Development of an online hub for OSC outreach efforts

Abstract

This UA/NASA Space Grant project centralizes the outreach efforts for College of Optical Science students using a new online hub, developed to collect, organize, and disseminate educational activities. Optical Sciences plays a role in many of the innovative technologies transforming our society, making outreach of utmost importance to attract students to the emerging field. Outreach activities at the University of Arizona's College of Optical Sciences (OSC) help inspire these future innovators. This website provides on-demand training for students unfamiliar with leading demonstrations and inspiration for experienced instructors looking for something new. It emphasizes scientific literacy, effective scientific communication, and serves as a free and accessible resource for STEM classrooms. The online hub offers students new to outreach an opportunity to familiarize themselves with resources before performing outreach. Although OSC offers a semester-long outreach course that provides face-to-face training, it has the burden of class time and tuition for students. The online hub is freely available, easily accessible, and self-directed by the user's interests. Multimedia lesson plans provide instructions for effectively presenting to students and document materials required for each activity. Clear objectives are provided to guide the instruction and evaluate the students' knowledge and interest in optics. Ongoing outreach events are utilized during the academic year to "beta-test" the website. While an online hub greatly enhances the many outreach activities already available to students within the College of Optical Sciences, an online resource has the added benefit of being an accessible resource to teachers, students, and communities around the world.