often the least popular”“We need to concentrate on developing soil awareness at

schools level to a solid foundation standard and

then follow up ‘environmental’ degree

courses with post-professional soil-specific short courses aimed at newly appointed staff in organisations such as

FWAG, EA etc.”

“In primary school education there are virtually no activities linked to soil”

“The National curriculum scarcely

mentions soils”

“Do you have, or know where I could

find/purchase a range of soil samples for use in

teaching science (or any other useful resources)?”

“You have reminded me how important it is to

understand soils as the connection between geology, wildlife and

landscape, and farming, economy and culture”

“Teachers want pupils to see and touch soils to see what goes on rather than just looking at text books and pupils

have much a improved understanding of the processes involved when they're

out in the field and studying it”

Where’s the Soil ??? Geography

geographical enquiry and skills environmental change and sustainable development

Science: life processes and living things variation, classification and inheritance green plants as organisms living things in their environment

Science: materials and their properties acids and bases geological changes

Where’s the Soil ???

History settlements, events, people and changes in the past historical interpretation

Citizenship responsible living

ICT environmental data

Art and Design texture, natural forms mother nature

designer

DesignDesign

ContentContent ProvisionProvision

NSAD [& CU]

CU DesignDialogues & CU IT DeptSiteMachine3

Textual contentDesign directionLogical structure

HostingContent Management

Facilitation

LiveryMultimedia

Print ObjectsGraphic Design

OperationOperationDirection &Direction &RelevanceRelevance

Defra, SetNet, SchoolsDfES, OU

Soil-Net….

Domain “www.soil-net.com” owned by CUTrademark “Soil-Net” owned by CU

Soil-Net Responsibilities

Locations:Classroom, ICT Lab, Home, Outside …

Classroom – Shared experience Classroom – Working independently Teacher’s resource Student home research

Soil-Net Delivery ThemesSoil-Net Delivery Themes

Design ApproachCues: Visual, audio, timings, pace

Cast: Consistent naming, voicing, character andappearance

Appearance: Colour schemes, icons, layout, CSS styles

Typography: Font styles

Navigation: Consistency, accessibility issues

Printing: Print objects and templates

Language: Key Stage language, semantic guidance, vocabulary

Learning: Didactic guidance, evidence-based approach(practical and effective activities)

Structural: File/folder naming conventions

Development of an informal ‘Style Guide’ for development team

http

://ww

w.so

il-ne

t.com

Interactive Rich Media

Today there are 1.1 billion users of the Internet worldwide

In Europe a 249% growth in Internet usage from 2000 to 2007 (399 million)

90 percent of all Schools in England have high-speed connections

99% of all Secondary schools and 89% of all Primary schools are connected

Cost effective delivery mechanism, transforming learning opportunities

Delivery via the Internet:

Source of school statistics: http://www.teachernet.gov.uk/wholeschool/ictis/infrastructure/broadband/ Accessed 27/3/07Source of Internet statistics: http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats.htm Accessed 27/3/07

KS1KS1 IntroductoryIntroductory

ArticlesArticles

Essays

InteractiveMultimedia

Soil-Net PrimarySoil-Net Primary

Soil-Net Structure

KS2KS2

KS3KS3

KS4KS4

Soil-Net SecondarySoil-Net Secondary

Case StudiesCase Studies

3 x 3pieces

Activity andFact sheets

Activities

Links and Further references

Photographs

Downloads

Part I IntroductionPart II The Global CyclesPart III The Function of SoilsPart IV The Soils On EarthPart V Threats To SoilsPart VI Future ConcernsPart VII Case Studies

Soil-Net Structure

64 topics +

Online QuizzesQuiz Attempts Mean score (%)

Secondary_Intro_What 15 76.9

Secondary_Intro_Matter 7 80

Secondary_Intro_Microscope 9 86.7

Secondary_Intro_Properties 19 81

Secondary_Intro_Formation 6 73.3

Secondary_Intro_Differences 7 94.2

Secondary_Intro_Livingbeing 9 68.9

Secondary_Intro_Plants 20 94

Secondary_Intro_Colonisation 4 65

Secondary_Cycles_Oxygen 5 77.8

Secondary_Cycles_Nitrogen 4 81.5

Secondary_Cycles_Carbon 10 79

Secondary_Cycles_Nutrient 1 88

Secondary_Cycles_Hydrology 1 100

Quiz Attempts Mean score (%)

Secondary_Functions_Farmingandfood 4 75

Secondary_Functions_Forestry 9 87.8

Secondary_Functions_Ecology 4 94

Secondary_Functions_Ecology_Leaves 20 79.5

Secondary_Functions_Soilwater 5 92

Secondary_Functions_Reclamation 1 88

Secondary_Functions_Infrastructure 2 94

Secondary_Functions_Archaeology 5 77.6

Secondary_Functions_Climate 1 63

Secondary_Functions_Health 2 94

Secondary_Functions_Foodprod 2 90

Secondary_Functions_Garden 8 84.5

Secondary_Soilsonearth_Britain 10 86.4

Secondary_Soilsonearth_World 10 60.2

Secondary_Threats_Erosion 3 58.3

Secondary_Threats_Desertification 2 100

Secondary_Threats_Acidrain 1 25

Secondary_Threats_Fertilisers 1 38

Secondary_Threats_Pollutants 1 13

Quiz_WhosePoo.swf 44 82.8

Activities and DownloadsSoil-related activity sheets – 50+ activity sheets and resourcesfor all ages, presented by Key Stage.Desktop wallpaper - 'green-screen' images.The school garden - how to start and manage a school garden.Soil walks - take a virtual online soil walk.Terrain builder - an erosion simulator. Design a landscape and let the water flow!Eco-Lifestyle Quiz - an 'eco schools' resource. Check the impacts of your lifestyle on the environment.SoilScapes Interactive mapper - online soil mapping for England and Wales. Enter your Postcode to see the soils near you.Whose Poo? & Whose Clues? - you just have to find out!Wormery - study worms and learn about what they do!Soil-Net Primary fileset - for offline use.Soil-Net Photo Library - over 2,400 high quality environmental images for royalty-free classroom use.

Soil-Net Photo Album Unique resource

2,441 photographs 75 categorised folders 2.65 Gb imagery

Availability – free! Creative commons

AttributionNon-commercialShare-alike licence

Referencing Soil-Net

BA – follow up to BA Festival http://www.the-ba.net/the-ba/

Breaking Ground http://whyfiles.org/199_soil/

Bright New Scotland Soils http://www.brightnewscotland.org.uk/UserFiles/File/Analysing,%20Identifying%20&%20Working%20Soil(1).pdf

BSSS http://www.soils.org.uk/

Just for Kids Bureau of Land Management

http://www.blm.gov/nstc/soil/Kids/knowmore.html

Compendium of models and applications

http://www.itc.nl/personal/rossiter/research/rsrch_ss_apps.html

Countryside Agency http://www.countryside.gov.uk/

DEFRA http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/land/soil/education/index.htm

Environment Agency http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/

Essex Grid for Learning http://www.e-gfl.org/

EUGRIS http://www.eugris.info/

FACE http://www.face-online.org.uk

FTPWork http://www.ftpwork.org/

Geog Soc. http://www.geocities.com/geogsoc2000/Contents.htm

Geographical Association http://www.geography.org.uk

Geography Forum http://www.learningnet.co.uk/ubb/Forum5/HTML/006822.html

Staffordshire Learning Net http://www.sln.org.uk/geography

Geography World http://members.aol.com/bowermanb/101.html

Hants County Council http://www.hants.gov.uk/schooltravelplans/links.html

Hants County Council http://www.hants.gov.uk/environment/soils/assets/Hampshire_summary.pdf

Hants County Council http://www3.hants.gov.uk/sustainableschools/sustainable-schools-action/sustainable-schools-landuse.htm

Home-made metal detectors http://www.metal-detectors-reviews.com/wi/Homemade-metal-detectors

Institute of Environmental Sciences (IES)

http://www.ies-uk.org.uk/

ISRIC World Soil Information - data sets

http://www.isric.org/UK/About+Soils/Other+sources/Soil+education/default.htm

IUSS http://www.iuss.org/

New Forest National Park http://www.newforestnpa.gov.uk/support_organisations

Planet Science http://www.scienceyear.com/home.html

Radley College http://geography.radley.org.uk/web_physical.html#soils

Science Learning Centres http://www.sciencelearningcentres.org.uk/

TeacherNet Growing Schools http://www.teachernet.gov.uk/

TeacherNet Sustainable Schools Forum

http://www.teachernet.gov.uk/sustainableschools/

The Geography Pages http://www.geographypages.co.uk/soils.htm

United States Consortium of Soil Science Associations

http://soilsassociation.org/

A selection of sites cross-referencing Soil-Net

Google = 10,700 references

Web Statistics

11,969 unique visitors, averaging 48 unique persons visiting each day

145,520 page impressions served up (pages viewed) on monitored pages

Country of Origin Visits

United Kingdom 10,981

United States 2,467

India 686

Period June 2006 to 27/3/07

Top Referring sources

(direct)[(none)] 6947

google[organic] 5058

soils.org.uk[referral] 857

yahoo[organic] 416

en.wikipedia.org[referral] 242

teachernet.gov.uk[referral] 227

isric.org[referral] 214

publications.teachernet.gov.uk[referral] 214

msn[organic] 165

blm.gov[referral] 156

www3.landis.org.uk[referral] 133

silsoe.cranfield.ac.uk[referral] 122

cranfield.ac.uk[referral] 110

learn.flvs.net[referral] 98

defra.gov.uk[referral] 93

school-portal.co.uk[referral] 88

intranet.open.ac.uk[referral] 88

images.google.com[referral] 80

bbc.co.uk[referral] 79

search[organic] 77

banks.k12.ga.us[referral] 69

Period June 2006 to 27/3/07

Future Soil-Net directions?•‘Future Sustainability Plan’

• plan to manage and nourish dynamic web resource.• reflect contemporary issues.• administer to changing curricula• further case-studies

•‘Promotional Campaign’• retain Soil-Net’s place in the ‘spotlight’ • incorporate cross-linkages with other Defra and DfES initiatives and web resources

•‘16-19 age group’• UK ‘A Level’, and Vocational Qualifications• other audiences to extend Soil-Net for: environmental science and geography and horticulture as well as other land-based industries.

•‘Soil Walks’• soils education and ‘healthy living’ - outdoor activities• soil elements added to walking guides.

•‘Translation’• convert the Soil-Net text to other European languages.• more than simple translation as appropriate curriculum maps and semantics within the text need attention – but achievable!