HOW TO USE
IN FOUR STEPS
Welcome the Wallace Resource Library (WRL) 2014, produced by Operation Wallacea and the Opwall Trust. The WRL is designed as an educational tool for teachers, specifically those teaching biology, environmental science, and geography to 16-18 year olds, although many components will be applicable to other disciplines and age groups.
Step 1
The opening page of each dataset displays an overview table, which highlights the research questions being addressed, links the dataset to the syllabus for a range of curricula, and provides a suggested level of difficulty. This page is designed to provide teachers with a quick assessment of the dataset, helping them decide how and where to use it within their lessons.
Step 2
The various resources which make up each dataset are then arranged into a number of folders. In each folder will be a brief explanation of the files contained, and the files themselves which can be downloaded for use in a lesson, or provided to students for homework, individual learning or revision. File formats include Microsoft Word documents (.doc), PDF, Microsoft PowerPoint presentations, and Microsoft Excel spreadsheets (.xls). Where possible, multiple formats are provided.
Step 3
Teachers can select which documents are provided to students, allowing them to tailor the exercises to fit their own requirements, but all information is provided to allow entire lesson plans to be constructed easily and quickly.
Step 4
A number of additional resources are provided which, although not directly required to complete the exercise, are designed to make the experience more interactive and interesting for the students. These resources include photographs and video clips relating to the dataset, which can be used by students writing reports or preparing presentations, summaries of the research site where the data were collected, and a profile of the scientist responsible for the project.
wrl layout
The following diagram shows the layout and organization of the WRL datasets. Within a module each dataset is laid out in the same way so access to the study is clear and easy to understand. Each resource within the datasets is available for download, in multiple formats where applicable (e.g. .doc and PDF for text based resources), while photographs are unprotected allowing them to be copied into other documents or saved to a hard drive to provide a more interactive experience for students.
GET STARTED
All data included in the WRL have been collected from real life research projects run by Operation Wallacea around the world. Although designed and coordinated by scientists from universities in a number of countries, many datasets include data collected by university and high school volunteers joining the Operation Wallacea projects to learn valuable field ecology skills and contribute to research and conservation. Have a look through the different datasets by clicking the button below.