PARENT SESSION
Poster Session 16: Ecology Education
Tuesday, August 9, 5:00 PM - 6:30 PM, Exhibit Hall 220 A-E, Level 2, Palais des congrès de Montréal
Ecoed.net: the Ecological Society of America's digital library for ecology education.
Klemow, Kenneth*,1, Taylor, Jason*,2, 1 Wilkes University, Wilkes-Barre, PA, USA2 The Ecological Society of America, Silver Spring, MD, USA
ABSTRACT- Ecoed.net is an Internet-accessible digital library sponsored by the Ecological Society of America (ESA) to support ecology education, particularly at the undergraduate level. Ecoed.net provides educators a forum to contribute and locate peer-reviewed, scientifically and pedagogically sound ecology education content, including images, lab exercises, data, essays, and other materials. The site development of Ecoed.net has been directed by the ESA's Education Office working with a committee of ESA members. As of January 2005, Ecoed.net contained 154 items reflecting contributions by individual members and staff from the ESA's Education Office. Additional contributions are actively solicited. Items are catalogued according to disciplines within ecology. Key word searches are also possible thanks to metadata collected for each item at the time of submission. Ecoed.net is a partner in the Bioscience Education Network (BEN), a collaborative of more than ten professional societies that is coordinated by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). BEN enables searchable and seamless access to the digital library collections of its partners providing accurate and reliable biology education resources. A recent survey found that BEN users primarily utilize the portal to help find lecture resources for student assignments and to enhance their own teaching and learning. Users access BEN partner sites almost equally, indicating the goal of promoting interdisciplinary aspects of biology teaching is being realized.
Key words: Ecoed.net, digital library, ecology education, Bioscience Education Network