Last Updated on October 18, 2017
Today it just became easier for middle and high school students to connect what they are learning in science class to the world around them. Two well-known non-profits dedicated to explaining the natural world announced they are teaming up with a leading online education resource that teaches students to learn through listening. Listen Edition, a company that creates teaching materials around compelling public radio stories, is partnering with The Encyclopedia of Earth (EoE), a free online source of reliable information about the environment, and The Encyclopedia of Life (EOL), a free online encyclopedia intending to aggregate information about all 1.9 million named species and counting. Together, they are giving educators free access to compelling public radio stories, relevant lesson plans, and teaching resources that will support using the stories in classrooms anywhere in the world.
Tap into more than 7,700 resources for science
Encyclopedia of Life has given Listen Edition access to its catalogue of podcasts that 
brings to life more than 70 species, most recently Killer Whales. The Encyclopedia of Earth holds more than 7,700 articles written by scientists and organizes the material in a way that’s useful for science educators and students. By working with Listen Edition, they’ve pulled together the engaging audio from EOL podcasts and matched them with the scholarly articles and teaching resources from EOE, making them easy for teachers to employ in the classroom straight from the Listen Edition website.
The first three lesson plans in the collaboration are now available for teachers to use for free with their middle and high school students.
Lesson Collaborations
Killer Whales helps teachers address the essential questions: Why are killer whales difficult to study? How have killer whales adapted to feeding on different types of prey?
Spotted Dolphins and Spinner Dolphins looks at how changes in fishing methods put dolphin populations at risk and what scientists have tried to do to reduce the risk.
Right Whales lesson plan looks at how right whales find each other when it is time to mate. And what can be done to conserve this endangered species?
Additional Information: The Encyclopedia of Life (EOL) Learning + Education (L+E)
This group is based at the Harvard Museum of Comparative Zoology (MCZ) is the lead EOL partner for this project. The L+E group leverages authoritative EOL species information to raise awareness and improve understanding of life on Earth by providing worldwide communities opportunities to learn about and participate in the science of biodiversity. EOL fosters collaborations and provides access to web-based tools and services that enable collaborative scientific and educational activities globally.
The Encyclopedia of Earth (EoE) is a free online source of reliable information about the environment. The EoE differs from other sources on online information in two important ways:all articles are written by recognized experts in the field and all articles are peer reviewed. The EoE contains over 7700 articles authored by over 860 scholars from around the world. The EoE receives over 375,000 visits each month from users around the world. Annual visitation patterns indicate that educators and students are an important part of our readership.
Listen Edition has more than 1,500 registered teachers already using its curated public radio stories and lesson plans in their classrooms. That means at least 25,000 students are listening and learning. By collaborating with EoE and EOL, Listen Edition has significantly broadened its science offerings. We have a dedicated and growing group of science teachers who see how real world science stories can make subjects come alive for students.
