CoastLines

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CoastLines is a Comprehensive Project for Students and Teachers that will introduce fundamental concepts about information technologies (IT) to grade 7-12 schools. It will accomplish this goal by involving teachers and students in using geographic information systems (GIS) and global positioning systems (GPS) to conduct scientific studies of coastal ecosystems in the National Science Foundation's Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) network. To facilitate rapid deployment of GIS in schools, reach diverse populations that are underrepresented in the IT industries, and lay the foundation for sustained implementation of project strategies, CoastLines will leverage educational outreach programs conducted at four sites in the LTER network: Florida Coastal Everglades, Moorea Coral Reef, Santa Barbara Coastal, and Virginia Coast Reserve. These sites will afford attractive coastal settings and exciting research scenarios to engage the hearts and minds of participants and provide concrete examples of how IT is used in professional practice. Active involvement of LTER site educational staff and research investigators as mentors and advisors will personalize LTER science, make IT relevant as a human enterprise, and support teachers as they adapt and create projects for their students. Skill development and teaching practice facilitated by CoastLines will build comfort and competence with using geospatial technologies as tools for research, decision making, communication, and teaching. The five core areas of research for the LTER network (primary production, population studies, movement of organic matter, movement of inorganic matter, and disturbance patterns) will provide foci for teacher and student work and afford connections to the curriculum taught at participating schools. Having teachers create activities in which participants apply the five steps of geographic thinking to investigate topics in these areas of research will teach basic science process and help students understand the importance of science and IT as tools for solving problems and improving conditions on Earth.