An Intelligent Digital Environment for Groundwater Education and Research

该项目正在将交互式地下水（IGW），一个综合的、结合研究和教育的软件环境，扩展成一个完整的数字学习环境。这是通过将现有的数字实验室与一个综合数字图书馆相结合来实现的，该图书馆由地下水科学图书馆、可视化图书馆、空间数据图书馆、文档库和相关问题和练习库组成。由此产生的数字化学习环境具有以下创新特征：1)大于其馆藏的活跃图书馆——数字化实验室和图书馆智能交互。这种双向互动使图书馆比其实体馆藏更大，实验室也不仅仅是一个实验设施。当数字实验室提供动手主题动态学习时，数字图书馆为实施和科学提供即时情境支持。它提供了想法、解释、理论、例子、文献、应用和背景。这种综合学习环境为学生提供了一个获取信息、消费信息和创造信息的场所。它允许学生学习、实践、探索和发现。2)利用数字媒体优势的高影响力内容——数字图书馆以一种非传统的方式呈现这些信息。它利用了数字媒体的优势，利用了可视化的力量和互动的力量。特别地，它提供了动态的、引人入胜的和互动的学习材料，以大大提高知识的吸收和保留，促进主动学习。数字图书馆利用独特和系统的交互式可视化集合来说明困难的地下水概念，过程，动力学，理论，解决技术和应用。图书馆让学生看到看不见的，理解看不见的。这个独特的地下水可视化图书馆的创建是由创新的IGW数字实验室实现的。3)强大的内容组织和交付范例，支持基于问题的学习——数字图书馆与数字实验室共享相同的界面，允许学生在需要的时候快速找到信息。信息访问和探索的耦合接口对于情境学习或基于问题的学习非常有效，并允许学生专注于探索和解决问题。4)可适应的学习环境，支持不同层次的学生——数字化实验室-图书馆系统提供了独特的、可适应的学习框架。学生决定自己的学习路线，控制难度或复杂程度。因此，新的学习环境可以容纳不同水平和不同背景的学生。根据课程的水平和重点，数字学习环境可以以多种方式使用：用于基本概念和过程的实时演示和可视化；可视化和更好地理解解决方案的技术和程序；或提供集成建模练习或虚拟现场体验。IGW扩展到数字学习环境影响了整个地下水教育界。它为研究人员提供了一个进行深入合作研究的工具，从而使他们受益。它为教师提供了一种在课堂上展示积极和创新学习技巧的手段，从而使教师受益。最重要的是，它使学生能够以帮助他们成为自给自足的学习者和思考者的方式构建知识，从而受益。美国国家科学基金会地球科学理事会地球科学部为该项目提供了重要的共同资金，以认识到该项目对开发数字学习环境的重要性，该环境支持解决与地下水教育和研究相关的问题。

This project is expanding Interactive Groundwater (IGW), a comprehensive, combined research and educational software environment, into a complete digital learning environment. This is being accomplished by coupling the existing digital laboratory to a comprehensive digital library that consists of a groundwater science library, a visualization library, a spatial data library, a documentation library, and a library of related problems and exercises. The resulting digital learning environment has the following innovative characteristics: 1) An active library that is larger than its collection - The digital laboratory and library interact intelligently. This two-way interaction makes the library larger than its physical collections and the laboratory more than just an experimental facility. While the digital laboratory provides hands-on theme dynamics to learn around, the digital library provides instant situational support on the implementation and science. It provides ideas, interpretations, theories, examples, literatures, applications, and background. This integrated learning environment provides a place for students to access information as well as to consume and to create information. It allows students to learn, to practice, to explore, and to discover. 2) High impact contents that capitalize on the advantages of digital media - The digital library presents such information in a non-conventional way. It takes advantage of the digital media and capitalizes on the power of visualizations and the power of interactions. In particular, it provides dynamic, engaging, and interactive learning materials in ways that substantially improve knowledge assimilation and retention and promote active learning. The digital library utilizes a unique and systematic collection of interactive visualizations to illustrate difficult groundwater concepts, processes, dynamics, theories, solution techniques, and applications. The library allows students to see the unseen and understand the invisible. The creation of this unique groundwater visualization library is made possible by the innovative IGW digital laboratory. 3) A powerful content organization and delivery paradigm that supports problem-based learning - The digital library shares the same interface as the digital laboratory, allowing a student to rapidly find the information at the time it is needed. The coupled interface to information access and exploration is highly effective for situated or problem-based learning and allows students to singularly focus on the exploration and problem solving. 4) An adaptable learning environment that supports students of different levels - The digital laboratory-library system provides a unique and adaptable framework for learning. Students determine their own learning routes and control the degree of difficulty or sophistication. As such, the new learning environment allows accommodating students of different levels and of different backgrounds. Depending on the level and focus of a course, the digital learning environment can be used in a variety of ways: for real-time demonstration and visualization of basic concepts and processes; to visualize and better understand solution techniques and procedures; or to provide integrated modeling exercises or a virtual field experience. The extension of IGW into a digital learning environment impacts the entire groundwater educational community. It benefits researchers by giving them a tool for in-depth and collaborative research. It benefits instructors by providing a means for them to present active and innovative learning techniques in the classroom. Most importantly, it benefits students by allowing them to construct knowledge in ways that help them to become self-sufficient learners and thinkers. Significant co-funding of this project is being provided by the Division of Earth Sciences in the NSF Directorate for Geosciences in recognition of the importance that this project has on the development of a digital learning environment supporting problem solving associated with groundwater education and research.