NEEShubGeorge E. Brown, Jr. Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulation

Cyber-enabled Learning Environments for Engineering and Scientific Thinking: Systems from the NEESacademy powered by NEEShub

NEEScomm operations for the George E. Brown Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulations NSF AWARD #CMMI-0927178

Jason LambertNEEScomm at Purdue University

Sean BrophySchool of Engineering EducationContact: sbrophy@purdue.edu

The VisionHUBzero technologies at Purdue, like nanoHUB and NEEShub, can engage learners in authentic engineering and scientific challenges involving knowledge discovery and synthesis using tools, simulations, multimedia and experimental data. We are working to integrate tools and resources into learning experiences that support learners investigation of challenges in design, troubleshooting and experimental analysis with real data.

The NEESacademy, the Learning and Outreach section of NEEShub, will provide unique learning spaces for the Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulations’ (NEES) community and beyond. NEESacademy provides places for learners to collaborate with peers to explore and synthesize information. Several experimental spaces currently being developed for NEEShub and could be available for other HUBzero technologies include -

• Event Manager allows members of a community to contribute and organize resources for specific events. Participants in the events can search, organize, share and comment on these resources. For example, imagine a virtual poster fair where participants can share, review and aggregate information relevant to the goals of the event. CONTRIBUTE YOUR POSTER TO THE CMMI EVENT AT http://nees.org/for-professionals/cmmi-conference-2011

• QuakeQuest is a 3D Virtual World where learners can collaborate on the discovery and synthesis of new ideas based on resources contributed to NEEShub. For example, imagine participants meet during cyberspace Event as avatars investigating resources contributed to the NEEShub. Or the Virtual World could replicate a physical environment participants could investigate from an archeological or forensic perspective.

• Webcasts as NEESLive provide a distributed community a way to learn from a distance and new webcast services continue to emerge. Embedding these services into NEEShub’s architecture helps to centralize a communities learning experiences.

• Learning Series are instructional plans to present authentic challenges to learners and guide them through a process of inquiry using the tools, simulations, data and other resources integrated into NEEShub.

• Assessments provide both formative and summative feedback to learners and instructors. Integrating this into the NEESacademy provides a critical component to a learning system used by a community. For example, socratic questions during a learning experience is one method to probe students’ thinking and provide feedback. With the new learning spaces described above educators could identify new ways to assess learning as learners work with resources integrated in a Learning Series.

Barbara CooperNEEScomm at Purdue University

NEESHUB - “Creating easy access to NEEShub elements”

ResourcesTools Data

Collaborativeuser groups

Individual users

Academic partners

•Search•Exploration•Feedback

•Collaboration•Discovery•Synthesis

•Feedback•Control•Distribution

Instructional and Assessment Components

Existing NEEShub elements

NEESacademy – “bringing all the elements together for a rich and dynamic learning space”

Simulation Webcast as NEESLive Data in the Project Warehouse

Virtual World Assessment Resource Management

Real world data directly from the researcher as part of the Project Warehouse

Moderated community contributed resources with search and collaboration capabilities

Formal and Informal assessmentShare, exploration and synthesize ideas stimulated with HUB resources

Broadcast from anywhere to your audience of hundreds using NEEShub

Research quality tools delivered in standard browser

Learning & Outreach