The US NSF NSDL

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The US NSF NSDL

• Phil Barker
• LTSN Engineering

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Why Me?

• I am not connected to the NSDL...
• The text on the slides is.

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Overview

• The vision
• The methodology
• Example projects

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NSDL Vision

• Designed to meet the needs of learners, in both
  individual and collaborative settings
• Constructed to enable dynamic use of a broad
  array of materials for learning, primarily in
  digital format
• Actively managed to promote reliable anytime -
  anywhere access to quality collections and
  services, available both within and outwith the
  network

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NSDL Connects
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NSDL Connects

• Users students, educators, life-long learners
• Content structured learning materials large
  real-time or archived datasets audio, images,
  animationsprimary sources digital learning
  objects (e.g. applets)interactive (virtual,
  remote) laboratories ...
• Tools search refer validate integrate
  create customize publish share notify
  collaborate ...

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Working Assumptions

• The WWW is the primary medium (for now)
• Content is a mix of born digital and analog
• There is no lack of great piles of stuff
• There is a need for piles of great stuff

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Working Assumptions (2)

• The unit of content can and will shrink
• Users will increasingly be creators, and vice
  versa
• While much of the use will be free, there is a
  need to explore multiple models of sustainability
• Experimental nature of distributed digital
  library building - one library, many portals

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Program Tracks

• Core Integration
• Collections
• Services
• Targeted (Applied) Research

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Core Integration System

• Expectation will coordinate a distributed
  alliance of resource collection and service
  providers, and to ensure reliable and extensible
  access to and usability of the resulting network
  of learning environments and resources.
• maintain gateway
• develop standards, and policies
• seek resource collections.

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Collections

• Expectation aggregate and actively manage a
  subset of the digital librarys content within a
  coherent theme or specialty
• Discovery, classification, cataloguing and
  location/delivery of content
• Access to massive real-time or archived datasets
• Software tool suites for analysis, modeling,
  simulation, or visualization
• Reviewed commentary on learning materials and
  pedagogy

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Services

• Expectation to increase the impact, reach,
  efficiency, and value of the digital library in
  its fully operational form
• collaborative learning environments using shared
  resources (synch/asynch)
• Mechanisms for building personal annotated
  digital information spaces
• Reliability testing for applets or other digital
  learning objects

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Targeted Research

• Expectation to have immediate impact on one or
  more of the other three tracks
• Digital library usage studies
• Building and sustaining user communities
• Automated annotation of audio, image, or video
  resources
• Applications of simulation or virtual world
  technology for virtual assistants
• User interface construction and implementation

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Funding

• In FY 2000 14M for 29 projects
• In FY 2001 25M for 35 more projects
• In FY 2002 25M for 41 more projects
• More to come...

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Timescale

• Started in 2000, and ongoing
• Some projects active already
• NSDL operational at end of this year

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Example Projects

• Scout reports fortnightly email/web reports of
  resources in Life sciences, physical sciences,
  and maths, engineering and technologyhttp//scout
  .wisc.edu/
• SMETE catalogue of science, maths, engineering
  and technology education resources
  http//www.smete.org/

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Example Projects

• myNDSL portal http//dev.nsdlib.org8083/mynsdl.h
  tml
• DLNET Digital Library Network for Engineering and
  Technologyhttp//www.dlnet.vt.edu/

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More Info

• Home page http//www.nsdl.org
• NSF page (includes abstracts of all
  projects)http//www.ehr.nsf.gov/DUE/programs/nsdl
  /
• D-LIB articles (http//dlib.org)
• March 2001 - big picture
• November 2002 - FY 2002 awards
• November 2001 - FY 2001 awards
• October 2000 - FY 2000 awards