HR: 1330h
AN: ED13F-04    [Abstracts]
TI: The Climate Change Collection: A Case Study on Digital Library Collection Review and the Integration of Research, Education and Evaluation
AU: * McCaffrey, M
EM: mark.mccaffrey@colorado.edu
AF: CIRES- University of Colorado, 449 UCB, Boulder, CO 80309
AB: Designed as an pilot project to assess the scientific and pedagogical quality of selected digital resources in the Digital Library for Earth System Education (DLESE), the Climate Change Collection is thematic collection of digital resources relating to the topic of global climate change. Developed through the collaborative efforts of an interdisciplinary review team made up of professionals from the fields of climate research, geoscience education, cognitive psychology, and evaluation, the findings of the project suggest that the user needs of the reviewers should be considered in any review process, that there is inherent value in the collaboration of scientists, teachers and related fields in determining the quality of particular resources, and that the process of preparing for and conducting such reviews and annotations is time-consuming and challenging. Drawing from the experience of prior collection development efforts associated with DLESE, including the Community Review System and the Digital Water Education Library, the Climate Change Collection was developed during the Fall of 2004 and Winter of 2005. Through a series of monthly meetings with the review team facilitated by the Principal Investigator acting as Editor for the collection, and assisted by an online workspace known as a SWIKI, the Climate Change Collection was designed as an experiment in streamlined collection development that may help inform future digital library review and collection-building efforts. The initial meetings focused on training the reviewers, setting context for the review process, and discussing the perspectives of the various participants in the review team. Each participant received a stipend for their involvement in the process. A rubric "scorecard" was developed, tested, and fine-tuned by the review team with a focus primarily on scientific accuracy and the potential for effective use in the classroom. Specific concepts relating to aspects of natural climate variability and human impacts on the climate system were examined, with existing resources cataloged within DLESE being the primary materials reviewed. Each complete "scorecard" review, is posted on the web, and is accessible through a summary review that highlights the overall rating from the reviewers and key annotations of the reviewers, including suggestions on classroom use of the resource.
DE: 0800 EDUCATION
SC: Education and Human Resources [ED]
MN: 2005 Joint Assembly