Current Situation and CI RequirementsSage Lichtenwalner, Rutgers University

OOI CyberInfrastructure

Education and Public Engagement Workshop

Portland, OR

June 16-17, 2008

Janice McDonnell

Scott Glenn

John Wilkin

Oscar Schofield

Robert Chant

Josh KohutHugh Roarty Janice McDonnell

Building our Ocean Observatory has been an effort for over a decBuilding our Ocean Observatory has been an effort for over a decadeadeand has been a team effort of engineers, physical and biologicaland has been a team effort of engineers, physical and biological

oceanographers, and education outreach expertsoceanographers, and education outreach experts

My Jersey FamilyMy Jersey Family

CODAR Network

Glider FleetL-Band &

X-Band

Satellite

Systems

Mission

Planning

Operations &

Communications

Station

A “Stommel”

View of

the Ocean(WWW &

Interactive 3-D)

Coastal Ocean Observation Lab Coastal Ocean Observation Lab -- Operations CenterOperations Center

Data

Processing

(Software)

Data

Acquisition

(Hardware)

Data

Translator

Education Outreach

Science

ProductsWebsite

Products

COOL Operations Center

Director Director

Education and Outreach CenterUser Groups

Faculty

Students

Educators

General Public

Government

Agencies

Coastal

Managers

Data FlowInteraction

Data

Mgmt.(Software

and

Hardware)

Interaction between users and both centers

RU COOL: Tightly Integrated and Working with a Common MissionRU COOL: Tightly Integrated and Working with a Common Mission

Elements of

Data Translation

Elements of

Data Translation

Art(Information Aesthetics)

Art(Information Aesthetics)

Programming(Technical Feasibility)

Programming(Technical Feasibility)

Science(Cool Content)

Science(Cool Content)

Storytelling(Persuasive Visualization)

Storytelling(Persuasive Visualization)

Usability(Interface Design)

Usability(Interface Design)

Full InquiryGuided InquiryDirected Inquiry

Curious Adults **Younger Students

Canned

Images

Typical Users

(fishermen, CDM,

transportation, etc.)

Older StudentsUser Tutorials *

Visualization

Tools

ResearchersGraduate Students

Raw Data

Scientific

Aptitude

Data

Complexity

* Professional users looking for training with established visualization tools, who then advance to the “Typical Users” level.

** Users who are more interested in learning scientific concepts then using data.

Data Visualization Cognitive Levels of Different Audiences

4) Real-time Data

Educator/Scientist

Community

2) COOL Classroom

Web Site

Formal

3) Liberty Science

Center Data Displays

& Curriculum

1) RU COOL Web

Sites

Informal

EducatorsPublic

Audience

Form

at

A Sampling of COOL Products

User Groups we Hope to Engage

• OOS and Marine Educators

• OOS Scientists

• K-12 Educators

• Informal Educators

Public Data Pages: Researcher Focused

Audience Needs: Interactive viz tools, Data analysis tools, Instrument information

Challenges: Algorithm development for operational products

Public Websites

http://thecoolroom.org

http://marine.rutgers.edu/cool

Public Data Pages: Recreational Users

Audience Needs: Highly specific data products, Intuitive interfaces, Ample context

Challenges: Interface design & usability, Assess audience needs, Tutorials

Backend TechnologiesPrimary Dataflow

• Instrument Hardware

• Flat Files (ascii & hdf)

• Shell/Perl Scripts

• Matlab Code

• Static Web Images

Web Interface

• Overwritten “real-time” image files

• “Simple” image archive browse tools in JS or PHP

Currently in Development

• Database provided data (mysql)

• Google Earth

• Mapserver

• Adobe Flex Charting

The New COOL Classroom

“Students want to learn math and science through real-world problem solving, visiting places where they can view science in action, and talking with professionals in the field.” Fourth Annual Speak Up Survey – eSchool News 3/22/07

Visualization for Formal Education

Audience Needs

- Concise imagery

- Clear explanations

- Lots of context

Challenges

- Understanding student knowledge level

- Clear depictions of data

- Connect the data to the science

We investigated the ways by

which K-12 teachers and

students can use real-time data

and associated education

products to understand and

appreciate the role that the

environment, in particular the

ocean, plays in their lives.

Full Report: http://marine.rutgers.edu/outreach/rtd

NERRS/IOOS Front End Evaluation

Cool Classroom Goals

Teacher resource area, including

offline lessons, curriculum guides,

and potentially screencasts and a

forum

Adequate teacher support

Cool Images & Research News

Link to COOLroom Data

Timely datasets related to current

research, amply explained

COOL Cards

Asynchronous Scientist Chats

A way to connect students with

scientists

Adventures which include Explorations

(data activities) and Discoveries

(content)

Real-time Data Lessons & Activities

(including background “textbook”

information which can not be found

elsewhere)

Incorporated as:Major request from teachers:

The COOL Classroom Environment• Inquiry-based and organized

around questions/problems

• Scaffolded lesson structure

serves to surface prior

knowledge and guide learning

• Use of real ocean data to

engage students

• Reflective journal questions

provide an assessable record

of student thinking

• Inline Teacher Supports

COOL Classroom Design Team

LessonsCarrie Fraser

Marine Science Student

Laura DunbarMiddle School Teacher

Ravit DuncanScience Education Professor

Lisa WardenHigh School Teacher

ScienceJim Ammerman

Marine Microbiology

Scott GlennOcean Observatories

Josh KohutCoastal Oceanography

GraphicsBrian YanFlash Illustration

Jon PucciFlash Animation

Bean Creative Inc.Site Design

InterfaceCorinne Dalelio

Interface Design

Sage LichtenwalnerWeb Programmer

Janice McDonnellProject Lead

The Team

Janice McDonnell

Ravit Duncan

Scott Glenn

Jim Ammerman

Sage Lichtenwalner

Laura Dunbar

Carrie Fraser

Corinne Dalelio

Josh Kohut

Brian Yan

Jon Pucci

Lisa Warden

Translating OOS Storiesfor Informal Audiences

Rutgers COOLroomRutgers COOLroom Liberty Science CenterLiberty Science Center

Informal Science Education Center

with ~1,000,000 visitors per year, serving

the NY/NJ school systems including

urban largely minority schools facing

challenges.

Cutting-edge OOS Research

& Real-time Data

The stories of science

are written with data.

Informal Learning Opportunities

The Delta Lab

A dedicated teaching space in LSC

focused on OOS.

Interactive Floor Exhibits

GAIA

Real-time display of ocean and

environmental data

Global Microscope

Provides virtual tours

of global

environmental

datasets

Telling RTD Stories with LSC’s “GAIA”

“Students appreciate the fact they’re getting straight-out data. They can come up with

their own conclusions. It becomes more personal and they take a greater interest.”

- Katie Gardner, LSC Educator

Real-time Data Listserv

Real-Time Data Tips

• Comparing Climates in the US

• Ocean & Atmosphere Interactions

• Annual Migrations & Temperature

• Christmas IslandCulture and RT Buoy Data

• White ChristmasClimatology and Probabilities

• Robots in AntarcticaOcean Exploration

• 100th Glider MissionReal-time AUV data

Connecting educators, scientists,

lesson developers and “data

translators” to foster the development

of new OOS RTD products.

To Subscribe, go to:

http://marine.rutgers.edu/outreach/rtd

Scientist SurveyCOSEE-NOW is working on developing a virtual "community center" where

scientists, educators, policy makers and the public can exchange information,

collaborate and share education/outreach techniques, such as lesson plans,

visualized data or media presentations, that relate to coastal and ocean research,

in particular using observing systems data.

How do we translate large-volumes of OOS data for multiple audiences?

It will take a community.

COSEE-NOW (Networked Ocean World)– Thematically focused on Ocean Observing Systems

– Will help build an OOS Learning Community

– Work with all scientists to improve education & outreach on the ocean

Take-home Messages

• The nascent field of Data Translation incorporates aspects of data

visualization, scientific communication and information aesthetics.

• Effective OOS data products must take into account the specific

technical and cognitive needs of the user to be served.

• Ocean observatories will require a strong data translation effort in order

to ensure data accessibility and to bolster support for the OOS/IOOS

initiatives. Scientist-educator collaboration is not enough.

• The development of Virtual Community Centers is crucial to enable

collaboration between scientists, data translators and educators on

both regional and national scales.

Project Outline(September 2005-August 2006)

We gathered data from 54 stakeholders and 92 teachers from across the U.S. through the following methods:

• Literature review

• Interviews and an online survey of stakeholders

• Focus groups with teachers (7 at 5 sites nationwide)

• Prioritizing activity with teachers/stakeholders during COSEE-Mid-Atlantic and MBARI EARTH teacher workshops.

The GAP Issues:

1. Target audiences

2. Vision and goals

3. Content: data types/

variables and sources

4. Product format & features

5. Barriers

Target Audience: Middle vs. High

Middle-school teachers were more likely to have students use:

• Computers at school as part of their lessons

• The Internet/websites at school as part of their lessons

• Real-time data (mostly student-collected data) as part of their lessons.

Middle School

High School56%

43%

Focus group attendance

Teacher Vision & GoalsWhy use RTD in teaching?

• Real-time data makes what

happens in the classroom

relevant to students’ lives.

• It connects students to their

future as citizens/decision

makers, voters, and possibly

scientists.

Top 5 parameters teachers

use/would use are….

Water & Air Water & Air

TemperatureTemperature

pHpH

SalinitySalinity

Dissolved OxygenDissolved Oxygen

CurrentsCurrents

Product Format & Features Top Features

• Data visualization tools (ability to graph, map, chart data)

• Inquiry-based lessons/activities

• Lesson plans for teaching science concepts with RTD

• Locally relevant data sets

• Map interfaces

• Stories or case studies that show how scientists use real-time data.

Recommendations & Conclusions

• View RTD products as part of a whole program that

includes, ideally, all of the following:

– data collection at other sites local to schools

– data use in the classroom (RTD ed products)

– training of classroom teachers: pre-service training,

in-services, ongoing support

Full Report: http://marine.rutgers.edu/outreach/rtd

Recommendations & Conclusions

• Any RTD product needs to be designed to support what teachers currently have to teach/test

• Integrated into what they do, not an add-on.

• If scientists and educators view RTD as the future for science, there needs to be:– reform to make changes in what teachers are required to

teach/test

– guidance on how they teach so what they do matches how science is conducted.

Full Report: http://marine.rutgers.edu/outreach/rtd

Data courtesy of Word Craft