IMPACTS OF CYBERINFORMATICS ON THE FUTURE OF GEOSCIENCE EDUCATION

Geoscience education may provide one of the largest user bases for, and receive the greatest benefits from, the coming cyberinformatics (CI) revolution. With leadership from the National Science Foundation, there is a continuing impetus to more effectively integrate research and education, with a particular emphasis on inquiry- and discovery-based learning for all students. CI provides a unique opportunity to make accessible cutting edge research results for incorporation into instructional activities and training of young scientists. The workshop report, Using Data in Undergraduate Classrooms, sponsored by the National Science Digital Library, affirmed the importance of data-enhanced learning to prepare students to address real-world complex problems; develop students' ability to use scientific methods; teach students how to critically evaluate the integrity and robustness of data and their consequent interpretations; and provide training in scientific, technical, quantitative, and communication skills. To enable students and educators to meet their learning goals, data providers need to create information systems that facilitate discovery and access to data; allow evaluation of the quality of data; provide tools and interfaces to manipulate and render data; combine multiple and diverse data sets; generate visualizations and representations; and contribute student data to larger data sets. The Data Access Working Group of the Digital Library for Earth System Education (DLESE) is currently addressing data access issues by looking at the intersections along the data stream from the archive to the scientist, the application developer, teacher, and student (or public user). The Using Data in the Classroom portal (serc.carleton.edu/usingdata/) is developing a prototype for exploration of data in DLESE, evaluating data resources for quality, and developing resources for data providers. This site currently contains digital collections of tools and data sources, activities, and pedagogic resources, searchable by topic and intended use. Examples of educational use of CI projects will feature data and data products provided by GEON, CHRONOS, and EARTHCHEM. Through CI, students and instructors alike will be able to more effectively engage and contribute to the scientific enterprise.