Students at the University of Essex had an innovative learning experience with the first underwater lecture conducted at the Wakatobi Marine National Park in Indonesia.
The first underwater lecture was held 18 meters under the sea in Indonesia as a part of an annual field trip for the students of the University of Essex. The eventful learning experience was conducted during dives in tropical coral reef systems. With the decline in coral reefs, which are a major source of food and income for billions of people, the lecture held underwater was aimed to create awareness and bring new ideas to preserve the coral reefs.
Many researches have been conducted to understand the impact of climate change on coral reefs to find ways to prevent such a decline.
"It was a fantastic experience as I was able to use the power of observation like never before," explained Professor David Smith, according to Science Daily. "I have been on thousands of dives over the years but this was a totally new experience as I was able to explain to students exactly what they were seeing and inject more passion and feeling into the whole lecture. It was very special and transformed the whole experience both for me and our students."
In order to carry out the innovative underwater lecture, Professor Smith used the University's special teaching grant to purchase an audio system. He wore a microphone under his face mask and gave each student a headphone to help them hear the lecture underwater. Professor Smith was able to explain in detail and the students could hear clearly what he had to say.
The lectures were recorded, which adds up to 15 hours of video footage that can help other students, who couldn't be a part of the annual trip, to understand by watching the footage anytime.
"The underwater lectures were an invaluable part of the course as they enabled us to get a much better understanding of how all the components of the reef system were interacting with each other," said a second-year marine and freshwater biology student, Tilly Jame, who was a part of the underwater lecture. "It was an experience you simply cannot get with traditional lectures. Professor Smith was able to ask us questions throughout the dives, encouraging us as students to apply our theoretical knowledge in a much more practical setting."
The annual field trip was organized by the University's School of Biological Sciences for its students.
