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，以与加州理工学院/喷气推进实验室的数据分布实验室合作，创建多媒体教育体验，使海洋食物网的低端“栩栩如生”。与多媒体工具和数据模拟的交互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。这些多媒体产品将为了解目前只有科学家才能看到的海洋微观植物生命的迷人世界提供一个窗口。为了开发该项目，PI 还将使用三维浮游植物模型开发世界温带海洋重要浮游植物的第一个可搜索数据库。 该程序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，所有新生都需要这些课程。尽管该试点项目针对的是本科生，但 PI 建议将该项目扩大到包括大学预科学生和非正规教育受众。最初，该计划将通过 CD ROM 和网站传播，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.