Using Digital Libraries to Build Educational Communities

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This Targeted Research project pursues an enhanced vision of a collection, that of creating and supporting an educational community that collaborates to address a particular set of educational challenges. NSDL is being used as a collaboration space for authors and users to work together iteratively, using web-based tools, classroom experiences and measured learning outcomes, to create effective materials that meet educational challenges. The well-documented problem of educational innovations failing to achieve wide dissemination is being addressed by using the digital library structure in combination with a set of easy to use tools to engage the community of potential users in the development process itself. Engaging the community of users in the development process shortens the traditionally long feedback loop of formative assessment based on a develop-disseminate-assess-modify cycle. The project is leveraging the technologies of the Virtual ChemLab, CreateStudio, and the Online Learning Initiative (OLI) at Carnegie Mellon to enable collaborative improvement of students' educational experiences in a data-driven, scientific manner. The Office of Multidisciplinary Activities in the NSF Directorate for Mathematical and Physical Sciences (MPS) is providing significant co-funding of this project in recognition of the value of this work in advancing the larger goals of MPS.