NSF 06-007: Request for Community Input on Cyberinfrastructure Support
for Geoscience Education
The complete announcement is available at:
http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2006/nsf06007/nsf06007.jsp
On November 30, 2005, Dr. Margaret Leinen, Assistant Director of the NSF
Directorate for Geosciences, issued a "Dear Colleague" letter soliciting
input regarding the future characteristics of cyberinfrastructure in
support of geoscience education. Cyberinfrastructure in support of
geoscience education is currently provided by the Digital Library for
Earth System Education (DLESE). In fiscal year 2006, the NSF Directorate
for Geosciences intends to entertain new and/or renewal proposals to
design, maintain, and operate the next generation of geoscience
education cyberinfrastructure.
The Directorate for Geosciences would like to receive input from the
community regarding design specifications for the future
cyberinfrastructure component of the geoscience education portfolio. All
community input will be carefully considered by the Directorate for
Geosciences. Please submit no more than three (3) pages, single-spaced,
of information in response to this Dear Colleague Letter. Input can be
e-mailed to dlesecomments [at] nsf.gov by January 31, 2006.
Topics you may wish to address include:
What basic services and architectures should be provided to enable
inquiry-based learning for users of a geoscience-education website
(e.g., the ability to search by topic or grade level, discovery and
delivery of scientific information related to current events, and the
ability to personalize web interfaces)?
What cyber services should be provided to educators (e.g., relationship
to National Science Education Standards, information about
best-practices, teaching guides, educational assessment tools)?
What services should be provided to educators and scientists who wish to
submit educational materials for publication on a geoscience-education
website (e.g., assistance with format, keywords, or metadata)?
What are the advantages and disadvantages of maintaining a collection in
addition to linking to external resources/collections and providing
metadata resources?