#548: Remote and face to face - the support we'll need

When the specification is (finally) released, along with SAMs and other support materials and guidance there will be a year or so to prepare teachers to teach the new specification. 

This will require them to upskill themselves (and I include myself in that).

Official and 'unofficial' support and textbooks and other material will start to appear, and the various organisations who have been involved so far will no doubt have their own idea.

There are already some organisations offering free online training - here are a few examples from November 2023 for example, from different organisations... they will of course be offering many more in the years to come...

On 16th Nov at 1:45pm, tune into our next STEM Live lesson, 'How to Classify a Sea Monster', brought to you by @LinneanSociety.

Here you'll learn how to study life in the wild, name living organisms and even draw imaginary creatures!

Sign up here: https://t.co/QgnSkAKaDv pic.twitter.com/5wqw1qw48q

— STEMLiveLessons (@STEMLiveLessons) October 24, 2023

Ever wondered what life is like on a historic estate? Join us @unisouthampton to hear from the team at Beaulieu Estate.

📍Southampton, 8 November 👉 https://t.co/W5TjyAusuK pic.twitter.com/GV4iIph7tI

— Royal Geographical Society (with IBG) (@RGS_IBG) October 26, 2023

What do you think will be the most useful types of support that teachers and schools that decide to offer the new specification will need to be provided with - whether by the awarding body or external bodies including publishers, subject associations, charities etc.

#84: Feathers and Featherbase

If you found a bird's feather, would you be able to identify the bird it came from?

Featherbase is a wonderful resource and a labour of love.

As the creators say:

Every feather has a fascinating story to tell, each so unique in its makeup, shape, form, texture, color and function it serves to the bird. Feathers can teach us so much about birds and how they live. They bring people closer to the natural world – and therefore play an important role in its preservation.

Details (from the website):

Featherbase is a working group of German feather scientists and other collectors worldwide who came together with their personal collections and created the biggest and most comprehensive online feather library in the world. Using our website, it is possible to identify feathers from hundreds of different species, compare similarities between them, work out gender or age-specific characteristics and look at the statistics of countless feather measurements. In contrast to the conventional work of museums, Featherbase is much more oriented towards the general public, allowing not just enrolled scientists the opportunity to gain access to the collection, but anyone with an interest in studying birds and their feathers. Featherbase also frequently collaborates with scientific or educational organizations by offering images, data or teamwork in general.

Featherbase works completely independently, without administrative affiliation, and first and foremost without commercial interests. We are a non-profit making entity and funded entirely by our own contributors. The collecting of feathers and skins for our database is approved by the relevant authorities, and for any protected/CITES listed species held, we are fastidious about maintaining records of their origin.

This will go onto our list of websites to help identify wildlife and other natural history related phenomena and artefacts.

There is an Instagram page for the project.

Feathers - image: Alan Parkinson, shared under CC license