Danny Catt used on-line learning technology to allow thousands of people to follow his global travels about humanity’s relationship with nature and inspire actions to save our planet.
BCIT instructor, conservationist and photographer Danny Catt has a passion for experiential learning. “The more people can explore and learn about how they are personally connected to the natural world across the globe,” Catt says “the more they will be inspired to change their behavior and support actions to save our planet.”
To support this passion, Catt applied for on-line learning support from BCIT’s Learning and Teaching Centre for his second sustainability sabbatical through South America and Antartica. With the assistance of Centre staff, his students and other conservationists, an interactive learning CattTrax2 website was developed.
Dr Catt’s Fish, Wildlife and Recreation students undertook research projects that dealt with British Columbia's connections with South America and Antartica, which were interactively displayed on his website. Other conservationists wrote about global connections in areas such as international bird migration and global warming. As a result, learners could navigate the CattTrax2 regions on-line and learn about their landscape and habitat, cultural values, recreational opportunities and environmental issues that impact conservation and sustainability.
Catt investigated these issues in greater detail and from different perspectives during his journey and wrote about them through the use of an on-line blog, allowing learners to comment and interact with him. He also used his photographic skills to add images to the website, and whenever possible captured sound bites to develop YouTube video clips. On-line quizzes developed by Catt’s students allowed learners to test their knowledge.
The CattTrax2 project team also supported real-time teaching using eLluminate Live. During his journey, Catt gave on-line lectures for his FWR students and a host of others including Rotary, the Calgary Zoo Speakers Series, Simon Fraser University and the BCIT 2007 EcoFair.
All of these learners and more now have a better understanding that the air they breathe, the clothes they wear, the food they eat, and the resources used for everything from cell phones to the kitchen sink are all dependent on an increasingly fragile natural world and the people and cultures that inhabit them. This awareness and understanding is the critical foundation for changes in behavior that support a more sustainable future.
"The world is your oyster," says Catt, "so be creative and find ways to share as you learn. ELuminate Live is a simple technology to use because the BCIT Learning and Teaching Centre provide really great support!"