This award supports the convening of a workshop to develop a plan for a more comprehensive, integrated approach to quality assurance of the Digital Library for Earth System Education's resources. The work will begin with a review of current quality assurance policies in DLESE and other National STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) Digital Library (NSDL) projects with a focus on their design, cost, and effectiveness. The broad DLESE community will be surveyed to construct a working definition of "a high quality educational resource" and identify approaches to quality assurance that would stimulate community participation. With this information in hand, a group of community members be entrained in developing a comprehensive strawman plan. A workshop to reach consensus on the plan, which will include recommendations, policies, and specific procedures for implementing those policies, will be convened and a final report completed and submitted to the DLESE Steering Committee for deliberation and ultimate approval. The result will be a coherent set of policies and procedures governing quality control that represents a consensus of the community.
