LinkedIn Announcements

Generated: 2026-04-25

Three variations for announcing the Ecology intelligent textbook on LinkedIn.

Full Version

Excited to share a new open educational resource: an interactive intelligent textbook on Ecology designed for high school students (grades 9-12)!

This textbook takes a systems thinking approach to ecology, helping students see not just individual parts of the natural world but the patterns, feedback loops, and emergent behaviors that arise when those parts interact. Every chapter builds critical thinking and media literacy skills so students can evaluate environmental claims they encounter in social media and the news.

Built using MkDocs Material and AI-assisted content generation with Claude, this open-source project demonstrates how AI can augment educational content creation while maintaining pedagogical rigor.

By the numbers:

17 chapters covering ecosystems, biodiversity, population ecology, earth systems, pollution, climate change, systems thinking, and scientific literacy
380 concepts organized in an interactive dependency learning graph
83 interactive MicroSims (p5.js, Chart.js, Plotly, vis-network)
170 quiz questions aligned to Bloom's Taxonomy
381 glossary terms with precise definitions
102 frequently asked questions
82 diagrams and visual elements
322,000+ total words (~1,350 equivalent printed pages)
17 graphic novel stories about scientists and environmental pioneers
Bailey the Beaver, a pedagogical agent who guides students with humor and encouragement

Every chapter includes embedded interactive simulations, mascot-guided learning, critical thinking challenges, and misinformation detection exercises. All content is freely available under a Creative Commons CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license.

Explore the full textbook: https://dmccreary.github.io/ecology/

GitHub: https://github.com/dmccreary/ecology

Ecology #EnvironmentalScience #AI #GenAI #ClaudeAI #Education #EdTech #OpenEducation #OER #InteractiveTextbook #MicroSims #SystemsThinking #CriticalThinking #STEMeducation #K12Education #CurriculumDesign #MkDocs #p5js

Medium Version

Just published: A free, open-source interactive textbook on Ecology for high school students!

This intelligent textbook uses a systems thinking approach with interactive simulations, learning graphs, and AI-assisted content to make ecology accessible and engaging. Every chapter includes misinformation detection exercises and critical thinking challenges.

Key features:

17 chapters from ecosystems to climate change to evaluating environmental claims
83 interactive MicroSims students can explore in their browser
380 concepts mapped in a dependency learning graph
170 self-assessment quiz questions
381 glossary terms and 102 FAQs
322,000+ words of content, freely available under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Built with Claude AI and MkDocs Material, guided by Bailey the Beaver, a pedagogical agent who brings humor and encouragement to every chapter.

Explore it here: https://dmccreary.github.io/ecology/

Ecology #EnvironmentalScience #AI #GenAI #Education #EdTech #OpenEducation #OER #InteractiveTextbook #MicroSims #SystemsThinking #STEMeducation #ClaudeAI

Concise Version

New open educational resource: Interactive Ecology textbook for high school!

Systems thinking approach with critical thinking and misinformation detection in every chapter. Free and open source.

https://dmccreary.github.io/ecology/

Ecology #Education #EdTech #AI #OpenEducation #InteractiveTextbook #STEMeducation #SystemsThinking

Posting Tips

Visual: Screenshot of the learning graph viewer or the predator-prey MicroSim makes a strong visual. Posts with images get ~2x more engagement on LinkedIn.

Timing: Best posted Tuesday-Thursday, 8-10am or 12-2pm in your timezone.

Engagement Tips:

Tag relevant educators, ed-tech leaders, or environmental science organizations
Respond to comments within the first 2 hours for algorithm boost
Consider a follow-up post highlighting a single MicroSim with a screen recording