Phytopia: Showcasing Tiny Ocean Life in a Multimedia Environment

00-85447该奖项为毕格罗海洋科学实验室和新英格兰大学的科学家提供资金，与加州理工/喷气推进实验室的数据分布实验室合作，创造多媒体教育体验，使海洋食物网的低端变得栩栩如生。与多媒体工具和数据模拟的互动将使学生能够发现为什么海洋生态系统对人类生存至关重要。这些多媒体产品将提供一个窗口，让人们了解海洋微小植物生命的迷人世界，目前只有科学家才能看到这一世界。为了发展该项目，PI还将利用三维浮游植物模型开发第一个可搜索的来自世界温带海洋的重要浮游植物数据库。该计划将在新英格兰大学的生物学课程以及高级课程中使用和测试，这是所有新生都必须上的课程。尽管这项试点是针对本科生的，但PI建议将该计划扩大到包括大学预科学生和非正式教育受众。最初，该计划将通过光盘和一个网站传播，但该计划与创建地球科学教育数字图书馆的努力是一致的。

00-85447This award provides funding for scientists at Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences and the University of New England to collaborate with the Data Distribution Laboratory, a facility based at California Tech/JPL, to create a multimedia educational experience that will bring the lower end of the marine food web "to life". Interaction with multimedia tools and data simulations will enable students to discover why the marine ecosystem is critical to human existence. These multimedia products will provide a window to the fascinating world of the oceans' microscopic plant life which, at present, only scientists see. In order to develop the project, the PI's will also develop the first searchable database of important phytoplankton from the world's temperate oceans using three-dimensional phytoplankton models. The program will be used and tested in the University of New England's Biology classes, which are required for all incoming freshmen, as well as the upper level courses. Although this pilot is aimed at undergraduates, the PI's propose to expand the program to include pre-college students and informal education audiences. Initially, the program will be disseminated via CD ROMS and a website, but the program is aligned with efforts to create a Digital Library for Earth Science Education.