Using a Digital Library to Enhance Earth Science Education

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The Digital Library for Earth System
Science Contributing resources and collections
Meeting with GLOBE 5/29/03 Holly Devaul
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DLESE Mission

• To improve the quality, quantity, and efficiency
  of teaching and learning about the Earth at all
  educational levels.
  DLESE Strategic Plan

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Why a digital library?
A well-articulated community goal to transform
geoscience education by combining pedagogy,
technology and science
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What is DLESE?

• A place to find quality teaching and learning
  resources about the Earth system
• Support and services for anyone interested in
  learning about the Earth
• A community-led effort, funded by NSF
• The geosciences node of the National Science
  Digital Library (NSDL)

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What does DLESE offer?

• Web-based materials (lesson plans, computer and
  lab activities, data, visualizations, background
  material, portals)
• Resources about the Earth are contributed and
  described by educators and scientists
• Services to help users effectively create and use
  materials
• Search by standards find teaching tips and
  reviews attend workshops and events
• Interfaces and tools to allow exploration of
  Earth data sets

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Key design concepts

• User input central to every stage of library
  development
• Participatory design community input, focus
  groups, workshops, Annual meeting
• Community governance system
• Steering committee
• Standing committees

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Who is building DLESE?

• Individual K-12 and university educators and
  scientists contribute resources
• Partnerships create thematic collections
• Community governance guides library development
• Core services develop library components
• Collections, Community, Data, Evaluation, and the
  DLESE Program Center (DPC)

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Core Services

• Collections to be determined
• Community Colorado State University, Carleton
  College, Montana State University
• Data TERC, UCAR-Unidata, University of Northern
  Colorado
• Evaluation University of Colorado, University
  of Georgia
• DLESE Program Center- UCAR

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Discovering ResourcesUsing DLESE

• Discovery only for resources related to Earth
  system science
• Resources in DLESE are selected and
  cataloged by the ESS education
  community
• Resources are described in metadata records
  which enhance discovery and comprehension of
  the items. DLESE holds metadata records, not
  the actual web pages.

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Metadata includes

• Title, description
• Grade level assignment
• Resource type
• (Curriculum, activity, image, data)
• Technical requirements
• Geospatial referencing
• Educational standards (science, geography)

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Metadata framework

• Currently, DLESE-IMS
• Based on IMS, DTD-validated, no datatyping
• Transitioning to ADN for DLESE discovery
• Schema-validated, strong data typing
• Additional educational and geospatial fields
• Transform to Dublin Core before ship to NSDL

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www.dlese.org
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ozone
Browse
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Browse by subject, grade level or resource type
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Select grade level and type of resource
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View the complete description
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The resource itself
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Data and imagery for each exercise
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August 2003 Search by StandardsNSES and NCGE to
start granularity issues to resolve for future
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August 2003 Search over multiple collections
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Collection Building

• DLESE library policies
• http//www.dlese.org/documents/policy/index.ht
  ml
• Scope what the collection is about
• Accession whats needed to be a collection
• Deaccession when a collection or resource
  breaks
• IP and Privacy how we treat the collection
• DLESE Catalog System
• http//training.dlese.org
• OAI software for collection harvesting
• http//www.dlese.org/Metadata/tool/index.htm
• Broad Collection and Reviewed Collection
• http//www.dlese.org/Metadata

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Broad ReviewedCollection Collection

• Relevant to Earth system education
• Cataloged with a minimum set of information for
  discovery
• Wide access to a range of resources

• All the criteria of the Broad Collection plus
• Scientifically accurate
• Importance
• Pedagogically effective
• Well-documented
• Ease of use
• Power to inspire
• Robust

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How do resources get cataloged?

• Web-based cataloging tool (DCS) at www.dlese.org
  -gt public tool for general collection
• Unique instances of cataloging tool for formal,
  thematic collections managed at project site or
  hosted by DPC
• XML files created outside of web tool XML
  template or database generated

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DLESE Catalog System

• Web-based tool to catalog resources with the
  following
• URL, title, description, resource type
• Grade level, subject (and many more)
• Tool can be downloaded for local cataloging use
• Can share cataloged information with digital
  libraries or use at DLESE

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Build your own collection
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Free-text and controlled vocabularies
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What to Catalog?

• Distinct resources e.g topic, grade level,
  presented such that are usable outside of GLOBE
  context
• Teachers Guide could result in 75-100 records,
  possibly more
• Each chapter
• Protocols
• Learning Activities
• Which standards, at what degree of specificity?

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Things to consider

• DLESE Community Collection or discrete thematic
  collection
• Broad or Reviewed
• Cataloging and sharing mechanism technical
  support staff required
• Training available from DPC
• Dynamic nature of collection suggests need for
  ongoing access to metadata records
• Dissemination in NSDL as well as DLESE

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Library Growth
V 3.0
Geo-referencing Data Geo-referenced
discovery Spatial temporal Earth system
events Data Describing for discovery
Linking data with tools Large-scale data
collections Summative Evaluation
V 2.0
Enhanced Educational Features Reviewed
collections Educational discovery services
Natl Science Standards Geography
standards Expanded Core Services Formative
evaluations
V 1.0
Operational Library Quality collection 1000
recommended resources Teacher-friendly discovery
Grade level Educational resource
type Community Governance Working
Groups Evaluation plan
August 2003
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• www.dlese.org