Converting a Webinar into a Learning Event with Google NotebookLM and Other Tools

The AAPG Enhanced Geothermal Systems webinar has been enhanced to make it possible to have an education version. The video now has learning objectives, multiple-choice questions, short answer questions, and a learning guide. Ideal for demonstrating knowledge in a quickly-evolving area of geothermal development and energy generation, and for incorporating in college / university courses in geosciences, energy, environmental science, an d more. The webinar was recorded using Zoom, and pdfs of the PowerPoint presentations were available, which was ideal since Google NotebookLM does not accommodate PowerPoint. 

Link to the webinar: https://youtu.be/mM3NtUAOyec

https://youtu.be/mM3NtUAOyec 

The learning objectives appear in the notes of the video, and the notes and assessments are available by request. Let's share the learning opportunity!

Here's the description of the webinar, and the learning objectives are listed below. I used Google LM to help me create them, and was impressed.  

Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS) are dramatically changing the landscape of geothermal energy, and it is a place where oil and gas technologies are being successfully deployed in the development of the resource. Join geothermal experts to compare enhanced geothermal systems with other geothermal resources along with subsurface characterization. Then, we'll look at where there are currently knowledge gaps and challenges, and explore possible solutions and project economics. We will close with an overview of what the USGS is doing to develop prospectivity and assessment using USGS basin and EGS modeling. This webinar is presented by the AAPG EMD Geothermal Committee, led by Nicole Wagoner, University of Nevada-Reno. Eric Stautberg, Colorado School of Mines Jabs Aljubran, NREL Justin Birdwell, USGS Nicole Wagoner, University of Nevada - Reno Susan Nash, AAPG Would you like to use this webinar as a module in your course?

Here are LEARNING OBJECTIVES

• Identify the key characteristics of EGS resources, including their reliance on engineering permeability in hot, otherwise impermeable rock units, often referred to as "hot dry rock".

• Describe the current state of geothermal energy in the US, including where utility-scale electricity is generated, its contribution to the national energy portfolio, and the US's global standing in geothermal production.

• Explain the basic concept of an EGS, including the process of creating an engineered reservoir through hydraulic, chemical, or thermal stimulation, and the circulation of working fluid to extract heat

• Differentiate between various power plant types used for geothermal electricity generation, with a focus on binary cycle power plants as the typical choice for EGS applications.

• Discuss the benefits of EGS, such as its potential to expand geothermal availability beyond traditional hydrothermal areas, provide clean, baseload energy with limited intermittency, and its low greenhouse gas emissions.

• Outline the U.S. Geological Survey's (USGS) methodology for assessing EGS potential in sedimentary basins, including the inputs used (e.g., heat flow maps, 3D temperature maps, bottom hole temperatures) and the consideration of various efficiencies.

• Identify specific sedimentary basins where USGS basin modeling tools are being applied for EGS assessments, such as the Williston Basin, Denver-Julesburg Basin, and Onshore U.S. Gulf Coast.

• Explain the concept of Levelized Cost of Electricity (LCOE) as an economic metric for EGS projects and how recent improvements in drilling efficiency have impacted EGS cost

Assessments that tie to the learning objectives (Multiple Choice, Short Answer) are available by request. In addition, a learning guide is also available by request.

PROCESS NOTE: I enjoyed using Google NotebookLM https://notebooklm.google/ as a part of the process. It was remarkably easy to do so since I had an audio file from the webinar that I could upload. I could have uploaded the transcript of the webinar, too. I also had two PowerPoints. Google NotebookLM points to locations in the uploaded original instructional materials files that correspond to the learning objectives, the questions, and the learning guide.

In working with Google NotebookLM, it's all about the way that the prompts are phrased and created. The fact that it uses a RAG model approach makes it easy to check for accuracy if you're a course writer or instructional designer, and not the subject matter expert.

Learner Identity and Motivation: Connections to Aspiration

Learning can be a risky business, especially when it has to do with a learner’s sense of self and their identity.  For example, how might a person who is learning a language for the purpose of becoming part of a group comes to realize that the act of learning is modifying who and how she is?  Is the change in one’s identity a good thing? If so, how and why? What impact does it have on learner motivation?

Podcast:  http://www.zenzebra.net/podcasts/motivation3-nash.mp3

A good example is the case of learning a language. While learning a language may be for the purposes of assimilating in a society (or, in a broader sense, fitting into a group or workplace) it is important to keep in mind that assimilation should not go too far, and seek to efface or obliterate the identities of the learners. 

Learning a language requires changes in one's sense of self. Motivation to continue often involves the learner's aspirations, dreams, and ultimate life goals. Learning language in Jalisco.

Learning involves socialization processes, and the degree to which one can both maintain autonomy and feel a part of a group is an important influencer in student satisfaction and motivation. In other words, a balance must be maintained.

An over-emphasis on testing, assessment, and individual achievement (rather than group dynamics) can destroy motivation.

Individual autonomy can be effectively instilled by giving learners the ability to critique texts and instructional materials, have choices with respect to their topics of study, and choose ways in which they are assessed.

It is useful to incorporate aspirational elements in motivation, especially in learning a language, or a skill set / knowledge base that gains entrance to a group (especially a highly desirable group).

Reflective learner journals can be helpful, not only in developing meta-cognitive skills but also in the ways in which instructors can learn to tailor their instructional strategies in order to be more effective.

Conclusion

Perhaps the most surprising insight is that in order to encourage the mediation of identity that occurs when learning a language (whether a formal language or the informal “language” of a workplace or community of interest), it is useful to look at aspirational elements of the learner’s identity framework.

In other works, what’s the learner’s dream?  What is the learner striving to be or become?

By appealing to the learner’s dream identity, or aspirations, you as an educator or instructional designer, will make it easier for the learner to tolerate the ambiguity and/or frustration that he/ she may feel when learning a language (and hence tending to give up her own identity).

In order to increase a sense of autonomy (and comfort with the process), it is helpful to give the learner the ability to influence his / her own methods of interacting and being assessed.

References

Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (1985). Intrinsic motivation and self-determination in human behavior.  New York: NY: Plenum Press.

Lamb, M. (2011).  Future selves, motivation and autonomy in long-term EFL learning trajectories . in G. Murray, X. Gao, & T. Lamb (eds). Identity, Motivation, and Autonomy in Language Learning. (pp. 177-194). Bristol, UK: Multilingual Matters.

Lamb, T. E. (2011). Fragile identities: Exploring learner identity, learner autonomy and motivation through young learners' voices.  The Canadian Journal of Applied Linguistics, Special Issue. 14:2, 68-85.