*Interactive introductory distance sampling training* The University of St Andrews has been training marine mammalogists in design and analysis of distance sampling studies for decades. Distance sampling methodology is widely used for population assessment of a variety of cetacean and pinniped species. 🐬 We are offering the training workshop in 10 2.5-hour blocks in mid-April. You will be invited to interact in short lectures on distance sampling principles. 👩🎓 Exercises analysing data sets in R will reinforce those principles and the lecturer will be available to assist during the practical session via screen sharing. The block will conclude with a summary of the exercise and question/answer session for both lecture and exercise. 💻 You can participate in polls during the workshop to assess your comprehension of topics discussed. 🤔 In addition to questions at any time during the lectures and practicals, an optional additional half hour will be set aside each session for discussion. 🗣 The workshop will be delivered using Zoom web conferencing software along with R-Studio "in the cloud".☁️ You will need (free) accounts for both pieces of software. I encourage you to experiment with Zoom (at https://zoom.us) and https://rstudio.cloud before the course begins. 👩💻 There will be an internet connection testing session prior to the first meeting on 12 April. Companion online training workshops We are planning an additional advanced distance sampling workshops in August 2021 (imperfect detection on the transect workshop and spatial modelling workshop). These workshops will require knowledge of basic distance sampling principles derived from this introductory training workshop. Important details * Workshop dates and time: 12-23 April 2021; 1500-1730 Greenwich Mean Time. For the time of day in your zone, consult https://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/fixedtime.html?msg=Introductory+Dista... <https://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/fixedtime.html?msg=Introductory+Distance+Sampling+workshop&iso=20210412T15&p1=3853&ah=2&am=30> 🕰️ * Registration deadline: 23 March 2021📅 * Enrolment limit: 15 * Cost: 215 British pounds 💵 * What is included: Lectures, exercises, code, data all available online📃 What they are saying I would like to say I really liked RStudio Cloud and it is working just fine and I am really enjoying using it as a student. I'm looking forward to using it as an instructor too. I really liked the first half of the course. I love distance sampling and I am enjoying every second of the course! The only thing I can say about this particular workshop is it deserves more time. -- Kaan Özgencil, PhD student, Department of Biological Sciences, Middle East Technical University, Ankara Further details are available: http://workshops.distancesampling.org/intro-apr-2021.html <http://workshops.distancesampling.org/intro-apr-2021.html> At this page you will find a link to the St Andrews online shop where payment is made. After registration, I will contact you with additional details regarding workshop electronic materials, etc. Feel free to contact me with questions. Please share this notice with interested colleagues. Information regarding all distance sampling workshops can be found at https://workshops.distancesampling.org <https://workshops.distancesampling.org> -- Eric Rexstad Centre for Ecological and Environmental Modelling University of St Andrews St Andrews is a charity registered in Scotland SC013532