IDEAS: Inquiry-based Dynamic Earth Applications of Supercomputing, Seeing the Big Picture with Information Technology

该项目将连接研究人员在缅因州与学生和中学教师，无论是在大学（在夏季研讨会期间）和参与学校（在学年期间），利用计算机建模和可视化的地质过程在课堂上。拟议的项目将有60名参与教师，每人在缅因州大学有120个接触小时，以及180名学生，每人在缅因州大学有20个接触小时。该项目的重点是将计算建模与中学现有的科学课程相结合。这将在很大程度上通过共同利用现有的笔记本电脑计算能力和网络能力来在本地和大学超级计算机上运行计算机模型，并创建高分辨率交互式可视化显示（来自相同的笔记本电脑）来查看输出来实现。具体目标是：（1）在中学教师和教育专家的参与下，开发地球动力学的数值模拟和可视化工具;（2）培训中学教师如何将这些工具纳入现有课程主题的教学中;（3）激发中学生对科学和技术的兴趣，提高他们在这些领域的知识和成绩;以及4）向缅因州的所有中学传播这些工具和有效的教学方法，并承诺这些工具和方法将成为考虑在课堂上使用笔记本电脑的其他学校的榜样。该项目利用了缅因州每一个七年级和八年级的学生和老师都被发给一台苹果笔记本电脑的事实。这些计算机都联网在一起，并通过教室内的无线网络与外界联系。此外，缅因州的所有学校和图书馆都有高速（有线）互联网连接。另一个被利用的因素是缅因州大学的512 CPU集群超级计算机，它也是基于苹果平台的，以及一些使用这个集群进行数值建模的研究人员。

This project will connect researchers at the University of Maine with students and middle school teachers, both at the University (during a summer workshop) and at participating schools (during the academic year) to utilize computer modeling and visualization of geological processes in the classroom. The proposed project will have 60 participating teachers each with 120 contact hours at the University of Maine, as well as 180 students, each with 20 contact hours at the University of Maine. The focus of this project is to integrate computational modeling with the existing science curriculum at the middle school level. This will be accomplished largely by collectively utilizing existing laptop computer computational power and networking capability to run computer models, both locally and at the University supercomputer, and to create high resolution interactive visualization displays (from the same laptops) to view the output. The specific goals are to: 1) develop numeric simulation and visualization tools for geodynamics with the involvement of middle school teachers and education experts; 2) train middle school teachers on the integration of such tools in the teaching of the existing curriculum topics; 3) stimulate middle school students' interest in science and technology and improve their knowledge and performance in these areas; and 4) disseminate such tools and effective pedagogies enabled by them to all middle schools in Maine, with the promise of the tools and methods serving as a model for other schools contemplating the use of laptop computers in the classroom. The project takes advantage of the fact that every seventh and eighth grade student and teacher in the state of Maine is issued an Apple laptop computer. These computers are all networked together and to the outside world via wireless networks within the classroom. Additionally, all schools and libraries within the state of Maine have high speed (wired) Internet connections. Another factor that is leveraged is the University of Maine's 512 CPU cluster supercomputer that is also based on the Apple platform, as well as a number of researchers who perform numerical modeling using this cluster.