Transforming the Primary Research Process Through Cybertool Dissemination: An Implementation of a Virtual Center for the study of Language Acquisition

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This project creates a cyber-enabled virtual learning environment for the language sciences generally and the study of language development specifically. It will train students from different disciplinary, geographical and cultural backgrounds to use new cybertools as part of a Virtual Linguistics Laboratory. It initially involves eight US universities and one site in Peru, providing the foundation for expansion both nationally and internationally. The dissemination of these cybertools will help transform research processes in the language sciences and provide a distributed infrastructure for collaborative learning and research in the study of language and language development. The cybertools integrate metadata entry, data analyses and data sharing. The training program includes (i) a series of web-based courses, integrating synchronous and asynchronous forms of interactive information distribution, (ii) a web-based data transcription and analysis tool, (iii) a series of structured audio-visual demonstrations and related learning modules, and (iv) an online experiment bank. These materials will be integrated into a university-supported cyberinfrastructure to ensure the high availability needs of a distance learning program. An active National Science Digital Library program provides a further level of integrative infrastructure supporting wide distribution of information and resources. The intellectual significance of this project is that it empowers a wide array of collaborative and interdisciplinary research and teaching agendas and that it incorporates scientific principles in the cybertools themselves.