MARINE SCIENTISTS AND EDUCATORS
ABSTRACT
Key project elements:
- Collaborative NMEA and Sea Grant management
- National scope and impact
- Supporting regional network
- Scientific review panel
- Emphasis on quality information and materials
- Improved educators’ access to current data and information
- Improved opportunity for scientists’ educational outreach
- E-mail discussion group for marine educators and scientists
- Easy to use, navigate, and search
Classroom science teachers have always been faced with the textbook dilemma: the science text, traditionally the core of school science curricula, cannot keep pace with new scientific developments and regional issues. In addition, educators and students who have a particular interest in marine science often find that their science texts do not treat marine science topics in great depth. Computer-based telecommunication offers great promise for enriching and extending the study of marine science and related fields.
However, locating information for educational use through the Internet is not as simple as finding a chapter in a textbook. A recent AltaVista search for the term “oceanography” located 50,000 sites. Even searches for more specific terms yield overwhelming numbers of hits: “tides”, 20,000; “fish”, 300,000; “climate change”, 200,000. Because there is at present no efficient way to quickly locate and retrieve on-line marine education materials and information specific to individual needs, educators and students who might benefit from internet resources must independently attempt to find what they need in this mountain of information. Too often this proves to be a frustrating process with unpredictable results. Once information is located, it may or may not be presented in a format that is useful or appropriate to the needs of students and educators. Each day the volume of material available grows, and both educators and scientists are increasingly concerned about the accuracy, credibility, and educational utility of scientific information accessed via the web.
For the web to contribute to quality science education, it is necessary not only that appropriate materials and information exist, but that they be located and delivered to educators in a useful and convenient format. As noted in a recent report from the Consortium on Ocean Research and Education CORE, 1996, the nation’s teachers need opportunities to learn about ocean sciences, and they need “content-correct and content-current” instructional resources to support student learning. Although some such opportunities and materials currently exist and more are being developed, many educators are chronically unaware of the resources that are available to them. The CORE report goes on to explain that although it is relatively easy to transmit information using modern technologies, the provision of a “useful flow” is the challenge. The Bridge, through its national network, will locate, organize, and deliver to educators nationally useful and comprehensive marine education information, bringing teachers and researchers together in improving marine and scientific literacy.
| On the Bridge...
Information about marine science careers |
- Enable educators nationwide to access easily and efficiently a clearinghouse that organizes useful electronic resources for marine education in a comprehensive and pedagogically appropriate manner.
- Enable the ocean sciences research community to more efficiently reach teachers with current informational products and data and provide scientists with guidance in preparing web-based materials that are helpful to teachers.
- Provide educators with assurance that materials and information accessed are science-based and that they are consistent with the goals of supporting improved scientific literacy and systematic reform of science education.
- Improve educators’ access to current data and marine information.
- Develop a broad-based, long-term partnership among National Oceanographic Partnership Program projects, NOAA/Sea Grant partners, the National Marine Educators Association and regional chapters, ocean sciences researchers, providers of oceanographic information, and educators.
- Serve as a focal point for improved communications and exchange among educators and researchers.
- Provide sufficient information and professional development opportunities to inform educators nationwide about this resource and enable them use it effectively
The Bridge clearinghouse is being developed and maintained by the Bridge project staff at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science, College of William and Mary. The project will be overseen by a Clearinghouse Coordinating Council (CCC) and will work closely with an advisory group of ocean scientists.
Clearinghouse Coordinating Council (CCC)
The Clearinghouse Coordinating Council will be made up of seven to twelve NMEA members, at least four of whom will also represent Sea Grant. The membership of this committee will represent four coastal regions (Atlantic, Gulf, Great Lakes, and Pacific). Committee members, together with other interesed Sea Grant staff and NMEA members and NMEA regional chapters, will work with the Bridge project coordinator to:
- Identify and organize resources and project partners specific to each region
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Disseminate information about The Bridge within individual regions, targeting classroom teachers, resource centers, lead teachers, pre- and in-service programs, and school librarians.
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Recommend quality marine education materials
- Identify exemplary sites
Scientific And Technical Advisory Reviewers (STARS)
A panel of ocean sciences researchers will provide guidance in assuring the scientific merit of the clearinghouse resources. The group will contain scientific representation from civilian, government, academic, and private sectors. These reviewers will be notified when sites with scientific information and data are under consideration for addition to the Bridge, and they will advise the project staff about any reservations they may have about the scientific merit of new sites. This group will also be on-call to answer the Bridge staff’s scientific questions and will monitor discussions on the marine education listserv.
Special Features of The BridgeDissemination and Implementation
Dissemination of Bridge information will include registration with many search engines and directories, informational announcements to appear in NMEA publications and regional marine and environmental education newsletters, outreach to researchers, Bridge links posted at Bridge-affiliated and other educational sites, notification of the site’s address to be provided to webmasters of other marine-related sites, regional Bridge demonstrations and teacher seminars, and fliers describing the Bridge for distribution nationwide.
Sessions will be conducted at the annual meetings of the National Marine Educators Association (NMEA). These will inform NMEA members about the project and prepare them to work with the CCC in disseminating information about the Bridge within regions. Session participants will receive training materials, including a computer disk with instructional tips and demonstration excerpts taken directly from the Bridge which may be viewed and used without an open internet connection.
Sessions for the marine research community will be conducted at professional society conferences throughout the grant period, providing opportunities for members of the scientific community to become aware of the clearinghouse and contribute web-based resources to The Bridge.
Technical Aspects
The Bridge site will be a complex of graphically consistent interlinked pages developed for display on the most widely used browsers, Netscape and MSIE. It will also be useable with other software, including text-based browsers, which, with the use of text to audio conversion, can facilitate access to visually impaired visitors. Graphics will be modest in size and optimized for quick loading to facilitate display on slower systems still in use in many schools. The site will be posted to and maintained on the Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) Sun SPARC server (NCSA HTTPD), and will use an ATM based T1 link to Network Virginia. The Bridge webmaster is a marine educator and will personally oversee organization, content, and graphic design. Technical assistance for the project is available as needed from the VIMS Information Technology Networking Services Department.
Evaluation
A user response survey will be posted on the Bridge, allowing for continuous user feedback. Site visitation will be monitored, with records maintained for numbers and point of origin of visits. Quarterly reports will be prepared and reviewed by the CCC and the STARS. The project will be evaluated at the end of each year by electronic focus group via the listserv. Each of the project objectives will be posted to the list as a separate discussion thread for several days of open discussion. The resulting evaluation will address achievement of the project's stated objectives, identify outcomes, and suggest future directions.
Sea Grant
Sea Grant is a national partnership linking academia, state, and federal government. The national network of 29 Sea Grant programs connects more than 300 academic institutions and sponsors national, regional, and local programs, supporting marine research, advisory services, and education.
Sea Grant’s outreach audiences include the commercial and recreational fishing industries, K-12, graduate, and adult educational communities, marine-oriented businesses, marine resource managers, and many others. At the state and regional levels, Sea Grant educators work with state Departments of Education, local teachers and students, teacher organizations, and state and local natural resource agencies and educational facilities. They often collaborate with Sea Grant researchers, advisory specialists and communicators.
The Sea Grant Network Plan - 1995-2005 (1996) directs that “Sea Grant will be a leader in providing environmental information, science and technology to the general public as well as in the precollege education system in marine-aquatic arenas. Sea Grant will be recognized as a primary marine and aquatic education and communication program through its work to enhance public knowledge about and stewardship of marine, coastal, and Great Lakes resources,” and cites these key action items:
Increase the use of the Electronic Highway to acquire and analyze marine and coastal data and connect teachers with projects and people around the nation and globe;
Increase the rate of information transfer of marine research conducted by NOAA and other agencies with marine and aquatic interests;
Increase linkages with other education efforts within NOAA and other federal and state agencies and national education projects to enhance collaboration.
NOAA, Sea Grant’s parent agency, has specific legislative mandates for education, including the National Estuarine Research Reserves System in the Coastal Zone Management Act; the National Marine Sanctuaries Program in the Marine Protection, Research and Sanctuary Act; and the National Sea Grant College Program [Act], and includes the use of computer technologies and telecommunication in its Strategic Plan (NOAA, 1995).
Sea Grant makes extensive use of the world wide web for information management and dissemination. The Sea Grant Media Center (www.mdsg.umd.edu/seagrantmediacenter/) provides general information about Sea Grant and its activities. State Sea Grant programs maintain web sites (access via www.mdsg.umd.edu/NSGO/NationalSeaGrant.html) with a wide range of information available. Several current issue-specific sites exist: MarinaNet covers marine recreation and tourism (seagrant.orst.edu/crt/index.html ); the Sea Grant Non-indigenous Species site (www.ansc.purdue.edu/sgnis/); and Sea Grant’s Marine Education, A Bibliography of Education Materials from the Nation’s Sea Grant Programs (1994), lists more that 450 educational documents published by various Sea Grant programs.
National Marine Educators Association (NMEA)
The mission of the National Marine Educators Association is to “...make known the world of water, both fresh and salt”. The organization has a membership of approximately 1100 nationwide. Sixteen Chapters provide an impressive national network serving regional needs through regional newsletters, websites, and conferences, and add an additional several hundred marine educators to the network. NMEA and Chapter members come from academia, government, and private industry, and include educators and ocean sciences researchers. Educational interests cover a wide range: various K-12, college and university, adult and public education audiences; formal and informal education; field and classroom studies; educational research; various scientific disciplines; maritime heritage and sail training; and more. NMEA is an affiliate of the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) and the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). NMEA is the only major national professional organization specifically for marine and aquatic educators.
NMEA’s Current, the Journal of Marine Education is published three times a year and has been produced in cooperation with a number of agencies and organizations, among these: NOAA’s Sea Grant, Office of Global Programs, and Sanctuaries and Reserves; and the American Meteorological Society.
NMEA is a private, non profit corporation, originally incorporated in the District of Columbia in 1976 as the National Marine Education Association, and reincorporated in the state of Rhode Island as a 501 (c) 3 organization as the National Marine Educators Association. NMEA is governed by officers and a Board of Directors elected by the membership.
Article II of NMEA’s By-Laws (NMEA, 1996), sets forth the purposes of the corporation:
Current NMEA activities supporting these purposes include publication of the journal and newsletter, sponsorship of annual conferences where educators learn about and share resources and information supporting marine education, co-sponsorship of the National Ocean Sciences Bowl, and co-sponsorship of the Bridge.
Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS), College of William and Mary
VIMS hosts the Virginia Sea Grant Marine Education Program and will administer the Bridge project. VIMS is a CORE institution and is a member of the Mid-Atlantic Research Consortium for Oceanography, the National Association of Marine Laboratories, and the Southern Association of Marine Laboratories, and the Virginia Graduate Marine Science
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Call for Nominations: Please Send a Site to the Bridge Nominations from the scientific and educational communities are needed to locate sites containing current science-based marine information of potential use to teachers and students. Nominated sites should contain accurate, science-based information, be well-designed and easy to use, and be presented in a manner suitable for teachers and students to use without special software or training. Please send URL’s of sites or information about sites under development to: Frances Lee Larkin Bridge Webmaster VIMS Gloucester Point, VA 23062 larkin@vims.edu www.vims.edu/adv/ed |
VIMS currently maintains several websites that support marine education and provide links to other marine education resources.
The Virtual Marine Education Center (www.vims.edu/adv/ed/) serves Mid-Atlantic teachers and students with regional marine education programs and materials, selected Sea Grant Marine Education publications, public information about special projects, research assistance for students, and information about upcoming regional professional development opportunities.
The Mid Atlantic Marine Education Association Page (www.vims.edu/adv/mamea) contains membership information, excerpts from the organization’s newsletter, information about the MAMEA grant program and annual conference, and a members’ programs showcase.
Invasion of an Exotic Species: Stop the Zebra Mussel! (www.vims.edu/adv/ed/zm/) is a data-analysis activity designed and produced by the Virginia Sea Grant Program. It is based on current data from Sea Grant research.
CORE.1996. Oceans 2000: Bridging the Millennia, A Report on the Interagency Partnership Initiative. Consortium for Oceanographic Research and Education.
Larkin, F. L. 1996. Virtual Marine Education Center. Virginia Sea Grant. www.vims.edu/adv/ed/
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 1995. NOAA Strategic Plan: A Vision for 2005. Washington, DC.
NMEA. 1996. National Marine Education Association By-laws.
Sea Grant. 1994. Marine Education, A Bibliography of Education Materials from the Nation’s Sea Grant Programs. Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant-93-017.
Sea Grant 1996. Sea Grant’s Network Plan, 1995-2005. www.mdsg.umd.edu/NSGO/Plan/
Frances Lee Larkin
Vicki P. Clark
Virginia Institute of Marine Science
Sea Grant Marine Advisory Program
College of William and Mary
The preceeding project summary was excerpted from a paper presented at Oceans '97 MTS/IEEE, Halifax NS. This page is for informational purposes only; please do not quote or cite from this webpage. The paper is available in its entirety in the '97 MTS/IEE Proceedings.