Friday, May 25, 2012

Building the Knowledge Base

The OutdoorEd.com site is designed to serve as an open source storehouse of information. Each person's contribution helps someone else do their job a little easier and build their program a little better. This is the first such resource designed entirely for the outdoor and experiential education communities. You can add to the Knowledge Base in lots of ways:

Discussion Forums & Listserv's - by sharing your questions, comments, and ideas on issues that affect each of us.

News Items & Press Releases - Have something you want other people to know about, a conference, new program, book, etc.? Announce it at the News section.

Articles - You may have an article, program report or some aspect of experiential education that you'd like to share. You can submit your work for posting here at OutdoorEd.com

Curriculum - Teaching is what we are all about and good curriculum is the very heart of teaching. Your curricula on the Outdoor Ed Wiki can have an even bigger influence by sharing it with others who can implement it in their programs. One example is the Risk Assessment & Safety Management Model by Outdoor Ed founder Rick Curtis which is available on line is used by outdoor programs around the world.

Protocols - While many programs operate using best practices the majority of programs do not have their practices written down and documented. Sharing your written protocols on the Outdoor Ed Wiki can help advance safety and risk management for others in the field.